Liard - Henry

Sedan was a sovereign Protestant principality wedged between France and the Spanish Netherlands, and its mint operated under the authority of the Bouillon-La Marck dynasty precisely because its independence — however nominal — gave it the legal right to strike coin. Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne held the principality during this period, and the liard issues of 1613–14 reflect the persistent small-denomination coinage needs of a border territory where French, Spanish, and local currency circulated interchangeably. Sedan's mint rights were a constant irritant to the French crown, which eventually absorbed the principality in 1651.