Austrian Netherlands 1777(a) liard
This specimen was lot 2617 in Stephen Album sale 45 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2023), where it sold for $264. The catalog description[1] noted, "AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS: Maria Theresia, 1740-1780, AE liard, Brussels, 1777, a wonderful mint state example! PCGS graded MS64 BN, ex Joe Sedillot Collection." Belgium, long a part of Hapsburg Spain, was awarded to Charles VI of Austria by the Treaty of Utrecht which ended the War of the Spanish Succession. Fortified by the Dutch and constantly menaced by the French, the Austrians quickly discovered Belgium to be a worthless addition to their domain. Charles neglected it and it was left to Maria Theresia to provide new coinage for it the late 1740's. This type was struck in large quantities 1776-80. It scarce only in uncirculated condition. The angel face on the reverse is the Brussels mintmark. Four liards = one sol, 54 sols = one kronenthaler.
Recorded mintage: 2,769,000.
Specification: 3.75 g, copper, 22 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 28.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 45, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2022.
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