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Louis XIII and Anne d'Autriche. AE (Brass) Jeton struck c.1615 - 1616Obverse: LVDO•XIII D G FR•ET•NA•ANNA•AVSTR•HISPAN. Crowned jugate busts of Louis XIII and Anne facing right, both wearing ruffs.
Reverse: Crown and two branches above two hearts, between which are the scrolled words CARITAS / *SPES* / *FIDES* in three lines above * L * - * A * (for Louis and Anne) either side of facing eagle. Below, scroll bearing the words •HANS•LAVFER•; in exergue H – L (for Hans Laufer) either side of floral device.
Struck at Nuremburg, Germany
Die engraver: Hans Laufer
Dimensions: 27.1mm | Weight: 3.87gms | Die Axis: 12
Ref. M: 3714 | Feuardent: 12329
Hans Laufer became Guild master at Nuremburg in 1611, though he had been responsible for issuing jetons from 1607. He died in 1632.
Louis XIII became king of France and Navarre in 1610, shortly before his ninth birthday, after his father Henry IV was assassinated. He ruled France until he died of Tuberculosis in 1643. Anne was betrothed to him at the age of eleven and, on 24th November 1615, they were married by proxy in Burgos. The marriage following the tradition of cementing military and political alliances between France and Spain that had begun with the marriage of Philip II of Spain to Elisabeth of Valois in 1559 as part of the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis. Anne and Louis, both fourteen years old, were pressured to consummate their marriage in order to forestall any possibility of future annulment, but this was ignored and Louis' mother, Marie de Medici, continued to conduct herself as Queen of France, without showing any deference to her daughter-in-law. However, in 1617, Louis conspired with Charles d'Albert, Duke of Luynes, to dispense with his mother's influence and she was ousted in a palace coup d'état which also saw her favourite, Concino Concini, assassinated. Louis turned now to Cardinal Richelieu as his advisor but Anne was opposed to Richelieu and became embroiled in several intrigues against him. This inevitably created tension between Louis and Anne. But despite this, and after having endured several stillbirths, in 1638 Anne finally gave birth to a son, the future Louis XIV, and the Bourbon line was further secured when in 1640 she gave birth to a second son, Philippe. *Alex
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Louis XIV (1643 - 1715), AE (Brass) Jeton struck c.1644 – 1645Obverse: LVD•XIIII•D:G•FR•ET•NA•REX. Laureate and cuirassed youthful bust of Louis XIV facing right; • B • (for Briot) below.
Reverse: CONSILIO•NIL•NISI•. The escutcheon of France, surrounded by the chain of the Ordre du Saint-Esprit (Order of the Holy Spirit): Necklace and Cross. The legend translates as “He undertakes nothing without Council”, a reference to the administrative council of the king.
Dimensions: 25.65mm | Weight: 5.4gms | Die Axis: 12
Ref. Feuardent: 239 var.
Struck at the Monnaie de Louvre mint, Paris, France
Die engraver: Nicholas Briot
Nicholas Briot (c.1579–1646) was an innovative French coin engraver, medallist and mechanical engineer, who is credited with the invention of the coining-press. He emigrated to England in 1625 and in 1626 he was commissioned to make 'puncheons and dies' for the Coronation of Charles I. His Coronation Medal established his reputation and he went on to produce a considerable number of dies for medals and coins in the following years. In 1633, he was appointed chief engraver to the Royal Mint and went to Scotland to prepare and coin the coronation pieces of Charles I. These demonstrated both his artistic skill and the technical superiority of his new coining machinery and in 1635, on the death of Sir John Foulis, Briot was appointed Master of the Mint in Scotland and superintended the Scottish coinage for several years. Briot was then recalled to England by the King, and on the outbreak of the English Civil War he took possession of the coining apparatus at the Tower and had it removed 'for the purpose of continuing the coining operations in the cause of the King'. Briot travelled to France in the early 1640's and sent coining presses to his brother Isaac, now in a senior position at the Paris Mint, he died on Christmas Eve 1646.*Alex
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Louis XIV (1643 – 1715), AE Jeton struck c.1650Obverse: LVD•XIIII•D•G•FR•ET•NAV•REX. Laureate and draped youthful bust of Louis XIV facing right.
Reverse: IVSTIS•SPES•PACIS•IN ARMIS. Pax, helmeted, seated on a pile of arms, holding an olive branch in her outstretched right hand and a narrow cornucopia in her left.
Dimensions: 27.94mm | Weight: 6.8gms | Die Axis: 12
Ref. Feuardent: 12482 var.
