constanius Posted October 16, 2013 Report Share Posted October 16, 2013 FRANCE. Paris Mint, Antoine de Bourbon, King of Navarre Silver Medal, ND circa 1560 by Etienne de Laune "one of the cleverest 16th century medallists" according to Mazerolle, he was also known as Stephanus Launus, Etienne de Laulne, or Delaulne.circa 1519-1583. 39mm. 28gm. BMC/Jones-76. RARE. Obv. Bust of Antoine right, in armor with the inscription ANTONIVS . DEI . G . REX . NAVARRÆ . Die crack at 4 o'clock runs through the 'A'. Rev. A rising anthropomorphic sun disperses clouds over the sea with inscription FOVET ET DISCVTIT.(Foster & dissipate) Antoine was king of Navarre from 1555 until his death in 1562, his son Henri became the first Bourbon king of France as Henri IV in 1589. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
constanius Posted October 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2013 Etienne de Laune reused the obverse die on this medal dated 1560, the die-crack at 4 o'clock, though visible on my medal, is clearly more developed on this medal, with a different reverse, from Baldwin's Michael Hall Collection auction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank Posted October 17, 2013 Report Share Posted October 17, 2013 Oh my gosh Constanius, what a beautiful medal. I can count on the fingers of one hand the silver jetons/medals I've seen from the French Renaissance. Those die cracks are lovely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted October 17, 2013 Report Share Posted October 17, 2013 Where did you come across this piece? its a beauty. Nice find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
constanius Posted October 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2013 Oh my gosh Constanius, what a beautiful medal. I can count on the fingers of one hand the silver jetons/medals I've seen from the French Renaissance. Those die cracks are lovely. The medal itself is listed R. by Jones, which for this type of medal means really hard to find, the silver medal though is almost impossible to find. It is the first I have seen. Where did you come across this piece? its a beauty. Nice find. I saw it first in a Stack's auction, estimated at $300 but it did not sell. Then it was offered on Ebay, where to my utter surprise I won it for $40.50. I had placed a somewhat higher bid, with no real expectation of win it. I have seen bronze modern restrikes, stuck from new dies go for more. I guess it is always worth a punt because you never know what happens in an auction! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted October 20, 2013 Report Share Posted October 20, 2013 The medal itself is listed R. by Jones, which for this type of medal means really hard to find, the silver medal though is almost impossible to find. It is the first I have seen. It saw it first in a Stack's auction, estimated at $300 but it did not sell. Then it was offered on Ebay, where to my utter surprise I won it for $40.50. I had placed a somewhat higher bid, with no real expectation of win it. I have seen bronze modern restrikes, stuck from new dies go for more. I guess it is always worth a punt because you never know what happens in an auction! That is a truly exceptional `steal'. Brilliant!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelheadwill Posted November 6, 2013 Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 I saw it first in a Stack's auction, estimated at $300 but it did not sell. Then it was offered on Ebay, where to my utter surprise I won it for $40.50. I had placed a somewhat higher bid, with no real expectation of win it. I have seen bronze modern restrikes, stuck from new dies go for more. I guess it is always worth a punt because you never know what happens in an auction! Beautiful piece. at an unbelievable price! Congrats on the Ebay score Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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