frank

I'm getting quite a schooling here.

Another lovely jeton, Ian.

I must not be seeing what you're seeing. My eyes glaze over at all these very common early 20th-c. French coins.

I think it's authentic. The obverse of these Louis XV écus is almost always poorly struck; it's not all wear. The reverse looks fine. 1727 T isn't a rare date and mint for this coin, it's one of the most common. Why counterfeit it? Official weight is 29.5 grams, but 28.5 may well be in the ballpark for a worn coin.

Thank you Art --I am having a wonderful day.

Happy birthday Banivechi --it's mine, too!

Just gorgeous. I'm completely with you Pat in preferring the imperfect medal, which is more interesting. Very, very jealous.

Love the curly serifs on the 1834 mottoes and the die breaks on the obverse of the 1871.

Pat, you obviously do your research full-time. Most impressive. I love learning about what you've found.

Very interesting!

Way to go Constanius! I must sheepishly admit that after your mention of Cappadocia, I was convinced the medal was from a monastery in Turkey, and spent hours searching for that bit of architecture and the crowned figure.

I love it -- a beautiful artifact.

Lovely.

Happy Birthday Clive! Here's to many many more, and may you always be happily collecting, travelling, sporting and indulging.

Great piece, Constanius! I love these old 15th-c. jetons -- there are so many odd variations. And it's not too difficult to find some in good shape.

Where will it all end?

Rouyer's # 1793 (p. 275 at http://archive.org/stream/cataloguedelaco00antigoog#page/n304/mode/2up ) is very close. I can't find an image of it anywhere. Copper, 31 mm, with slightly different abbreviations of mottoes. It's listed under "pièces diverses," i.e. he doesn't know where to categorize it.

A reply on the Italian site says that jeton is 16th century Venetian:

E' una tessera-medaglia del XVI sec. della Scuola della Passione di Venezia.

Ne esistono molti tipi con varianti nella legenda e con diversi diametri.

Molte sono state pubblicate da Voltolina 1998-99 (vado a memoria perchè sono in vacanza, non ti posso citare la bibliografia esatta)

Al D/ Cristo in Croce tra Maria e Giovanni, ai lati del cartiglio con INRI, il sole e la luna. ECCE M(ater) T(ua) ECCE FIL T

Al R/ Cristo morto in pietà tra i simboli della passione. XPS FACT EST PRO NOB OBED VSQ A M

In qualche esemplare al posto della M finale (Mortem) c'è un teschietto.

Very interesting -- a mix of various iconographical types. I found a somewhat similar jeton on an Italian site La Moneta: http://www.lamoneta.it/topic/49016-moneta-non-identificata/

(later edit: I had to sign in with Google to be allowed access to the images!)

The abbreviated text on the reverse is taken from an adaptation of Philippians 2.8: Christus factus est pro nobis obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis, "Christ was made [by God] for us, obedient even unto death, even death upon the cross." This phrase was an integral part of the medieval mass.

Feuardent lists a jeton with a very similar reverse as #4012 (listed under "Eglises de Paris" under a subheading "Jetons with mottoes and figures of the gros tournois or denier tournois, St Louis type") (The obverse has designs like a gros tournois). He states that he's really not at all sure that this subheading group really belongs under "Eglises de Paris," that some may have been produced outside of France, and that they may have been produced as amulets for fishermen, who were known to prefer medalets of this type.

They've finally caught me...

Beautiful coin!

Here's a link to an online copy Rouyer's 19th-century book on jetons. It's in French but you can search for specific mottoes. http://archive.org/stream/histoiredujeton00huchgoog#page/n49/mode/2up

There really is enormous variation in these early jetons.

Hans Lauffer (Nuremberg), 17th century. https://sites.google.com/site/lesjetonsdecomptes/jeton-au-cheval

Old silver and copper, Fine - XF condition, with patina. French jetons or other tokens that tell you about the society that produced them.