Catalog
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| Issuer | Sion, Bishopric of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1672-1701 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 0.89 g |
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| Obverse description | Central shield bearing a trefoil (clover) device, with a crossed sword and crozier behind, the whole surmounted by a bishop's mitre. The legend ADRIAN DE RIE E S encircles the design within a beaded border, identifying the issuing prelate Adrian V de Riedmatten, Bishop of Sion. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Quartered shield charged with seven stars arranged across the two dexter quarters, the sinister quarters plain, surmounted by a displayed eagle to the left with wings spread. The circumferential legend PRAF·ET·COMREI·P·V, abbreviated from the bishop's title as Prefect and Count, runs within a beaded border encircling the entire design. |
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| Additional information |
Adrian V de Riedmatten served as Bishop of Sion during one of the most turbulent periods in Valais history, navigating repeated conflicts between the episcopal authority and the secular diet of the seven dizains that effectively governed the canton. The bishopric's right to strike coinage was itself a flashpoint — temporal and ecclesiastical power overlapped uneasily in Sion, and the mint's output reflected political negotiation as much as economic necessity.
Billon issues of this type circulated primarily within the Rhône valley, where small-denomination coinage was chronically short. The HMZ reference places this among a cluster of late 17th-century episcopal issues distinguished mainly by subtle die variations in the bishop's titulature.