France (Compagnie La Prévoyance): silver jeton (insurance token) engraved by Paulin Tasset, 1869

France (Compagnie La Prévoyance): silver jeton (insurance token) engraved by Paulin Tasset, 1869

Obverse: Nude, draped female figure standing left, right arm reaching towards ship at sea, left arm holding a snake-entwined mirror; she is surrounded by mercantile products, an anchor, and a cornucopia full of coins. Inscription in exergue: P. TASSET.
Reverse: COMPAGNIE / LA / PRÉVOYANCE / 22 MARS 1869; wreath of river reeds (cattails), caduceus at bottom.
Issuer: Assurances Compagnie La Prévoyance, France. Engraved by sculptor Ernest Paulin Tasset, who also designed coins for several countries outside France.
Specifications: Silver, 36 mm octagonal, 18.88 g, medal alignment. Incuse edge mark reads ARGENT ("silver").*
Grade: PCGS MS63; cert. #35075130. Purchased raw.
Reference: PCGS-599608, Numista-190433, Gailhouste-690.
Provenance: ex-Numiscorner, Lille, France, via VCoins store, 25 January 2018.*
Notes: Medallic French jetons have been struck for many centuries, almost always to a high standard of artistry, but many from the 18th and 19th centuries bear particularly elaborate and lovely designs. Several 19th century types were struck on octagonal silver planchets like this.
Comments: As of this typing (August, 2020), this piece is one of only two examples certified by PCGS. The other is also graded MS63 like this one. I think mine is beautiful, but the other one could be described as especially stunning. Its owner must be duly proud. This type (Gailhouste-690) is certainly an exceptionally beautiful design.

















020384S

 

Side note: I am unsure if "Assurances Compagnie La Prévoyance" is a generic term or a reference to a specific company? I'm also a bit foggy on what practical purpose these served. Were they used as mathematical counters, like some jetons? Elaborately designed silver pieces seem a bit rich for such a utilitarian function, surely? I also wonder how exactly they related to the insurance industry, if anyone knows.

 

Thought I’d do a thread resurrection on this one, since I came here to fetch a link, earlier.

 

I don’t know, but I like them. They seem to have made a lot of octagonal jetons in the early- to mid-19th century. (And even earlier, like your 1785 piece.) Some have really attractive and interesting designs.

 

Just a year earlier than mine.

 

@-jeffB found some information after I posted this piece in another thread. Figured I’d repost it here for my own future reference, if nothing else. I knew that this piece was an insurance token of some kind, but was foggy on the backstory. I just knew it was pretty, and had to have it.

Sometimes that’s all I need to know to buy a coin. Then I learn more about it later. That’s led me down some interesting roads I never knew existed. They say you should “buy the book before you buy the coin”, but I seldom practice that advice.

From the linked page:


HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
INSURANCES
Under the Old Regime, insurance was above all maritime. It is a contract by which an individual undertakes to repair the losses linked to a shipwreck, for a certain sum which is paid to him in advance.. Thus, for example, we see that in the 18th century, in Bordeaux, maritime insurance was concentrated in the hands of a few large shipowners such as François Bonnaffé. An order of 1681 leaves the greatest freedom in the relationship between insurers and insured, hence the multiplication of players on the market. Still in Bordeaux, we then see the intervention of Parisian, Dutch and English companies. . . Non-maritime insurance became popular late (middle of the 18th century). They most often offer a guarantee against fire. Example: the general insurance company obtained the privilege of Louis XV in 1753 for the guarantee of maritime trade and to insure houses against fire. In the 19th century, we witness the emergence of countless companies, often specialized in very specific sectors, which will allow the development of the economy by pooling risks.. They are complemented by mutual associations and mutual aid.