Ian

That's the french for you........

Nice. Any idea as to when (roughly) the electrotype was done? Is your example uniface?

sure, make jewellery and ornament out of coinage,....... but to make coinage for the sake of jewellery and ornament? Some adornements have in turn been used as money (cowrie shells...slave bangles...etc) but these are not coins. The tribute /status thing is evident on nearly all coinage, but is very much a secondary consideration to the facilitation of trade. Some coins have been used as an artists canvas (Euanetos's Syracusan decadrachm as an example), but in the main the markings serve as an identifier for the origins and bona fides (test cuts on athenian tetradrachms for example) of the money concerned , and therefore its acceptance and spendability.

It must be the way Paris is standing. When I first looked it was as if she was holding the arms in her right hand.

In many respects the coin is a Celtic `fingers up' to the Roman Empire (and the roman republican quinarii it is styled on) Other than as a means of `exchange' in the facilitation of trade, what other purpose would coinage possibly have (?)

.......ooops! Fingers going faster than the brain syndrome strikes again! :0 .

What do you think of the coin by the way? As to your question, consider: The Atrebates....where did they come from....... and why? Was there any aggression involved..and if so, on who's part? How did the Atrebates acquire the territory they occupied in Britain?

This is a silver unit struck circa 20ad by Epaticcus, brother of Cunobelin, King of the Catuvellauni, a tribe occupying the Bedforshire, Herefordshire, Cambridgeshire region of England. The coin shows the bust of Epaticcus (obverse) and an eagle clutching a snake (reverse). The Catuvellauni neighboured the territories of the Atrebates who were by this time firmly established trading partners and allies of Rome. Epaticcus in his wars with the Atrebates was successful in taking virtually all of their territories in Britain. The king of the Atrebates however escaped and made supplication to Rome, and Claudius made use of the Catuvellauni's `aggression' as his excuse for the subsequent invasion and occupation of Britain.

The spirit is willing but the understanding and use of technology (and technique) is weak. The image as scanned is fairly detailed, however I usually post via `omnicoin' as being an easy way of attaching images to posts on coinpeops'. More than happy to post the larger images if I knew how to.

Although there was a massive exercise to preserve /replace damaged dies at La Monnaie in the late 18th C, this was more as a `let's preserve our heritage for the future' than a `real time' problem with dies disintegrating during the minting process. The main evidence of damaged dies i've observed is in the form of die cracks. Occasionally you will find a jeton with significant and spectacular cuds, but then again i've examples of spectacular cuds on US coinage and Uk coinages, so there is nothing new under the sun in that respect. There are a couple of specific issues where a reverse flaw appear on jetons issued over a significant number of years and sometimes bearing the busts of different monarchs (indicating the same die has been used for decades). The jeton shown would have had a mintage in the hundreds, so it is difficult to understand the die having being significantly `challenged' by the quantity involved in the striking. More likely there was too much grease around,and some dirt got in the way. I've only seen one other example of this particular jeton, so i'm quite ignorant as to whether this was a typical example of thew run, or a late strike etc.

This is an example of a rare jeton that was struck to commemorate the establishment of a Royal refinery (silver and gold refining) at Trevoux, the main city in the Principality of Dombes, France. The refinery at Trevoux was the third such refinery in France, the other two being sited at Paris and Lyon. In 1762 Dombes was fully integrated into France and Louis XV was keen to consolidate this, The refinery was his way of doing so. The jeton itself bears the mature bust of Louis XV obverse. The reverse shows a view of Trevoux, with the city wall (left), the Refinery in the middle distance, and a horse drawn barge in front of it. The jeton also evidences being struck with either dirty or deteriorating dies (or both). The `C' in Christianiss (obv) is `filled', suggesting part of the die has chipped and some parts of the reverse legend arw faint suggesting grease or dirt filling the die. It's particularly evident in the exergue.

