Liard - Jean-Théodore of Bavaria 1st period, date obverse

Jean-Théodore of Bavaria held the see of Liège as a classic prince-church appointment — he was simultaneously Bishop of Freising and Bishop of Regensburg, accumulating ecclesiastical territories through Wittelsbach family politics rather than any particular pastoral distinction. His Liège copper coinage of the 1740s was struck during a period when the Prince-Bishopric's monetary administration was under persistent strain, partly from the costs of maintaining independence between the Austrian Netherlands and the encroaching fiscal demands of the broader Habsburg sphere.

The "1st period, date obverse" distinction in the Dengis classification separates this die arrangement from later issues where the date placement shifted — a minor but cataloguable difference that reflects ongoing adjustments at the Liège mint across the run.