~3 X ~.220 (at rim) inches; ~234 grams; Cornucopia, BRONZE, 1975 on rim. Obverse: Place Louis XV Creee Entre 1757 Et 1775 Par Jacques Ange Gabriel; Place De La Concord Depuis 1795; Long, Low Building facing a Plaza? Reverse: Very Large Fountain, 3 people sheltering beneath overhang, a 4th filling a vessel from fountain-water. J. Boyer at fountain foot. I would like to know what this commemorates, what the building and fountain are named, and what CREEE translates to in English.
Nice! The obelisk and general area is the Place de la Concorde. I don't know whether the fountain has a specific name. The building at the center in the distance is "Eglise de la Madelaine", a beautiful building with a greek facade. But it's not a long low building, you are seeing buildings left and right, and the Madelaine at center down the rue Royale. "Creer" means "Created". Here's a map, if the link works: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Place de la Concorde/@48.866925,2.318147,1347m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x18030de10e25ab2c!8m2!3d48.8656331!4d2.3212357
I presume the date of the medal would tell all, it might be the 100th anniversary of 1775 or 1795? Edit: Oh, just noticed you say this is from the mint in 1975, I assumed it was quite a bit older.
I wish it were...Apparently I have guessed incorrectly about the initial before Boyer; I can find nothing about J. Boyer. Any guesses? Thanks...wlw
If it was a recreation of an old engraving, J. could be Jean-Baptiste. Except sometimes they use J.B. also. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Baptiste_Boyer_d’Éguilles
créée is a bit of advanced French grammar. Past for created. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_de_la_Concorde Around this time period, the French were inspired by the American revolution. They changed governments 3(if I remember) times in a short period. If I'm correct, then those dates could be the government creations. Entre is between. Looks like this just commemorates the beheadings at La Place de la Concorde between those years for things like treason, etc. Wikipedia says that in 1789, King Louis XV's statue was torn down, and a guillotine replaced it. Im a little busy right now so I'll put the pieces togetehr later
I think the medal is commemorating the completion of the Place Louis XV in 1775. Here's a modern medal attributed to Janine Boyer, which appears to be the same signature on yours - https://www.ebay.com/itm/Paris-Pont...114447?hash=item33f9abbf0f:g:XuEAAOSwujJb4HCx
@wlwhittier I think Dave might be right. The only other listing that I can find is Emile Boyer that dates back to 1905. Chris