elverno Posted September 17, 2006 Report Share Posted September 17, 2006 1815 Mort de Berthier, France Bramsen 1633 d'Essling 2652 41mm Link A beautiful medal it was almost certainly engraved either prior to 1818 or more likely from 1830-1840. Caque's entries in Forrer do not include this piece but he apparently started serious work around 1820. By that time Napoleon and his marshals were no longer subjects of medals in France but after the July Revolution it's more likely Berthier would be a subject. Berthier was killed in a fall from a window before the military campaigns of the 100 Days. It is a matter of some dispute whether he died by accident, suicide or foul play. What is not open to question is that Napoleon's staff work suffered severely during the Hundred Days as inexperienced field commanders tried to fill Berthier's shoes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 1815 Entrée des Anglais et des Prussiens à Paris, Prussia Bramsen 1676 d'Essling 1631 32mm Link After Waterloo the Prussians wanted to press on to Paris as quickly as possible. Wellington, more cautious, moved slowly and in something under 30 days finally entered Paris. By this time Napoleon had abdicated for a second time in favor of his son Napoleon II. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 1815 Retour de François Ier à Milan, Austria-Hungary Bramsen 2310 Milan 879 22mm Link 22mm Link These tokens were struck to celebrate the oath of allegiance of Lombardy towns part of Kingdom Lombardo-Veneto to Frances I of Austria. During the celebration (May 15, 1815) several of these tokens in silver and copper were thrown to people by the Archduke Giovanni of Austria. The engraver was the talented Luigi Manfredini. Though referred to as a lira it was struck on an unusual size planchet. The "NP" refers to a large collection of coins and medals that were given to me by a friend I met through the internet. They were duplicates, some of them quite rare, from his huge collection. Because he lives in Milan, Italy I call it the "Milan" collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 1815 The Treaties of Paris, 1814/1815, Great Britain BHM 892 Bramsen 1794 Mudie XXIX d'Essling 1489 41mm Link A white metal example, definitely a filler. I bought this for about $5 delivered so I figured at least the hole was filled for the time being. It features the Prince Regent who shows up on more and more medals after 1811 when George III slipped into madness for the last time. By 1820, when this medal was engraved, George III was less than a year from his final rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 1815 Bataille de Waterloo, France Bramsen 1636 d'Essling 1581 40mm Link This is the French view of the Battle of Waterloo, four vultures tearing at an eagle. The reverse has several die breaks on the NW quarter of the reverse as well as one in the exergue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 1815 Departure of Louis XVIII from Paris, France Bramsen 1603 d'Essling 1569 50mm Link I believe this to be one of the most beautiful propaganda medals of all time. This is apparently a royalist medal depicting France's sorrow at the departure of Louis XVIII before the arrival of Napoleon from Elba. It's pretty straight forward propaganda actually. A somewhat slutty woman, in the midst of a bad hair day, named Discord, steps off the boat, kicks over 'Public Felicity' and probably immediately shouted "Where's the vino?" On the other hand (the reverse actually) we have Mom, impeccably dressed, in the process of carefully protecting the fleur-de-lys from the ruffian off the boat. Mom is named Gallia and as such we realize that she is the true 'France' in this picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bill Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 1815 Departure of Louis XVIII from Paris, FranceBramsen 1603 d'Essling 1569 50mm Link It's pretty straight forward propaganda actually. A somewhat slutty woman, in the midst of a bad hair day, named Discord, steps off the boat, kicks over 'Public Felicity' and probably immediately shouted "Where's the vino?" I think I'm in love. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 1815 The Battle of Waterloo, Great Britain BHM 875 Bramsen 1640 d'Essling 1594 25mm Link 25mm Link The Crown Prince of Holland was wounded in the shoulder during the battle. He celebrated that fact by destroying the battlefield to build the Lion's mound there now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 c. 1815 Louis XVIII / Voll Muth, German States 20mm Link This Lauer piece doesn't show up in my references but the 1814-1815 period is rather incomplete. This is similar to many other pieces of the period and I tentatively date it to the Hundred Days or just after because of style and the use of "de France". This latter legend is more reactionary than earlier ones used in 1814. