Liege 1694 2 ducats Fr-329
This specimen was lot 1204 in Jean Elsen sale 156 (Brussels, September 2023), where it sold for €22,000 (about US$28,227 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"LIEGE, Principauté, Siège vacant (1694), AV double ducat au saint Lambert, 1694, Liège. D/ B. mitré du saint à g. R/ Ecu couronné, écartelé aux armes de la principauté, l'écusson de Liège sur le tout. De la plus haute rareté. Légère faiblesse de frappe. Très Beau. (principality of Liège, sede vacante, gold double ducat of St. Lambert of 1694, Liège mint. Obverse: mitred bust of the saint to left; reverse: quartered arms of the principality with the escutcheon of Liège. Of the highest rarity, slightly weakly struck, 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 was struck while the episcopal throne was vacant between the death of John Louis of Elderen and Joseph Clement of Bavaria. Originally a papal practice, such issues were made in Liège in 1688, 1694 and later.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 6.98 g, 0.986 fine gold, this specimen is 6,86 g.
Catalog reference: KM 110, Fr-329, Chestret 657; coll. Piat 470 (sold for 125 francs); Dengis 1131 (two examples reported); Delm-363.
- 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.
- Jean-Luc Dengis, Les Monnaies de la Principauté de Liege, 3 vols. Wetteren: Moneta, 2006.
- 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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