Brûlé of 4 sols - Gerard of Groesbeeck Name reverse

Gerard of Groesbeeck, elected Prince-Bishop of Liège in 1564, struck these copper brûlés under emergency monetary conditions as small-denomination coinage had effectively collapsed in circulation. The "brûlé" designation refers not to a design feature but to a fiscal mechanism — these pieces were issued with the intent of eventual demonetization and withdrawal, a common administrative fiction that rarely played out as planned.

The two-year window of 1565–1566 for this type reflects the brief sanctioned period before the coinage authority was challenged by the chapter and surrounding territories objecting to the flood of low-grade copper.