Struck at unverified mint, probably Monnaie de Louvre, Paris, France
Die engraver: Jean Varin
Jean Varin (6 February 1604 Liège – 26 August 1672 Paris) was a French sculptor and engraver who made important innovations in the process of minting coins. He moved to Paris in 1625 or 1626 where, after demonstrating his talent as an engraver, he obtained the support of Cardinal Richelieu and in 1629 he was assigned as a “Conducteur de la Monnaie du Moulin”. In 1647 he was appointed head of the French mint, and became “engraver of the king's seal” and a member of the Academy of painting and sculpture. Varin brought back the use of the screw press in the mint, initially using it to produce a gold coin, the Louis d'or, which featured his youthful portrait of the King which is similar to that on this jeton.
This jeton, likely struck between 1650 and 1653, commemorates the signing of the Treaty of Münster between France and the Holy Roman Empire on 15 May 1648 which ended the Thirty Years War. France, to the detriment of the Holy Roman Empire, retained control of the bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun near Lorraine as well as receiving the city of Pignerol near the Spanish Duchy of Milan and the cities of the Décapole in Alsace, excluding Strasbourg.
*Alex
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Louis XIV and Marie-Thérèse, AE (Brass) Jeton struck c.1667Obverse: +LVD•XIIII•ET•MAR•THER•D•G•FRA•ET•NAV•REX•ET•REG. Busts of Louis XIV and Marie Therese facing one another. To the left, draped and laureate bust of Louis XVI facing right. To the right, draped bust of Marie Therese facing left, small crown on the back of her head.
Reverse: VINCIT•DVM•RESPICIT (The sun dissipates the clouds). Radiant disc of the sun with facial features parting billowing clouds below; in exergue, 1667.
Dimensions: 27mm | Weight: 6.1gms | Die Axis: 6
Ref. Feuardent: 13069
Struck at Lisse, Netherlands
Die engraver: Unknown
Marie-Thérèse, daughter of Philip IV of Spain, was born on the 10th of September 1638. She was also called Marie-Thérèse D'Autriche because the Spanish Kings of those days had a Hapsburg-Austrian origin and her name refers to that and not the home country were she was born and lived.
In 1660 Philip IV, and the entire Spanish court accompanied Marie-Thérèse to the Isle of Pheasants, in the Bidassoa, where she was met by Louis XIV and his court. She and Louis XIV were married in 1660, the marriage agreement being one aspect of the peace negotiations that took place between Spain and France during 1659 and 1660. On the day of her wedding, Marie-Thérèse wore a gown covered in the royal fleur-de-lys and it is said that her uncovered hair proved to be so thick that it was difficult to attach a crown to it. This might account for the odd positioning of the crown as it appears on her bust.
Jetons commemorating the marriage, bearing the busts of Louis XIV and Marie-Thérèse, were issued each year from 1660 through to 1673. Marie-Thérèse died on 30th July, 1683.*Alex
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Louis XIV and Marie-Thérèse, AE (Copper) Jeton struck c.1667Obverse: +LVD•XIIII•ET•MAR•THER•D•G•FRA•ET•NAV•REX•ET•REG. Busts of Louis XIV and Marie Therese facing one another. To the left, draped and laureate bust of Louis XVI facing right. To the right, draped bust of Marie Therese facing left, small crown on the back of her head.
Reverse: MAIESTATI•AC•AETERNIT•GALL•IMPERII•SACRVM+. Front view of the new Louvre Palace in Paris.
Diameter: 27.5mm | Weight: 5.7gms | Die Axis: 6
Ref. Feuardent: 13082
Struck at indeterminate mint, possibly Lisse, Netherlands
Engraved by Jean Varin or faithfully copied from his dies
The site of the Louvre was originally a fortress, built in the middle ages by King Philippe-Auguste (1165-1223). Between 1364 and 1380, Charles V (1338-1380) undertook work on this building to transform it into a castle, turning the old fort into a comfortable residence.
François I (1494-1547), known as the sovereign of the Renaissance, demolished the castle begun by Charles V and rebuilt it as the Louvre Palace and Catherine de Medici (1519-1589) had the Tuileries Palace built alongside.
Then King Henri IV (1553-1610), began further modernisations and had a large gallery built between the Louvre Palace and Tuileries Palace to facilitate movement between the seat of power and his apartments. The modernisation work begun by Henri IV was not completed until the reign of Louis XIV, and it is this that is commemorated on this jeton. It was Louis XIV who, before moving on to his work at Versailles, entrusted the development of the gardens to André Le Nôtre. But when the court of the Sun King moved to his new Palace of Versailles the Louvre Palace became somewhat run down and was occupied by a variety of intellectuals and artists who took up residence there.*Alex
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Louis XIV (1643 – 1715), AE Jeton struck c.1690Obverse: LVDOVICVS•MAGNVS•REX•. Bare head of Louis XIV facing right; L G L in small letters below bust.
Reverse: PROPRIIS INVICTVS•IN•ARMIS•. Lion walking left, head facing. In exergue, ORDINAIRE•DES•GUERRES.
Dimensions: 25.87mm | Weight: 4.6gms | Die Axis: 6
Ref. Feuardent: 473
Struck at Nuremburg, Germany
Die engraver: Lazarus Gottlieb Laufer (or Lauffer)
Lazarus Gottlieb Laufer was mint-master at Nuremburg from 1663 until his death in 1709.
