Just finished taking shots of a coin I have had for a bit but hadnt gotten around to getting up...I have been wanting an example of Napoleon III coins as the portraits on his coins are pretty spectacular... now after examining the coin I realize it was signed BARRE and I looked through my coins as I knew I had another coin with that name on it, one I thought was also an outstanding portrait...here it is... Venezuelan un Bolivar depicting Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Ponte Palacios y Blanc commonly referred to as Simon Bolivar (El Libertador). It is Coin and Medal Engraver Jacques Jean Barre (1793-1855) depicted below on a high relief medal done by his sons and in a portrait.... Jean-Jacques Barre (3 August 1793 in Paris-10 June 1855 in Paris) was the general engraver at the Monnaie de Paris between 1842 and 1855. In this position, he engraved and designed French medals, bank notes and postage stamps. From the late 1840's until 1855, he created the first two French postage stamp designs: the Ceres series and Napoleon III series. scarcely a year elapsed without some of his work appearing at the annual Fine Art Exhibitions at Paris. Now I know early Bolivar coins were minted in France as well as Belgium...I have seen other examples of his work including a great Barre pattern coin from Peru, once in the collection of King Farouk of Egypt. He is the one who, I think, developed the woman we see on french coins...demeter... "Under him came the features of Déméter, goddess Greek of the harvests, more known under the Roman name of Cérès. This representation of the Republic" He also developed the image of the statue of liberty: "The Second Republic had briefly used the Seal of State of the First Republic, which featured a Phrygian cap (or Liberty Cap), before having a new design created by the artist Jacques-Jean Barre. The seal shows on the obverse a female figure representing Liberté (Liberty). She is personnified as Juno (Hera) seated, robed and wearing a crown of seven arches. This is the same crown that is so familiar from the Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World, a gift from the French to the American people." In essence...a great man in numismatic history...although his sons were not as prolific as him, they were also engravers...
Drusus,those are nice,especially the 20 Francs,which is very attractive.The 1852 French coins also use the same portraits as well,albeit,without the wreath. Aidan.
Great thread Drusus and great coins!! I am just wondering if the Bolivar portrait was done by one of Barres sons as it doesn't seem to appear until the 1870s.
Excellent post, Drusus. I'm familiar with Barre's omnipresent name on Venezuelan coinage, but also have seen his name pop up on other coins. Very educational information, thanks.
I was wondering the same thing...I have been unable to find whether the bolivar was done by him or his son either...
I found this page, in which his son Albert Désiré Barre is credited with the 20 francs from 1860. http://www.tresordupatrimoine.fr/francs-napoleon-tete-c-1_9_1851_1852_1124.html The following page has a number of French issues with the engravers listed, notice that both Jean-Jacques and Albert appear a number of times, sometimes credited with designs in the same year (such as 1840). http://franc.francais.free.fr/modules.php?name=franc&page=index&piece=essai The first coins I find with Barre's name in Venezuela start in 1858, see the 2 reale below.
That would make sense as it is after Jean-Jacques death...I thought that maybe they were using portraits he did before he died...
whether is was him or his son...what I love about the portrait is the depth... Looking at it, it looks like his mustache is jutting out...its not but it looks like you can just grab that mustache it has such great depth it creates the illusion perfectly...real artistry.
I agree the portrait on the 20 francs is excellent, and what seems strange to me is that I've read elsewhere that unlike Jacques-Jean, the son was not such a hot designer. So they very well may be crediting the son for the father's work.
After looking at the 1852 coin I am wondering if the father did do the portrait and the son added the wreath after the father died. Either way it is a fantastic coin!!
Depth he says hya: I don't want to hijack your thread Drusus, but if you like depth of relief - take a gander at this one - LINK
well of course you are going to have depth in a high relief medal!! the 20 fr is a tiny little low relief coin But let me say that is one outstanding medal you linked...a work of the very finest art! What is the story behind it if you dont mind me asking...
nevermind, I found it (a copy of it): Obv.Bull standing right, before a British standard and buildings in Brussels. Rev:River god of the Scheldt before an armed galley.In exergue:THE ENGLISH ARMY UPON THE SCHELD. This medal commemorates in general terms the activity of the British army in the Netherlands.One of Mudie's National Medals (see No. 1057) issued in 1820. Examples of this medal are believed to have been struck in gold but no specimen has been met with. This example is struck in white metal or pewter indicating that it is a later restrike and not from the original 1820s strikings. http://www.napoleonicmedals.org/coins/br-1607.htm
I quite like the Napolean III bust on the gold and 5fs (I have a 10 franc coin)...all of those are really nice...
