LOW COUNTRIES, Luik (Liège [Prince-bishophric]). Johan VI van Beieren. 1389-1418. AV Griffin d’or (29mm, 3.79 g, 8h). Luik (Liège) mint. Struck circa 1412.

CNG Feature Auction 120
Lot: 1058. Estimated: $ 7 500

World, Gold

Sold For $ 6 500. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

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LOW COUNTRIES, Luik (Liège [Prince-bishophric]). Johan VI van Beieren. 1389-1418. AV Griffin d’or (29mm, 3.79 g, 8h). Luik (Liège) mint. Struck circa 1412. Griffon seated left, wings spread, resting leg on coat-of-arms / Cross fleurée with coat-of-arms within double polylobe at center; quatrefoils at cusps. Dengis 604; Mignolet 279; Delmonte, Or 316; Vanhoudt G977; Friedberg 186. Minor flan crack. Near EF. Very rare.

The grandson of Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig IV, Johan was elevated to bishop at the young age of 17 by Pope Boniface IX. Johan’s tenure as bishop would be plagued by civil strife, as he faced strong opposition from the Haydroits, who sought to maintain their own privileges. This conflict would come to a head in 1402, when the bishop was forced to flee to Maastricht, even going so far as to elect a rival bishop, Thierry de Hornes, in 1406.

Johan’s powerful family would not allow this insult to stand. In 1408 his brother, Guillaume IV de Hainaut, and brother-in-law, Jean sans Peur, would confront the opposition at the decisive Battle of Othée. The reprisal against the Haydroits was brutal, earning Johan the epithet “the Pitiless.” In any case, his tenure as Bishop of Liège would come to an end in 1418, when he renounced his orders and his seat to marry Elisabeth, the Duchess of Luxembourg. Johan’s ambitions continued to grow, and he soon went to war with his niece Jacqueline and her husband Johan van Brabant, a conflict in which the former bishop had the support of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund. The struggle would end with rapprochement between the two men. Johan would rule the County of Holland from 1420 until his death in 1425.

May 2022. CNG 120 – Session Four – World Coinage through Antiquities will be held Thursday afternoon, 12 May 2022 beginning at 2:00 PM ET.

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