He is definitely one of my favourite French engravers. I look forward to seeing some of the medals of his that you have collected.

another very slightly different example:

This is a high grade example of a jeton issued by the `Syndic des Tontines', one of France's (and the world's) first life assurers. I will leave you to research what a `Tontine' is but suffice it to say it was the forerunner to modern day principles in life assurance. The syndicate concerned existed between 1700 -1770. Although none of its jetons were dated, the date of each issue is broadly determinable by the style of bust of the king. This one is the last type to be issued circa 1760-70)

my third example of a jeton minted for the `master masons' engaged by the king of France. This one is a younger bust of Louis XV than the previous and dates to circa 1725-30.

Nice medal and neat piece of history to accompany. A very educational post. Thanks.

Hi Art, I've since done a little bit more research and discovered that the jeton i've acquired is in fact a variant on the original jeton issued, which has different wording on the reverse (but the same time frame). There is another jeton with the bust of Louis Philippe obverse and the same reverse as the one i have, which now leaves me wondering whether the one I have is an error ( `mule' of the two types) or a deliberate issue. I suspect the latter however. Gailhouste has published a newer version of his catalogue than the one I have on hand, so until I scrape the pennies together to update my library i'm a wee bit hamstrung for further data. The company itself was founded in 1841. According to Gailhouste, the company ceased its operations in 1854 and its portfolio was taken over by `Le Soleil' (The Sun)

I meant to say ...`whatever you do don't look at the shield!'

One of the key areas for jeton collecting is the French Assurance industry. This subject area is covered in `Numismatique de L'Assurance' by Raymond Gaihouste through his fairly comprehensive cataloguing of the jetons, medalets and medals produced through the ages for the various assurance financiers/ syndicates/ and latterly companies specifically covering the various insurable `risks'. Some of the pieces are miniature works of art in their own right and very scarce indeed in terms of their relatively low mintages and their ttrition through the years. I've previously posted individual jetons from various companies I have in my collection, mainly those issued by different maritime assurers. However, there are many jetons issued by the various general assurance companies. That is, those covering `life', agriculture (animal health, crop failures etc), buildings + contents (fire risk etc), transport, business failure, war, etc etc etc. A fascinating subject area that gives insight into the world of commerce and finance as well as the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (or misfortune as the case may be). it also provides fascinating insight as to the rise and fall of various bodies (sometimes disappearing without trace), mergers, acquisitions, and business failures. Hopefully other collectors will post examples of jetons they have in this field I've just acquired this particular jeton, an octagonal piece struck at the Paris mint for `Le Palladium', a french assurer covering the risk from fire. Typically these `jetons de presence' were issued to board members as a recognition and recompense for their participation at board meetings and the annual assembly. Some companies issued different jetons throughout their history. In the case of `Le palladium' this is the sole jeton type struck for them.

Many facets of French Industry and commerce saw jetons being struck and issued to board members / directors as a token recompense for their services. The jetons issued for the mining industry during the 19th century are inthe main fairly scarce and much sought after. This particular jeton is one of only five hundred jetons de presence struck in 1891 for the coalmines at Graissessac in L'Occitaine (languedoc region of France). The mines re-opened after a short closure in 1864, hence the date on the jeton. However the jetons were not struck until 1891. The mines themselves were eventually nationalised in the 1930's.

This coin arrived with me here in Britland today courtesy of a good friend in the US of A. Many thanks Jud! It will be much treasured.

I think the staff is more likely to be the depiction of Hermes, the messenger of the gods and the deity associated with commerce.

For me this is the Holy Grail of the Banque de France series of jetons.? This is the jeton de presence issued for the shareholders /directors of the `Caisse de Comptes Courants' on its inauguration 11th June 1796. As the parent of the Banque de France it always had a seniority but was ultimately subsumed by the larger sibling through time, the only thing retained being the obverse design (by Dumarest) of the jeton de presence which appeared on all the Banque de France jetons thereafter. This example is darkly toned on he obverse and sports a significant cud due to a die crack at the left of the exergue (obverse) and which partially obscures the `P' in Paris

agree...still waiting for 1525 before heading on back

Definitely different dies. There seems to be different views as to whether or not the silver specimens were contemporaneous with the copper ones. From a purely aesthetic viewpoint,I agree with Constanius. The copper example was struck from a superior die. I was hoping Vern would chip in here, as this time frame is really his territory