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 1815 Interment of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette 50mm Link Soon after the Second Restoration began a reactionary period known as the White Terror. Other "White Terrors" exist but this one was so-named because of the white banners and symbols (white being a Bourbon color). Any one associated with the government of Napoleon or suspected of having Bonapartist sympathies were liable to be targetted. Murder, rape and general mayhem ensued and the Bourbon government began the Stalinization of Napoleon Bonaparte. They took the attitude that there had been an uninterrupted reign of Bourbon kings from Louis XVI, XVII and finally to Louis XVIII. In other words the Revolution and Napoleon simply didn't happen. One step in this process was to re-inter Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Whether their bodies were actually found is really not the point; someone got reburied with great pomp. By the way, the Stalinization resulted in the mint having all dies from 1789 through 1815 that referred to anyone besides the Bourbons taken away. Thank goodness they stored them rather than destroying them. That's why from about 1818 to 1830 there were no Napoleonic or Revolutionary era medals struck in France. The mint got the dies back after the July Revolution in an attempt to appeal to the Bonapartist party. Wikipedia's entry on the July Revolution makes Louis XVIII look like a fun-loving guy interested in just getting along. Not exactly true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zach Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 nice coins elverno Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zach Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 and in excellent condition are they graded though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 1815 Napoléon à Sainte Hélène, Netherlands Bramsen 1713 d'Essling 1644 27mm Link 27mm Link A fairly common medal depicting Napoleon on St. Helena. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 and in excellent condition are they graded though? Nothing I own is graded. The few items I acquire in plastic I break out and throw the paperwork away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 1815 The Re-establishment of the Bourbons on the Throne of France, Great Britain BHM 890 Bramsen 1686 48mm Link An interesting medal, unlisted in white metal and rare in copper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 1815 Bataille de Waterloo, Prussia Bramsen 1646 d'Essling 1601 33mm Link I bought this medal primarily because it is from the Prussian point of view. This is rare since French and English versions of the battle predominate. Of course the Prussians rightly thought that they had pulled Wellington's chestnuts out of the fire. Had Napoleon not been forced to detach critically needed troops, including the Young and Old Guards, early in the battle to counter the threat posed by Blücher's approaching troops it's possible that Napoleon would have overwhelmed the weakened British center without having to resort to his Middle and Old Guard. That Blücher was even there was remarkable, considering the drubbing his troops had taken the previous days at Ligny and its aftermath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 1816 Entrée de Marie-Louise à Parme (France?) Bramsen 1779 25mm Link Marie-Louise, along with Napoleon II returned to Austria to be with her father Francis I. While there Francis contrived to have her escorted by a handsome officer who quickly became her lover. She made little attempt to join Napoleon on Elba, nor to return to France during the Hundred Days. When the wars were finally over she was given the Duchy of Parma. There was no question of her going to St. Helena. An issue of very scarce coinage was made in 1815, even more scarce was the 1830 dated coins. Beyond that and three medals of which this is one, she sort of drops off the planet, numismatically that is. There were other medals, but so scarce as to be almost impossible to collect. Napoleon II was not allowed to live with her, in fact he was a prisoner in a gilded cage for the rest of his life. He lived primarily at Schoenbrunn Palace and died young of tuberculosis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2006 1815 The British Army in the Netherlands, Great Britain BHM 867 Bramsen 1607 d'Essling 1580 Mudie XXXIII 41mm Link One of the Mudie series of medals struck in 1820. However, the white metal or pewter pieces probably date from the early 1840s when a small amount of the sets apparently were restruck in that metal. In any case there's no indication Mudie intended to issue them in WM. Because these later restrikes were made for serious collectors they're usually in exceptional condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2006 1815 Couronnement de Guillaume Ier, Netherlands deCoster 1032 23mm Link William I declared himself King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands in reaction to the news that Napoleon had escaped from Elba. Wikipedia has more info on him here. It was his goofball son who was slightly wounded at Waterloo that destroyed the battlefield to create a monument, the Lion's Mound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 1815 Flight of Napoleon from Elba, Great Britain BHM 869 Bramsen 1597 d'Essling 1559 Mudie XXXII 41mm Link Another of the beautiful Mudie medals of 1820. Both sides are collectible, something very satisfying about that... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 21, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2006 c. 1815 Frederick Wilhelm III, Prussia 20mm Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted September 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2006 1815 Champ de Mai, France Bramsen 1632 d'Essling 1579 13mm Link When Napoleon returned from Elba he needed to appeal to those people in France that had abandoned him in 1814. It is tiny and very difficult to photograph well. I'm still working on it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elverno Posted October 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2006 1815 Blücher et Wellington, Great Britain Bramsen 1736 BHM 902 d'Essling 1480 78mm Link One of the largest medals struck in the Napoleonic era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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