Parish of St Germain (Paris)

[Ian]

Two jetons issued for the Church Wardens and parish of St Germain L'Auxerrois (Paris).

 

The first jeton has been in my collection for a year or two, the latter is a new arrival.

 

The first was issued in 1734 (as dated) during the reign of Louis |XV. The second was issued around 1786 during the latter years of Louis XVI but using the same reverse die as the first. Both are generally seldom seen on the market. Lady luck has smiled upon me in both cases.

 

A dark moment in history for the church was the sounding of its bell (named `Marie') on the evening of 23rd August 1572 marking the commencement of the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Thousands of Huguenots in Paris for a royal wedding were murdered by the Paris mob.

 

 

[frank]

I really love the toning on the later jeton, Ian. Both are beautiful. BTW, who is the martyr (palm branch) standing next to the Bishop?

[constanius]

It is nice to have the pair.

 

I am fascinated by the obverse of the Loius XV, the hair by his neck & face is so well struck, but the back of his head & his face below his nose just almost disappear into the field. Is it because the obverse die was worn or because the strike failed to "fill the die", perhaps because of a substandard plancet specifically thicker in the area of the clear strike but thinner in the poorly struck areas, either way it is a very strange pattern, the band from the top of his head to the curls below the truncation & his forehead being so well struck compared to the rest of the jeton. I would have been tempted to buy it just for that alone.

 

I think I would go with the uneven planchet theory.