Ian

Just bought another Angers city view jeton, this one dated 1655 and issued for M'sieur Gohin, Mayor of Angers and Knight of the realm. A different (and more detailed) perspective than the last.

.....in relation to shooting medals, I would assert there are none finer than the Swiss ones. happy to be proven wrong. Ian

love em all!! excellent examples which demonstrate why Swiss shooting medals are a breed apart from anything produced by the rest of the world

I don't know all that much about the town of Angers so your info re the cathedral being `de St Maurice' is much appreciated. Fascinating that you have spent some time there. Hopefully the memories are fond ones. It certainly sounds like it from your description of the stained glass and chants. Great that you have some jetons from the town. I'm looking forward to seeing them whenever you get the chance. The only other jetons I have from the town are of various mayors (1750's onwards) , including one of Stanislaus brother of Louis XVI and later known as Louis XVIII.

Sometimes scanned images aren't true portrayals. However in this case the jeton really does look like that in the flesh. You can probably tell that i'm a bit of a bit of a sucker for city views / architectural depictions myself. Actually i'm a bit of a sucker for just about anything coin / medal / jeton in origin.

resurecting this thread due to a recent aquisition, a jeton issued for Rene Robert, Mayor of Angers in 1720. The obverse is his coat of arms, but more interestingly (for me anyway), the reverse shows a view of the city....or rather a view of the cathedral and the tower of Saint-Aubin. Not in particularly good nick, but still collectable.

another couple of medals new to my collection Biel 1893 this one struck in bronze (800 minted in bronze) Fribourg 1905 struck in silver (300 minted).

.....but before we get carried away, there is still no 1559.

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. I'm intrigued by the small medalet being classified as a `jeton'. Why would this have been issued? Who would have been gifted these (or were they sold?). Normally a jeton would be issued on a grace and favour basis to officials or VIP's to mark a event. Is that the case with this one? Ian

I have one of these Nap III pieces (10 centimes + aged photo of Queen Vic). It's an example of `trench' art and actually made from two ten centimes pieces. The first has the centre of the coin milled down to create the `space' for the photo. The second has everything removed but the bit that forms the `lid'. The two are then married very neatly together to give the impression that it has been made from one piece, which of course would be an impossibility. It, and no doubt others of the same ilk, were created by soldiers as a way of whiling away their time during various conflicts. I also have examples of the defaced 5c's and 10c's which were originally created by French prisoners of war post `battle' of Sedan. They were generally exchanged for food from their German captors. some are quite artistic some are very crude indeed. A bit like `hobo' nickels. Some are outstanding examples of `art' others are coin butchery personified. I also have a pretty good example of a smugglers piece made from two US trade dollars. Again, `trench' art where a sophisticated hinged piece contains a scented photograph of an elderly female. To all intents and purposes it looks and feels just like one normal trade dollar. In Europe there has been a fairly lengthy history of transforming silver talers into jewelery pieces by spooning the edges and transforming two pieces into a casket (almost like a giant locket) I have one half of such a `box' taler in the form of a 1700;s taler from Schwartzburg Sondersheim. The taler is itself quite rare and to all intents and purposes, to the hardened collector, it has been well and truly goosed. To me however, it's just another element of it's history and `collectable'. Original poster: why not post an image of the piece you are querying?

Indeed, the map provides illumination.

Very interesting. Mr Sparrow seems to have been quite a character. I think (he said hesitantly....) the `st.' could be a legalese abbreviation referencing a parish or ward, in this case, the parish of Bishopsgate. Haven't a clue what word (probably latin) `st.' abbreviates though. The `Without' might refer to Mr Sparrow not currently being resident within the parish (?)

Issac Earlysman Sparrow was an Ironmonger who had his business at Bishopsgate London. He was a man with a fascination for balloons (the flying variety) and in 1823 he paid Charles Green, a famous ballonist of the time, the princely sum of 50 shillings sterling to accompany him on a flight. The flight was not uneventful, but did not result in any catastrophe. Mr Sparrow went on to issue a 22mm sized memento of his daring (as below). The obverse bears his capped bust while the reverse shows an ascending balloon. Not so obvious in my example is the banner `Sparrow' across the balloon or that the flags being waved bear the initials S on one and G on the other.

.....NOT a Swiss shooting medal, but a French one dated 1913. Nice, quite 3 dimensional, silver plated over bronze but it doesn't have that certain `je ne sais quoi', that the Swiss medals have.

Latest additions: The first was issued for Chur (1949). The second is really tiny for a shooting medal (23mm) and was issued for the fest at Solothurn in 1840.

.......just pity that they didn't make the image of the locomotive a bit larger / more prominent on the medal. It does look like it would make a decent expresso or capuccino!

...and here's another 1560 jeton issued for Francis II of France, husband of Mary Queen of Scots.

Tried but the scan just isn't picking up the date clearly. It is q 1564 though from Gelders, Spanish Netherlands.

.....there's a train in the distance...... Medal issued for the inauguration of the St Etienne to Lyon line

Many thanks for the data Rod. My one is bang on 28.3 grams, so I guess I can put my thoughts of it potential being a forgery to rest, and revel in my bargain buy. Ian

My latest acquisition: Graubunder 4 Franken struck for the Federal Shooting festival at Chur in 1842. Would appreciate any info regarding the correct weight of this item so i can satisfy myself as to its bona fides. i got it rather too cheap. It ticks all the right boxes though with regards to dimension, ring, and surface texture. Edge mark - Eintracht Macht Stark followed by a *.

Hey.....You must have been sleeping when I posted the Mary Queen of Scots Ryal dated 1567 (post 1012 in this thread). The 1/4 Ducat brought us to 1566. The sol Parisis brings us to 1565. We are now looking for a 1564. I have one, but the date isn't too obvious from the poor scan I have of it. If no-one else can come up with a 1564 i'll try re-scanning to see if i can show the date better.

. Spanish Netherlands (Gelders) 1/4 ducat 1566

I've already posted my 1570 (dated) ryal further up the line. Ian