Liege 1512 2 florin d'or Fr-302
The first specimen was lot 1136 in Jean Elsen sale 158 (Brussels, March 2024), where it sold for €15,000 (about US$19,506 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"LIEGE, Principauté, Erard de la Marck (1506-1538), AV double Erardus (double florin), 1512, Liège. D/ + ERARD' DE MARKA EPS' LEODIEN' Ecu de la Marck dans un quadrilobe anglé. R/ IN HOC SIGNO VINCES ANNO 1512 Croix fleuronnée avec le perron en coeur. Extrêmement rare. Petit éclat du flan. Très Beau. Provient de Mignolet, Liège, 23 janvier 2004. (prince-bishopric of Liège, Érard de La Marck, 1506-38, gold double Erardus or double florin of 1512, Liège mint. Obverse: arms of the protector in an angled quadrilobe; reverse: floriate cross with a column in the center. Extremely rare, minor planchet nick, Very Fine.)
Erard de la Marck était le fils de Robert de Sedan et le neveu de Guillaume et d'Everard de la Marck. Il succéda à Jean de Hornes en 1506. Diplomate habile et grand administrateur, il acheva de pacifier la principauté, la réforma et consolida son indépendance en s'alliant à la maison d'Autriche par le traité de Saint-Trond (1518). Pour le récompenser, Charles Quint le fit élever à la dignité de cardinal en 1521. Son double florin d'or ou double Erardus est l'une des monnaies d'or liégeoises les plus rares. Il était taillé à 74 au marc (3,31 g) et devait courir pour un florin d'or au saint Philippe de Philippe le Beau ou de Charles Quint. Le florin de compte liégeois valait en effet un demi-florin de Brabant. (Erard de la Marck (b. 1472) was the son of Robert de Sedan and the nephew of Guillaume and Everard de la Marck. He succeeded Jean de Hornes in 1506. A skilled diplomat and great administrator, he completed the pacification of the principality, reformed it and consolidated its independence by allying himself with the House of Austria through the Treaty of Saint-Trond (1518). To reward him, Charles V had him elevated to the dignity of cardinal in 1521. His double gold florin or double Erardus is one of the rarest Liège gold coins. It weighed 74 to the marc (3.31 g) and was to circulate equal to one gold florin of Saint Philip of Philip the Fair or Charles V. The Liège florin of account was in fact worth half a Brabant florin.)"
The second specimen was lot 1137 in Jean Elsen sale 158 (Brussels, March 2024), where it sold for €22,000 (about US$28,608 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"LIEGE, Principauté, Erard de la Marck (1506-1538), AV double Erardus (double florin), 1512, Liège. D/ + ERARD' DE MARKA EPS' LEODI' Ecu de la Marck. R/ IN HOC SIGNO VINCES ANNO 1512 Croix fleuronnée avec le perron en coeur. De la plus haute rareté. Fines griffes. Type unique et inédit, sans le quadrilobe anglé entourant l'écu de la Marck au droit. Très Beau. Provient de Mignolet, Liège, 25 mars 2011. (prince-bishopric of Liège, Érard de La Marck, 1506-38, gold double Erardus or double florin of 1512, Liège mint. Obverse: arms of the protector; reverse: floriate cross with a column in the center. Of the higest rarity, fine scratches, unique and unpublished withut the quadrilobe on the obverse, Very Fine.)"
Reported Mintage: unknown.
Specification: gold, the first specimen 3,27 g. the second specimen is 3,12 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-302, Chestret 428; coll. Piat 266 (sold 249 francs); Dengis 818; Delm-335. the second specimen is Chestret 428 var.; coll. Piat -; Dengis 818 var.; Delm-335 var.
- 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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