Liege 1665 escalin
This specimen was lot 1196 in Jean Elsen sale 156 (Brussels, September 2023), where it sold for €2,400 (about US$3,079 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"LIEGE, Principauté, Maximilien Henri de Bavière (1650-1688), AR escalin, 1665, Liège. Frappé au balancier. D/ Lion deb. à g., ten. une épée et une crosse sur laquelle est posé un écusson de Bouillon. R/ Ecu écartelé et couronné de Bavière-Palatinat, chargé de l'écusson de Bouillon. De la plus haute rareté. Fines traces d'ajustage. Très Beau. Provient de la collection A. Symkens, 25 novembre 1991. (principality of Liège, Maximilian Henry of Bavaria, 1650-88, silver escalin of 1665, Liège mint, struck in a screw press. Obverse: lion rampant left, bearing a sword and a cross and supporting the arms of Bouillon; reverse: crowned and quartered arms of Bavaria and the Palatinate with the escutcheon of Bouillon. Of the highest rarity, fine adjustment marks, 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. This type doesn't seem to be mentioned in the SCWC.
Maximilian Henry was the third 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.
- Johann Theodor, r. 1744-63, bishop of Regensburg (1719-63), Freising (1727-63) and Liège (1744-63).
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen is 5,09 g.
Catalog reference: KM unlisted, Chestret -; Dengis 1112 (two known).
- 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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