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Vierer - Adrian V
| Issuer | Bishopric of Sion |
|---|---|
| Year | 1685 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Shield of the Bishopric of Sion bearing seven six-pointed stars arranged in two columns, with the initial W above the shield flanked by two pellets, and the last two digits of the date (8 and 5) displayed to the left and right of the shield respectively, completing the year 1685. The shield is rendered in a plain, unadorned style characteristic of small hammered billon issues of the Swiss episcopal mints. |
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| Additional information |
Adrian V von Riedmatten, Bishop of Sion from 1646 to 1701, presided over the Valais during a period of intense pressure from both Savoy and the Swiss Confederacy. The Bishopric maintained its own coinage rights jealously — a small assertion of temporal authority from an ecclesiastical state that was simultaneously a sovereign entity and a Swiss allied territory. The vierer was the smallest practical denomination in circulation, and billon of this weight degraded quickly in everyday use.