Liege 1558 1/2 rixdaler
This specimen was lot 1086 in Jean Elsen sale 156 (Brussels, September 2023), where it sold for €3,400 (about US$4,362 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"LIEGE, Principauté, Robert de Berghes (1557-1564), AR demi-daler heaumé, 1558, Hasselt. Au titre de Ferdinand Ier de Habsbourg. D/ L'écu de l'évêque sous un heaume à cimier, accosté de 15-58. R/ Aigle impériale éployée et couronnée. De la plus haute rareté. Faiblesse de frappe. Seulement deux exemplaires connus. Beau à Très Beau. Provient de la collection Piat, Dupriez, Bruxelles, vente 101, 28 novembre 1910, 314. (principality of Liège, Robert de Berghes, 1557-64, silver half 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, weakly struck, only two examples known, Fine to 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 13,86 g.
Catalog reference: Chestret, Suppl., II, 29 (plate coin); coll. Piat 314 (this example); Dengis 915 (one reported); Delm-447.
- 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.
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