Petit Brûlé - John of Heinsberg perron

The perron was Liège's civic symbol — the stone column in the city's main square that embodied the liberties of the commune — and its appearance on coinage was a pointed assertion of those rights against encroaching secular lords. John of Heinsberg's long episcopate saw persistent tension between the prince-bishop's temporal authority and an assertive bourgeoisie, culminating in the 1430s with repeated factional conflicts within the city walls. These copper petits brûlés circulated at the absolute bottom of the monetary hierarchy, the small change of market stalls and daily wage transactions.