Can anyone shed some light on the small (14mm x 2.3mm thick) brass piece? The devices on the actual item are incuse and reversed.

Babelfish translates the first legend as "Take Guard Has You".

Since all legends are in French, it's a safe bet that it's a French token of some sort. Use of "Liberte" without the rest of the French national motto is pretty conclusive evidence that it is not a coin.

Are your pictures of the item, or of clay squeezed with each side? If the letters are "reversed" as well as incuse, it is obviously a die for the token.

Ce poisson n'a pas raison. Actually "a" can mean "has", but "à" means something different. So "Prenez garde à vous" probably translates to something like "Take care of you". On the other side, "Liberté liberté liberté chérie" means "dear liberty" or "beloved liberty". But I cannot say anything about the token (?) itself, sorry.

Christian

cant be of help on this one, must say I have never seen on like it...but it sure is interesting.

Taken less literally, I wonder if "Prenez garde à vous" might translate better as "Watch out!" or "Be on your guard!" (against snakes in the grass).

The rearing horse has no saddle or reins, which suggests that it is both wild and free.

Maybe it's from a (former?) French colony? Haiti perhaps? Or, less likely, Algeria?

The style suggests manufacture in the 18th or 19th century to me, so I'll go with Haiti.