The many wars and conquests of King Louis XIV. on Jetons and Medals

So first Louis XIV. is no ancient King but what makes this topic maybe interesting to ancient collectors is that he used to issue his propaganda in very roman imagery. While not changing the style of his coinage too much I would say he revived the propagandistic value of numismatic items by issuing a constant stream of medals and jetons celebrating his victories and archievments. This is how roman emperors immortalised their victories aswell. Louis already came in touch with ancient coins in an early age through the master medailleur and sculptor Jean Warin. In this context I explored a really nice painting I just wanted to share also featuring some ancient coins:

(Jean Warin teaching the young King about ancient coinage - Image from Wikipedia)

I wonder if some more ancient collectors here also explored this interesting collection niche. The prices for these jetons have been quite low for a long time but I would say especially the brass and bronze examples gained a lot of value during the last 2 years.
If there is some interest in this forum I wonder if we can create a complete history of Louis XIVs wars through medals and jetons in this thread. My collections is far from complete but here some examples so everyone knows what I'am talking about.

Jeton - 1677 - Conquest of the Flandres during the Franco-Dutch war

The imagery of the seated captive next to a trophy is also a very common occurence on roman coinage.

Jeton - 1674 - Conquest of the city of Besancon during the Franco-Dutch war


Jeton - 1684 - Peace of Regensburg ending the War of Reunions


Jeton - 1674 - "Victory" at the Battle of Seneffe. This battle between the french and the alliance of dutch, spanish and holy roman imperials during the Franco-Dutch war was proclaimed as victory by both sides


As you can see my collections currently mainly includes jetons from the Franco-Dutch wars but more will arrive soon and maybe you can add some interesting ones too

 

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Do you know about the medals & medallions made for Louis XVII?...

 

I dont have one yet but I have seen some medals for Louis XVII. Most just mourn his young death and in the end he just was a boy who got severly mistreated by the revolutionaties after they murdered his parents.

Anyway he another medal from Louis le Grande - Celebrating the conquest of the city of Tortosa

 

...have you ever heard of Armand Auguste Caque?..

 

..welp. i just bought a copper-nickel medal of Louis XVII by Barron De Puymaurin...i'll post it whens i gets it...EDIT: no, i backed out of that'un

 

French medals are a very nice collection field and I have some from Louis XIV. to Napoleon (IV.). Under those there are also some of Caque.

 

yup...they have some very nice ones with great artistry..i've been admiring and offering on some great ones, but i however, have chosen a less expensive item for about 1/4 the price of a larger one..i hope its legit and its from a seller whom i've bought a few coins from and who went and found me a couple to choose from...

 

I beg to differ. Louis Capet, AKA Louis XVI, was not "murdered". He was tried for high treason, found guilty and sentenced to death, publicly executed on January 21 1793. He was accused of collusion with foreign powers at war against the French people (cf. the Brunswick Manifesto). The court was not some "revolutionary tribunal" but the whole National Convention. He was sentenced to death on January 15 1793 by 366 votes vs 321 votes for jail. Many people think today that this sentence was too severe (for ex. in 1945 Marshall Pétain's life was spared and he was jailed), but in 1793 the war was not finished yet...

 

..right...it was the start of what is known as 'The Reign of Terror'

 

For those interested there are lots of jetons minted by Louis XIV's uncle, Gaston d'Orleans (he was Louis XIII'S brother, and was expecting to be the next king until Louis XIV was born)


Gaston d'Orleans (1627-1650), Jeton, argent - 1629 - Atelier de Trévoux
+ GASTON . DE . FRANCE . FRERE . UNICQVE . DV . ROY Ecu d'Orléans couronné entouré des colliers des ordres du roi
PONET VICTORIA METAS (La victoire scellera les frontières) Un autel orné de guirlandes, élevé sur un massif montagneux. A l'exergue 1629
Ag - 4,39 gr - 27 mm
Ref : Feuardant -
Ce jeton commémore la victoire sur les italiens à la bataille du Pas de Suze le 6 mars 1629


Gaston d'Orleans (1627-1650), Jeton, argent - 1639 - Atelier de Trévoux
(rose) GASTON . DE . FRANCE (croix de l'Ordre de St Esprit) FRERE . VNICQVE . DV . ROY Ecu d'Orléans couronné entouré des colliers des ordres du roi
. MINOR MAIORE SVPERSTES . Paysage sous un ciel étoilé, une echelle horizontale dans le ciel. A l'exergue . 1639 . ("Plus petit, tu t'élèveras au-dessus du plus grand")
Ag 5,47 gr, - 27 mm
Ref : Feuardent # 10850

Gaston, politique à la roublardise sans pareille, ne prend pas de risque avec un message à double sens, une fois de plus : "Plus petit, tu t'élèveras au-dessus du plus grand" peut s'appliquer au futur Louis XIV, qui n'est âgé que d'un an, et qui ne manquera pas de s'élever au dessus de son oncle, son aîné. Mais on peut l’interpréter dans un sens différent : Gaston, plus petit par le rang, s'il plaisait à Dieu....

Others can be seen at my Colleconline gallery

Q

 

Some new Jetons arrived and in my opinion the highlight of them is another one from the Franco-Dutch wars:
France - Jeton - VNIS TERGEMINVM (Transl: Alone against the triple Geryon)

The topic is again the Battle of Seneffe. You see Herkules beating up the Geryon (Mythological creature with three bodies). The Geryon here represents the alliance of Spanish, the Imperials and the Dutch who get beaten by Louis (Officially both sides claimed victory).
Having never heard of the Geryon before I wonder if someone here got an ancient coin featuring him. I have read in the myth Hercules killed him with a poisonous arrow and not with his club so the artist took himself some liberties here to make the scene more fitting.