Catalog
Liard - Antoine I
| Issuer | Monaco |
|---|---|
| Year | 1720 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Livre tournois (781-1795) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Draped bust of Prince Antoine I of Monaco facing right, with flowing long curled wig rendered in the baroque style. The effigy is uncrowned and depicted with naturalistic detail typical of early 18th-century coinage. The circular legend surrounds the portrait, interrupted at the base. The field is plain copper with no additional design elements. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Antoine I ruled Monaco under French suzerainty, and his copper coinage of 1720 was struck at a moment when the principality's finances were perpetually strained by the costs of maintaining a court expected to mirror Versailles in miniature. The liard was the lowest practical denomination in circulation — a coin that bought bread or paid a toll, handled by everyone and saved by no one, which explains why surviving examples in decent condition are genuinely scarce.