Liege (Luik) Liege 4 liards 1751 John Theodore of Bavaria KM# 159 copper Prince Bishopric VF

Prince Bishopric of Liege, 4 liards 1751, copper, struck at the Liege mint under prince bishop John Theodore of Bavaria.

Obverse: the quartered arms of Bavaria under a crown, placed on a crozier and a sword in saltire, with the value 4 L at either side. Legend I·THEOD·CAR·D·G·BAV·D, in full Iohannes Theodorus Cardinalis Dei Gratia Bavariae Dux, John Theodore, Cardinal, by the grace of God Duke of Bavaria.

Reverse: five shields arranged in a cross, with Loon, Horn, Bouillon and Franchimont around Liege, and the date 1 7 5 1 in the angles. Legend EP·ET·PRIN·LEO·DVX·B·M·F·C·L·H, in full Episcopus Et Princeps Leodiensis Dux Bulloniensis Marchio Franchimontii Comes Lossensis Hornensis, Bishop and Prince of Liege, Duke of Bouillon, Marquis of Franchimont, Count of Loon and of Horn.

Reference: KM# 159.

John Theodore of Bavaria was born in Munich on 3 September 1703, a son of Elector Maximilian II Emanuel of Bavaria and Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska, a daughter of King John III Sobieski of Poland. The cathedral chapter of Regensburg elected him bishop as early as 1719, when he was fifteen; he was ordained priest only in 1730. On 23 January 1744 the chapter of Saint Lambert elected him prince bishop of Liege, and Pope Benedict XIV had already created him a cardinal in 1743, which was made public in 1746. He was the last Wittelsbach to occupy the see of Liege. At Liege he kept a splendid court, hunted keenly, played the cello and supported music and theatre, and he was liked by the people of the principality. The five shields on the reverse show in a single image what his principality was made of: Liege at the centre, with Loon, Horn, Bouillon and Franchimont around it. He died on 27 January 1763 at Liege and was buried in Saint Lambert's Cathedral, while his heart went to the Chapel of Grace at Altötting. Pieces like this one stayed in circulation for a long time and were only demonetized on 17 February 1840.

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