Liege 1558 1/4 rixdaler
This specimen was lot 1087 in Jean Elsen sale 156 (Brussels, September 2023), where it sold for €1,300 (about US$1,668 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"LIEGE, Principauté, Robert de Berghes (1557-1564), AR quart de daler heaumé, 1558, Hasselt. Au titre de Ferdinand Ier de Habsbourg. D/ L'écu ovale de l'évêque sous un heaume à cimier, accosté de 15-58. R/ Aigle impériale éployée et couronnée. De la plus haute rareté. Patine foncée, avec corrosion superficielle au revers. presque Très Beau. Provient de la collection A. Symkens, 25 novembre 1991. (principality of Liège, Robert de Berghes, 1557-64, silver quarter dollar of the helmet of 1558, Hasselt mint, struck in the name of Ferdinand I. Obverse: helmeted arms of the bishop dividing the date; reverse: crowned imperial eagle. Of the highest rarity, handsome patina, with light corrosion on the reverse, about Very Fine.)"
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.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen is 7,05 g.
Catalog reference: Chestret 505; coll. Piat 320 (two examples known); Dengis 916 (three examples reported); Delm-448.
- Roberts, James N., The Silver Coins of Medieval France (476-1610 AD), S. Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1996.
- [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.
Link to: