Liege (1606) gigot KM-A9
This specimen was lot 1116 in Jean Elsen sale 156 (Brussels, September 2023), where it sold for €170 (about US$218 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"LIEGE, Principauté, Ernest de Bavière (1581-1612), Cu gigot (demi-liard), s.d. (1606), Liège. Différent: lion. D/ Ecu couronné, écartelé de Bavière-Palatinat. R/ B. à g., t. nue, la barbe courte. Rare. Beau à Très Beau. (principality of Liège, Ernest of Bavaria, 1581-1612, undated copper gigot or half liard, circa 1606, Liège mint, lion privy mark. Obverse: crowned and quartered arms of Bavaria and the Palatinate; reverse: bare bust left with short beard. Rare, Fine to Very Fine.)"
The bishopric of Liège was an ecclesiastical state in central Belgium. The surrounding territory was ruled by the Spanish Hapsburgs from about 1500 until 1699 and the Austrian Hapsburgs 1714-97.
Ernest was the first of four prince-bishops from Bavaria. They were also dukes of Bouillon, archbishops of Cologne and electors of the Empire, all of which titles appeared in various combinations on their coins. They are as follows:
- Ernest, r. 1581-1612, archbishop of Cologne (1583-1612), bishop of Münster (1584-1612), Freising, Hildesheim and Liège.
- Ferdinand, r. 1612-50, archbishop of Cologne, bishop of Münster, Hildesheim, Paderborn (1618-50) and Liège. Never ordained as a priest.
- Maximilian Henry, r. 1650-88, archbishop of Cologne, bishop of Münster, Hildesheim and Liège. Lost the duchy of Bouillon to Louis XIV.
- Joseph Clement, r. 1688-1723, bishop of Regensburg and Freising (1685-94) and archbishop of Cologne, bishop of Hildesheim (1702-23) and Liège (1694-1723).
- Clemens August, r. 1723-61, bishop of Regensburg (1716-19) and then archbishop of Cologne, bishop of Münster, Hildesheim, Osnabrück and Paderborn but never ruled in Liège. His incompetence and extravagance ended Wittelsbach rule in Cologne.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: copper, this specimen is 2,46 g.
Catalog reference: KM A9, Chestret 563; Dengis 971.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 156, Collection de Monnaies de la Principauté de Liège, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2023.
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