Liege 1668 ducat Fr-326
This specimen was lot 1191 in Jean Elsen sale 156 (Brussels, September 2023), where it sold for €5,000 (about US$6,415 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"LIEGE, Principauté, Maximilien Henri de Bavière (1650-1688), AV ducat au buste, 1668, Liège. D/ B. à d., vêtu du manteau d'électeur. R/ Ecu écartelé de Bavière-Palatinat, avec écusson de Bouillon sur le tout, dans un cartouche orné et couronné. Très rare. Fines griffes. Petits coups sur la tranche. presque Superbe. Provient de la collection A. Symkens, 25 novembre 1991. (principality of Liège, Maximilian Henry of Bavaria, 1650-88, gold ducat of the bust of 1668, Liège mint. Obverse: bust right, dressed in an elector's mantle; reverse: quartered arms of Bavaria and the Palatinate with the escutcheon of Bouillon, within an ornated crowned cartouche. Very rare, fine scratches, minor edge nicks, about Extremely 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 rare type was struck 1663-74. Most dates lack prices 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.
- John Theodore, r. 1744-63, bishop of Regensburg (1719-63), Freising (1727-63) and Liège (1744-63).
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.49 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen is 3,46 g.
Catalog reference: KM 81, Fr-326, Chestret 634; Dengis 1103; Delm-358.
- Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
- 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 156, Collection de Monnaies de la Principauté de Liège, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2023.
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