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Ducaton - Maximilian Henry of Bavaria
| Issuer | Prince-Bishopric of Liège |
|---|---|
| Year | 1666-1683 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | 2.5 mm |
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| Obverse description | Draped bust of Maximilian Henry of Bavaria facing right, wearing a episcopal biretta (cap), with flowing curled hair visible beneath. The effigy is rendered in high relief with fine detailing on the clerical vestments. The circular Latin legend surrounds the portrait, incorporating the mint date, with the perron of Liège serving as the mintmark positioned at the top of the legend. The overall style is characteristic of 17th-century Southern Netherlandish minting, with a broad, flat field framing the portrait. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | •SVPREMVS •BVLLONIEN SIS•DVX• (Translation: SUPREMUS BULLONIENSIS DUX — Supreme Duke of Bouillon) |
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| Additional information |
Maximilian Henry of Bavaria held Liège as Prince-Bishop from 1650 until his death in 1688, but his tenure was defined less by pastoral governance than by the competing pressures of Louis XIV and the Habsburg emperor — both of whom regarded the Meuse corridor as strategically essential. He navigated that tension by staying formally neutral while French influence quietly dominated his court.
The ducaton denomination itself was a Spanish invention adopted across the Spanish Netherlands and neighboring ecclesiastical territories as large-module silver became the preferred vehicle for bulk commercial settlement. Liège's high fineness standard — well above most contemporary German circle coinage — reflects the city's role as a major iron and arms trading center with exacting merchant expectations.