1 Patagon – Prince-bishopric of Liege

In 1662, the Prince-Bishopric of Liège was navigating a complex and deteriorating monetary environment, characteristic of the wider "crisis of small change" affecting Europe. The bishopric, a sovereign ecclesiastical state within the Holy Roman Empire, had its own mint and issued a variety of coins, including the patard and the liard. However, its economy was deeply intertwined with its powerful neighbors, particularly the Spanish Netherlands and the Dutch Republic, whose heavier, high-quality silver coins circulated widely and were often hoarded or exported, leaving Liège with a scarcity of sound money.

This situation led to a proliferation of debased and lightweight coins, both domestic and foreign, which flooded the market. The intrinsic value of the metal in these coins fell below their face value, leading to Gresham's Law in practice: "bad money drives out good." People hoarded the full-weight coins of Liège and its neighbors, while conducting daily transactions with increasingly inferior copper and billon (low-grade silver) pieces. This eroded public trust, caused price inflation for basic goods, and created significant hardship for the common people and for trade.

The political response was fragmented and often ineffective. While the Prince-Bishop, Maximilian Henry of Bavaria, and the mint masters had the authority to issue ordinances and attempt monetary reforms, the powerful guilds and trades of Liège's vibrant cities, along with foreign economic pressures, limited central control. Efforts to recall old coinage and issue new, standardized pieces in 1662 were typical attempts to restore confidence, but they were temporary fixes. The underlying structural issues—competition between currencies, sovereign debt, and the profit from seigniorage (the mint's profit from coin production)—meant that monetary instability remained a persistent feature of Liège's economy throughout the period.