In 1366 the French war treasury was divided into permanent (ordinaire) and temporary (extraordinaire) divisions. These treasuries minted jetons, so the inscription “Ordinaire des Guerres” on this jeton refers to the minting authority. The “Ordinaire des Guerres” was the permanent administration that managed the regular costs and expenses incurred by the use of the armed forces. It was different from the “Extraordinaire des Guerres” that only took office for the administration of specific campaigns. This jeton was struck around 1690.*Alex
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Louis XIV (1643 – 1715), AE Jeton struck c.1690 – 1695Obverse: LVDOVICVS•MAGNVS•REX•. Laureate head of Louis XIV facing right; LGL in small letters below.
Reverse: NOVVM•DECVS•ADDIDIT VRBI. View of the five arched Pont Royal crossing over the River Seine. PONTS ET CHAVS/SEES• in small letters in exergue.
Diameter: 27.44 mm | Weight: 5.6gms | Die Axis: 6
Ref. Feuardent: 2838
Struck at Nuremburg, Germany
Die engraver: Lazarus Gottlieb Laufer (or Lauffer)
Lazarus Gottlieb Laufer was mint-master at Nuremburg from 1663 until his death in 1709.
This jeton celebrates the building of the new “Pont Royal” in Paris. A bridge had stood at this site since 1632 when a wooden toll bridge of fifteen arches was built to replace the Tulleries Ferry. However this bridge, known colloquially as the “Pont Rouge” due to its colour, proved to be a very fragile construction. It needed extensive repairs in 1648 and again in 1651 before being burnt in 1654 and damaged by a flood in 1656 such that, by 1660, it needed completely rebuilt. The bridge needed repaired again in 1673 but, in 1684, it was completely destroyed when eight of its arches were swept away by a flood. A completely new stone bridge, consisting of five arches, was constructed between 1685 and 1689. The work was entirely funded by Louis XIV himself and it was he who named the new bridge the “Pont Royal”. In the 18th century the bridge, which is still standing to this day, was a popular meeting place for a variety of festivities and celebrations.*Alex
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LOUIS XIV (1643 – 1715), AE Jeton struck c.1699 Obverse: LVDOVICVS•MAGNVS•REX•. Head of Louis XIV facing right; T•B in small letters below head.
Reverse: NEC•PACE•MINOR•. Hercules standing facing, head left, leaning on club in his left hand and holding cloak at his hip with his right; in exergue, crossed palms.
Dimensions: 26.5mm | Weight: 5.1gms | Die Axis: 6
Ref. Feuardent: 12788
Struck at unidentified mint, possibly Caen, France
Die engraver: Thomas Bernard
Thomas Bernard entered the King's service while still young and from 1685 to 1688 famously engraved dies to produce a history of Louis XIV in gold medallions. He was Engraver General at the Caen mint between 1693 and 1703.
This jeton was struck under the authority of the “Extraordinaire des Guerres” in commemoration of the signing of the “Peace of Rijswijk” on the 20th of September 1697. This treaty settled the War of the League of Augsburg (Nine Years' War), which had seen France pitted against the Grand Alliance of England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the United Provinces.
Louis XIV was unusual by taking particular pleasure from having a large collection of coins and medals, claiming that he used his coins to instruct himself in classical history. He enjoyed his coin collection so much that, at Versailles, he had his cabinet of coins and medals placed where visitors passed every day, between the grand staircase and his apartments, so that he could see them and show them off.
*Alex
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Louis XV (1715 - 1774), Gilt AE (Brass) Jeton struck c.1726 - 1741Obverse: LUD•XV•D•G•FR•ET•N•REX. Laureate, draped and cuirassed juvenile bust of Louis XV facing left.
Reverse: VIS ANIMI CUM CORPORE CRESCIT. Apollo standing facing, head right, right hand on hip, bow in left hand, his right foot trampling the dragon that he has just defeated. Die flaw obscuring Apollo's face and in the left field of the reverse. Exergue, blank.
Dimensions: 23.78mm | Weight: 4.8gms | Die Axis: 6
Ref. Feuardent: 13230
Struck at Nuremburg, Germany.
Die engraver: Although it is known that Michael Leykauff (Leichkauff or Leikauf)
was mint-master at Nuremburg from 1724 until he retired in 1768 the actual engraver of this jeton (which dates from around 1726 to 1741) is uncertain.
This jeton was issued while Louis was still young. Louis reigned from the age of 5 under the regency of his uncle Philippe, son of Louis XIV's younger brother, also Philippe. The regency ran from 1715 until 1723, the year Louis attained his majority and which was also the year of Philippe's death.
The reverse inscription, which translates as “The strength of the mind grows with the body” is an almost exact quote from Lucretius' work “On the nature of things” which was popular in France at this time. *Alex
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