frank

Jeton à l'écu de France. Here's an eBay listing: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FRANCE-UNKNOWN-COIN-JETTON-TOKEN-/370803202013?pt=UK_Coins_European_RL&hash=item565597d7dd&nma=true&si=sG8duuqB8BLwOF5X%252B%252BxSOYDl%252FKA%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

I thought lead casts were only trials, given their softness?

Very neat, Constanius. A good man and a very interesting medal. (How rare is silvered cast lead?)

The view is from across the river. Most of the surrounding buildings don't survive.

Good grief, they've really messed it up. I just spent 20 minutes trying to search for specific medals in the collection and got nowhere. It does note that the site is "under construction," but that doesn't mean the search functions have to be so onerous. I'll give it a try again in a bit when I have more time. Is there any specific piece you're looking for? It might help focus the search.

Hi -- I'd be happy to help if I can. Let me know what you're looking for.

Love the medal, Ian!

Well done Pat. These XV century French jetons are known by their different obverses (crown, lamb of God, king's portrait, etc.). This one is a jeton "à l'écu de France." I'm looking in Feuardent for the catalogue number.

Rare is beautiful (although it really has been scrubbed, hasn't it?).

Beautiful jeton, Ian.

I love the idea of leaving them around for people to find. Something to change reality a little bit, perhaps to make people a bit less inclined to take for granted the art and craft of coins.

German States: Bavaria. Kreutzer.

http://numismatics.org/collection/1916.192.462

Very cool and high quality. Even better, the difficulties you encounter with striking copper are very much those we see in early minted copper coins --the quirks are familiar. You could easily create a micro-market for your pewter and copper tokens, selling them for enough to cover your expenses and more.

Send it to PCGS. If it's really a 1693 1/4 écu aux 8 L with a Rennes mintmark, you'll want professional verification. It'll be worth the cost.

Q: Are you sure your coin is a 1/4 écu, davebob? Does it weigh 6.746 grams and is it 27-28 mm wide?

I haven't yet seen a picture of the obverse of your coin, davebob.

Here is the only over coin I can find similar to mine.

 

http://www.ma-shops....id=9614&lang=fr

The last digit of the date is deformed from having been struck over an earlier coin. I don't think it's 1693.

Hi Bjoi. The only 1916 French coin engraved by Dupuis is the 10 centime piece:

Gadoury shows no 1693 1/4 écu aux 8 L minted in Rennes (mintmark 9). That year the 1/4 écu aux 8 L was minted in Lyons, La Rochelle, Montpellier, Riom, Dijon, Bourges and Troyes thru September, when the new 1/4 écu aux palmes started (and ran thru 1700). There is a 1/4 écu aux palmes with the Rennes (9) mintmark but there is no mintage noted, and it seems rare; Gadoury gives the notation "signalé mais non confirmé" (referred to but not confirmed), meaning the coins may not have been actually minted at Rennes.

you are a much traveled man Frank. I am quite envious of your in-life experience. I've yet to visit that location, and suspect that short of a substantial lottery win i'm unlikely to be reading a book on the front lawn any time soon

Oh, Ian it doesn't take much to visit Sceaux --it's just south of Paris on the RER line that passes north and south (the one that goes through Cité universitaire). The stop is "Parc de Sceaux." Hop off the train and walk a little bit and there you are --you could be en pleine campagne, it's so calm and bucolic.

The Chateau de Sceaux is a great place to visit when it's nice out --beautiful gardens and extensive fountains. Big enough that you could read a book on the lawn without being found out and scolded by one of the groundskeepers. The Orangerie (a building) is still there but closed to visitors .

Check out this link: http://www.mcsearch.info/record.html?id=430429

Although this is not a rare jeton, a very fine copy went for around $60 at auction.