Austrian Netherlands 1791(a) 10 liards
This specimen was lot 719 in Jean Elsen sale 161 (Brussels, March 2025), where it sold for €160 (about US$208 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRABANT, Duché, Léopold II (1790-1792), AR 10 liards, 1791, Bruxelles. D/ Croix de Bourgogne. R/ Écu couronné, entouré du collier de la Toison d'or. (duchy of Brabant, Leopold II, 1790-92, silver ten liards of 1791, Brussels mint. Obverse: Burgundian cross; reverse: crowned arms, order of the Golden Fleece around. Very Fine - Extremely Fine.)"
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. The ten liards was one eighth of a florin or 1/24 kronenthaler. This type was struck in 1791 during Leopold's short reign.
Recorded mintage: 106,423.
Specification: 2.45 g, 0.415 fine silver, 19 mm diameter, this specimen 2,36 g.
Catalog reference: KM 54, W. 1164; Jaeckel 91; VH 877.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 161, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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