Liege 1646 daler Dav-4293
This specimen was lot 1174 in Jean Elsen sale 156 (Brussels, September 2023), where it sold for €30,000 (about US$38,492 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"LIEGE, Principauté, Ferdinand de Bavière (1612-1650), AR daler à la Vierge et au saint Lambert (daler de 40 patards), 1646, Liège. D/ FERDI D G EPISC ET PRINC LEOD D-VX- BVL Ecu couronné, écartelé de Bavière-Palatinat, posé sur une crosse et une épée en sautoir. A g., le perron entre L-G. A d., écusson de Bouillon couronné. R/ S LAMBERTVS PATRO LEO S MARIA MATER DEI La Vierge à l'Enfant ten. un sceptre et saint Lambert ten. une crosse, deb. de f. côte à côte. De la plus haute rareté. Belle patine. Une monnaie exceptionnelle, l'une des plus rares et des plus spectaculaires de la série liégeoise. Superbe/Très Beau. Provient de la collection Piat, vente Dupriez 101, Bruxelles, 29 novembre 1910, 423 (vendu 310 francs). Seulement deux exemplaires connus et le seul en collection privée. (principality of Liège, Ferdinand of Bavaria, 1612-50, dollar of the Virgin and St. Lambert (dollar of forty patards) of 1646, Liège mint. Obverse: crowned and quartered arms of Bavaria and the Palatinate over a cross and a sword, a column to the left, crowned shield of Bouillon right; reverse: Madonna and Child with a scepter and St. Lambert with a cross, facing side by side. Of the highest rarity, beautiful patina, an exceptional coin, one of the rarest and most spectacular of the Liege series. Extremely Fine/Very Fine. Only two known with one in private hands.)
"Le 9 janvier 1646, le maître Jean Goffin reçut instruction de frapper une pièce de 40 patards (2 florins de Brabant-Liège) "portant, d'un côté, les effigies de Notre-Dame et saint Lambert, et, de l'autre, les armes du prince, laquelle pièce reviendrait à la même valeur intrinsèque que les dalers de Son Altesse". Ce nouveau daler devait donc courir pour 40 patards alors qu'il était équivalent aux dalers Ferdinand tarifés à 36 patards. Le 27 février, la production fut limitée à 3000 marcs d'argent. Dès le 16 mars, la facture de ces nouvelles pièces fut vivement critiquée au Chapitre au point que le prévôt des monnayeurs d'Hasselt fut requis le 17 mai pour remédier au problème: "Comme il y a plainte.. que les monnaies d'or et d'argent qui se forgent présentement en notre cité sont de laide mise et mal coignées par la faute des ouvriers, nous vous ordonnons de nous envoyer au plus tôt les meilleurs et les plus experts ouvriers de votre compagnie". Il est vrai que la qualité des dalers Ferdinand de 1646 est souvent médiocre (voir l'exemplaire proposé ci-dessus). Le 30 mai, le Chapitre décida de suspendre le monnayage des espèces d'or et d'argent à l'exception de la nouvelle monnaie d'argent dont il permettait d'achever la fabrication (Chestret p. 313-314). (On January 9, 1646, mintmaster Jean Goffin received instructions to strike a piece of forty patards or two florins. He was told, "on one side, the effigies of Our Lady and St. Lambert and, on the other, the arms of the prince, the said piece to have the same intrinsic value as the dollars of His Highess." The new daler had a face value of forty patards but had the same weight as Ferdinand's dalers tariffed at 36 dalers. On February 27, production was limited to 3000 marks of silver. On March 16, the cathedral chapter strongly criticized the design and March 17 ordered the minters at Hasselt to address the problems: "We have complained that the gold and silver coins have been forged in our city, which is the fault of your workers, and we order you to send us the best workers in your plant." It is true that the dollars of 1646 are often poorly made, as is the present example. On May 30, the chapter decided to suspend the coinage of gold and silver with the exception of the new silver coin which was allowed to be completed.)"
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. This type was struck 1646 only. Another daler, the daler Ferdinand de 36 patards, was also struck in 1646.
Ferdinand was the second 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: silver, this specimen is 17,43 g.
Catalog reference: KM 65, Dav-4293, Chestret 608; Dengis 1069; Delm-470.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1600-1700, Galesburg, IL, 1974.
- [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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