My main area of interest is Roman provincial coinage, but years ago I found in a junk box in Berlin a wonderful little coin of Louis XIV. (I spent 50 German pfennig for it, then put it in a drawer and forgot about it.) I was reading a biography of old Louis today and pulled out that coin, attempting to find a mention of it ANYWHERE on the net...but couldn't. Maybe someone here knows something about it ... whether it's a scarce variety or, perhaps, not a coin at all, but a token. Or even what the Latin inscription refers to. The coin is thin copper, about 30mm across. On the observe is a portrait of Louis facing right and the inscription "Louis le Grand Roy de France" (this, of course, I can translate). The reverse, which is more interesting, has a large circle in the center from which a sunburst radiates. Around the sunburst are the signs of the Zodiac. Around the zodiac is the inscription: "DECVS ADIICIT HOSPES." The coin is dated 1682. Any information would be interesting to me. And if a photo is necessary, well, I'll take one. Thanks so much! Kevin
I believe this is what you are speaking of - And yes, it is a jeton. The phrase you quote refers to the Royal Buildings.
Amazing! That's exactly the piece in that photograph! Thanks so much. Is there anything else you can tell me about it? (I'm really quite a novice when it comes to coins or jetons from this period. Kevin
Google is your friend. By using the Advanced Search function with - DECVS ADIICIT HOSPES - as the key words, you get this - Click Here Took longer to post about it than it did to find it.
Ah, thanks! I was substituting U's for V's when I searched on Google before. That did it & now I know what these jeton is. I appreciate it! Kevin
