The bishops of Geneva exercised comital rights over coinage from the late eleventh century onward, a privilege repeatedly contested by the Counts of Geneva and later the Counts of Savoy. The fourteenth century was particularly fractious — Bishop Adhémar de Fabri's 1387 franchise agreement with the city's bourgeoisie effectively redistributed civic power in ways that undermined episcopal authority for generations. Coinage from this period reflects an institution under sustained political pressure.
The HMZ reference places this squarely within the documented episcopal series, though die-to-die consistency across the century was poor, and attribution of individual pieces to specific bishops often relies on contextual hoarding evidence rather than documentary mint records.
The bishops of Geneva exercised comital rights over coinage from the late eleventh century onward, a privilege repeatedly contested by the Counts of Geneva and later the Counts of Savoy. The fourteenth century was particularly fractious — Bishop Adhémar de Fabri's 1387 franchise agreement with the city's bourgeoisie effectively redistributed civic power in ways that undermined episcopal authority for generations. Coinage from this period reflects an institution under sustained political pressure.
The HMZ reference places this squarely within the documented episcopal series, though die-to-die consistency across the century was poor, and attribution of individual pieces to specific bishops often relies on contextual hoarding evidence rather than documentary mint records.