Liege (1538-44) florin d'or Fr-306
This specimen was lot 1153 in Jean Elsen sale 158 (Brussels, March 2024), where it sold for €16,000 (about US$20,806 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"LIEGE, Principauté, Corneille de Berghes (1538-1544), AV florin d'or au type rhénan (dit "florin de Sevenberg"), s.d., Hasselt. D/ CORNELI' DE- BER' EPIS' LE' Le Christ trônant de f. dans une stalle gothique, bénissant et ten. les Evangiles. R/ DVX BV-ILON' ET- CO' LOSS Ecu dans un trilobe anglé, entre les écussons de Brabant, Berthout et Bautershem. Extrêmement rare. Flan large. Légère double frappe. Très Beau. Provient de Tinchant, Bruxelles, 1943 (payé 2500 francs, avec ancienne notice manuscrite). Pour un autre exemplaire, voir notre vente 155, 16 juin 2023, 1511 (adjugé 24.000 € + frais). (prince-bishopric of Liège, Cornelius of Berghes, 1538-44, undated gold florin of the Rheinish type, Hasselt mint. Very Fine.)
A la demande de Charles Quint, Erard de la Marck désigna Corneille de Berghes, seigneur de Zevenbergen, coadjuteur avec droit de succession. Son épiscopat fut marqué par la première grande répression de la Réfome dans la principauté et ne dura que six ans. Il résigna son siège en 1544 en faveur de Georges d'Autriche, un fils naturel de Maximilien de Habsbourg. Les monnaies de Corneille de Berghes portent le titre d'évêque alors qu'il ne fut jamais ordonné prêtre. (At the request of Charles V, Erard de la Marck appointed Corneille de Berghes, lord of Zevenbergen, coadjutor with right of succession. His episcopate was marked by the first major persecution of the Reformation in the principality and lasted only six years. He resigned his seat in 1544 in favor of George of Austria, a natural son of Maximilian of Habsburg. The coins of Corneille de Berghes bear the title of bishop even though he was never ordained a priest.)"
The bishopric of Liège was an ecclesiastical state in central Belgium and usually ruled by a Hapsburg client. The surrounding territory was ruled by the Spanish Hapsburgs from about 1500 until 1699 and the Austrian Hapsburgs 1714-97. Wikipedia says of Corneille: "His reign was a disaster, because of his fanatic persecution of presumed heretics, which alienated himself from the population. He resigned in 1544 to get married. Very little was registered about the rest of his life and marriage, only that he died around 1560."
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: gold; this specimen 3,28 g.
Catalog reference: Chestret 458; coll. Piat 280; Dengis 853; Delm-339.
- [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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