Liege (1453) florin d'or Fr-294
This specimen was lot 1054 in Jean Elsen sale 158 (Brussels, March 2024), where it sold for €6,000 (about US$7,802 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"LIEGE, Principauté, Jean de Heinsberg (1419-1455), AV florin d'or postulat (vieux postulat), s.d. (1453). D/ + MON' IOH' EPS' LEODIEN' DVX BVL' Ecu à la croix chargée d'un écusson de Juliers-Chiny, dans un trilobe anglé. R/ SANCTE LA-MBERT' EPIS' Saint Lambert deb. de f., bénissant et ten. une crosse. Extrêmement rare. Bien frappé sur un flan large et régulier. Superbe. Provient de Schulman, Amsterdam, vente 275, 1er octobre 1982, 2161 (trouvé sur une des îles hollandaises) et de la collection A. Symkens, Liège, 25 novembre 1991. (prince-bishopric of Liège, Jean de Heinsberg, 1419-55, undated gold florin postulat, circa 1453. Obverse: arms with a cross charged with the escutcheon of Juliers-Chiny within an angled trilobe; reverse: St. Lambert stands, blessing with his left hand and holding a crozier in his right. Extremely rare, well struck on a large and round planchet. Extremely Fine.)
La première monnaie d'or liégeoise sur laquelle figure la représentation de saint Lambert, remplaçant saint Jean-Baptiste ou saint Pierre qui figurent sur les florins d'or antérieurs. Il s'agit d'une imitation du florin d'or de Rudolf van Diepholt, évêque d'Utrecht (1433-1455). Seulement six exemplaires recensés par Dengis en 2005. (The first gold coin from Liège to show Saint Lambert, replacing Saint John the Baptist or Saint Peter who appear on the previous gold florins. It is an imitation of the gold florin of Rudolf van Diepholt, bishop of Utrecht (1433-1455). Only six examples were recorded by Dengis in 2005.)"
Jean de Heinsberg was elected prince-bishop at the age of 22 years altho not yet ordained a priest. This obstacle was swiftly dealt with and he assumed his duties in June 1420. In 1455, Philip the Good of Burgundy, seeking a place for his nephew Louis of Bourbon, forced bishop Jean to resign in Louis' favor. Jean died in 1459, allegedly leaving behind 65 children. He was descended from the formerly independent counts of Loon.
Reported Mintage: unknown.
Specification: gold, this specimen 3,24 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-294, Chestret 306; coll. Piat 197 (only specimen known, sold 450 francs); Dengis 641; Delm-326.
- Delmonte, A., Le Bénélux D'or, Amsterdam: Jacques Schulman N.V., 1964, with supplements to 1977.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- [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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