Brabant 1481 2 briquet
This specimen was lot 441 in Jean Elsen sale 158 (Brussels, March 2024), where it sold for €190 (about US$247 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"BRABANT, Duché, Marie de Bourgogne (1477-1482), AR double briquet, 1481, Anvers. D/ Deux lions assis et affrontés. Entre eux, un briquet. En dessous, une main. R/ Ecu de Bourgogne sur une croix fleuronnée. Très Beau. (duchy of Brabant, Mary of Burgundy, 1477-82, silver double briquet of 1481, Antwerp mint. Obverse: two lions facing each other, a firesteel between, a hand below; reverse: the arms of Burgundy over a floriate cross. Very Fine.)"
Maria was the daughter of Charles the Rash and the heiress to his domain between France and Germany. She was duchess of Burgundy, Brabant, Limburg, Luxemburg and Guelders and countess of Flanders, Artois, Hainaut, Holland, Zeeland, Namur and Zutphen and the most desirable match of her day. She married Maximilian of Hapsburg to keep her lands out of the hands of Louis XI of France but died in 1482 at the age of 25. Note the early form of the "4" in the date.
Reported Mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.06 g, 0.799 fine silver, this specimen 3,02 g.
Catalog reference: G.H. 39-1c; W. 518; VH 55; Levinson II-54.
- Levinson, Robert, The Early Dated Coins of Europe, 1234-1500: An Illustrated Catalogue and Guide to dated medieval coinage. Clifton, NJ: Coin & Currency Institute, 2007.
- van Gelder, H. Enno, and Marcel Hoc, Les Monnaies des pays-Bas Bourguignons et Espagnols, 1434-1713, Amsterdam, J. Schulman, 1960, with supplement of 1964.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 158, Monnaies de la Principauté de Liège, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2024.
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