Hi everyone. I just started collecting coins and love the forum. This is my first time posting. I acquired a small lot of foreign coins and was curious if anyone could help identify these 2 coins I was curious about. One looks like is from 1720 and I cant see the date on the other one. If anyone knows anything about these coins and maybe possible value would be awesome. Thanks for any help!
The second one looks like a 1796-1800 5 centimes from France, KM640 or KM642. See en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces886.html Or en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces22047.html
The first coin is a jeton, or token: https://coinsintherough.wordpress.com/2015/09/18/louis-xvi-the-king-who-france-beheaded/ http://maxentius.lamoneta.it/PagineMedaglie/LuigiXVI_OptimPrinc1790.htm The second site (in French, but I can translate) reveals very interesting things! As Louis XVI's power was being challenged during the French revolution, attracting the attention of Europe, the arts were trying to spread his image. This led to this token being minted in Germany out of desperation. Such was used heavily by German children to count money in games (kind of like poker chips). The engraver was J.C. Reich, who minted these in Nuremberg.
Was this the father of John M. Reich, the US Mint engraver? His family background was researched and archived here: JOHANN MATTHAUS REICH Also known as JOHN REICH by Stewart Witham, Courtesy New York Historical Society , November 1993 https://archive.org/stream/johannmatthausre1993stew/johannmatthausre1993stew_djvu.txt What little appears in the Red Book and other standard references just opens the door. See, for example: "John Reich was a German immigrant who was born in Furth, Bavaria, in 1768. His full name was Johann Matthias Reich. John Reich learned to engrave from his father. Sometime in the 1800’s John immigrated to the United States and sold himself into servitude as a skilled engraver in order to finance his way. Thomas Jefferson, as President, recommended John as the engraver for the Philadelphia Mint in 1801." https://cappedbusthalfdollars.wordp...story-of-the-capped-bust-john-reich-engraver/
http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/benz/9780199773787.article.B00150281 Indeed he was! Interesting connections are why I love numismatics! "Johann Christian Reich was a court medallist. His son, Johann Matthias Reich, who was born in Fürth in 1768, was also a medallist, and the two worked together from 1789 to 1800. They both engraved commemorative medals for important events of the time, such as the Suppression"
Going back to the OP question... The First Coin is Jeton Token - 1790 - Louis XVI from France. They were made from 1774 to 1793. In that condition, it is more of a fun token to have - not much value. What you see as a "2" is actually a "9". The top loop just doesn't close completely. The Second Coin is a 5 Centime coin from France - minted 1797 to 1799. The W Mint Mark shows it was minted in Lille, France. Without having the exact date, it is again just an interesting coin to have... value is minimal.
Thanks for the help guys! I never would of guessed the first one being a token that is pretty cool and will keep both of these for sure. I tried to research both of them on my own but could barely making out the lettering
From wikipedia: The Directory or Directorate (French: le Directoire) was a five-member committee which governed France from 2 November 1795, when it replaced the Committee of Public Safety, until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire, and replaced by the French Consulate. It gave its name to the final four years of the French Revolution.
