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elverno

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Posts posted by elverno

  1. Very nice additions. I've got a few of the 2 penny coins that are barely distinguishable from a plain copper disk.

     

    I read a contemporary diary describing how a man made a rope harness to help hold the weight. It had the added benefit of making it tough to pick his pocket!

  2. Supposedly Mel Brooks is also interested in Napoleonic history. The joke about the horses was based on Blucher's tendency to have his horses shot out from under him, sometimes two or three in a single battle. So, from a horse's perspective "Blucher!" evokes horror... A guy I knew in Los Angeles who had worked with Brooks told me that story. Even if it isn't true it's a pretty good story. :ninja:

  3. "Does the initial stand for the bust artist or the medal engraver?"

     

    Could be either. But in this case it's almost certainly a British artist or engraver. I'm surprised it's not listed in British Historical Medals since it almost certainly was produced during Blucher's trip to London in summer 1814. I would have guessed Mossop as the artist because of the style except a) He almost always signed MOSSOP F. and :ninja: Forrer doesn't list a Blucher piece for him.

  4. 1804 Le couronnement, France

    968676.jpg

    25mm - Details

     

    Actually produced by the German firm of Lauer and has the originally announced coronation date. It was delayed a week or so because the Pope was delayed crossing the Alps in winter. Quite common and collected only because it was part of a lot. Ended up costing $2 though. :ninja:

  5. c. 1815 Alexander the Great, German States

    968017.jpg

    21mm - slightly elongated

     

    I date this to approximately 1815 because of the "fad" that made Alexander I of Russia into the savior of Europe. There was actually little evidence that qualified him for the role, though he believed it implicitly. The Lauer on the reverse worked until the 1850s though so it's certainly possible to date as late as that. I don't own the Mitchiner volume that covers Nuremburg so perhaps more precise dating could be found there.

     

    Because I can't definitely date it to the period I don't tend to put pieces like this up on my website. If I ever move it from a gut feeling to something backed with some evidence then it'll show up there. Of course that criteria hasn't stopped me in the past but I make no pretense at being consistent. :ninja:

  6. Any significance to the tree?

     

    Offhand I'm not certain though several pieces from 1792 feature Louis XVI and trees or gardens.

     

    1791 George III advertising token, Great Britain.

    967677.jpg

    Details

     

    These were produced for dozens of firms in incredible quantities. So far as I know they could be produced to this very day. I've seen pieces advertising pens from the 1940s and it is common to find 20 or so at a time sold in lots on eBay. I have a couple of reasons to believe this might be contemporary, one is the hole. This would indicate that it was worn for a time and there's hardly any point in that past about 1820. The second reason is the bust. The obverse on this piece is near identical with dozens of others produced by Kettle during the Regency period but it doesn't appear to have been struck from an aging die. I got this in a very nice lot of, frankly, crappy looking jetons all dating from the same period. There are at least three variants I haven't seen before in the lot so I was very happy to pick the group up cheaply. :ninja:

  7. 1792 Louis XVI, France.

    967255.jpg

    19.5mm - Details - Hennin 386 variant

     

    When Hennin compiled his work in the 1820s he wrote that for most medals of the period that variants existed. He further stated that he would only identify the ones that were clearly identifiable and would not bother with most jetons. This jeton is one of those latter cases. Hennin 386 has all the major elements you see above; obverse Louis XVI facing right with the standard legend and the reverse a tree,the suns rays shining on it the legend PRIRO MORIRO.

     

    So this is either a knockoff of H. 386 by one of Reich's rivals or, he assigned the work of making a copy to the "B" team (apprentice engravers). If this latter is the case the person who did the work on the reverse was definitely superior.

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