constanius Posted January 6, 2011 Report Share Posted January 6, 2011 Obv. .S. LAMBE RTVS mitred bust left. Rev. .S. MA RIA. haloed bust right. Cast, irregular bronze 23mm x 20mm. If anyone has references for this medal/token I would be grateful, I believe it is 18th century & most probably for St. Lambert's Cathedral, Liège (or in full, the Cathedral of St. Lambert and Our Lady; French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Lambert) which was the cathedral of Liège, Belgium, until 1794 when, falling foul of the spread of the French revolution, its destruction began. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Constanius --I had lots of fun looking for this, and found it finally in Google Books. If you enter 'St Lambert jeton" and limit to sites only in French, you get the Histoire Numismatique de l'évèché et principauté de Liège by le Comte de Renesse-Breidbach, published in Brussels in 1830 (for the plates, I think) and 1831 (the text). Your piece --he terms it a méreau rather than a jeton-- is shown in Plate 72, number 8. You need to scroll almost to the end of the book to find the plates. He lists the piece as copper or bronze, about 29 mm. No date is suggested, but similar pieces on the same plate are 16th and 17th century. There are several different variants, some with SANCTUS LAMBER or LAMBERT or LAMBERTVS and SANTA or SANCTA MARIA instead of the S on your piece. The book itself was added to Oxford's Ashmolean Museum in the 1930s; someone more familiar with Oxford's libraries might have an idea where it is held now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 That's an interesting medal. Old medals are a tempting area for me - maybe next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldeCollector Posted January 7, 2011 Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 A fantastic méreau, Pat!! I adore things like these. As for the book, I imagine that it is still within the Ashmolean as they are reluctant to part with much. Their library focuses on Ancient History, Classics and Art but they still have a very large numismatic section thanks to their collections of various coins. I might be making a trip to Oxford soon and so, if all goes to plan, might be able to peruse their collection and library in person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
constanius Posted January 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2011 Constanius --I had lots of fun looking for this, and found it finally in Google Books. Thanks for finding that Frank, no charge for the fun...this time also thanks Google Books where would we be without you. The Chapter heading for the text is MONNAIES DE PRÉSENCE DU CHAPITRE CATHÉDRALE, DES COLLÉGIALES, ABBAYES, MONASTÈBES ET CORPORATIONS DU DIOCÈSE DE LIÈGE. on Page 197 XI. O. • S • LAMBE - RTUS - Bust mitre left. R. • S • MA - RIA • - Bust with halo. See pl.72, no.8. M. §. D.7. = M for monnaie, symbol for copper/bronze D7 for 28mm. So mine looks an exact match for the top one illustrated no.8 except fo the size diference, mine is only 23mm. If you compare the 2 examples illustrated below no. 8 they are bigger but the text gives the same size for all three, therefore, bearing in mind the irregular shapes, I do not think the size diference is an issue. Thanks Art & Clive for your interest, wish I was going again to the Ashmolean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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