Luxembourg 1946 John the Blind coins (20, 50, and 100 Francs)

[brg5658]

In 1946, Luxembourg issued three similarly designed coins to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the death of John the Blind (also known as John of Bohemia). 

Both the obverse and reverse were designed by Armand Bonnetain, noted by the initials "A.B." below the neck line of Prince Jean on the obverse, and between the "6" of 1946 and the final "N" of Blannen on the reverse (on the 20F and 50F coins).  The 100F coin comes in two varieties.  One version (with a mintage of 98,000 pieces) has the designers full last name (BONNETAIN) between the "6" of 1946 and the final "N" of Blannen, whereas the second version (a "restrike" with a mintage of 2,000 pieces) is missing the designers name on the reverse.  My example of the 100F below is of the 2nd type (with no designer's name).

All three coins are quite affordable, and the reverse design is among my favorite from the first half of the 20th Century.   

-Brandon

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1946 Luxembourg 20 Francs, KM#47


1946 Luxembourg 50 Francs, KM#48


1946 Luxembourg 50 Francs, KM#49 (Restrike)

[Bimat]

Just one word: WoW! Never saw these in condition like you have shown! Thanks for sharing!

Aditya

[bart]

In comparison, I place my 100 francs which shows the designer's full name.

[Figleaf]

I have been puzzled by the shield with the fleur de lis. Jean was 49th in line of the pretenders to the French throne if there was a French throne I think I found it, though. As the last actually reigning person of the family, Jean was nominal head of the house of Bourbon-Parma. A bit far-fetched...

Peter

[chrisild]

That's it. You can also see it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capetian_Armorial
(scroll down to "House of Bourbon-Parma-Luxembourg")

Far fetched? Well, what they do in Luxembourg is their business, but many European "royal houses" and their family members have awfully long official titles. Think of Beatrix who is, for example, countess of Katzenelnbogen.   Expressing that in a CoA is about as strange or normal ...

Christian

[translateltd]

I'm linguistically confused by the legends in Letzeburgesch (hope I have that spelling right): the Prince is "Prenz *Jean*", but John the Blind is "*Jang* de Blannen".  Two chaps with the same name, but two spellings, on opposite sides of the coin?

[Figleaf]

Beatrix who is, for example, countess of Katzenelnbogen.   Expressing that in a CoA is about as strange or normal ...

Which is probably why she doesn't use the title and the arms are simply those of Orange-Nassau. Moreover, she actually is countess of the place with the wonderful name (except that it's now part of some federal republic, I believe), but the relation of Jean with the fleur-de-lis is a bit tenuous.

It all goes back to the war of the Spanish succession, which was decided in favour of Philippe V, a Bourbon, albeit that Louis XIV accepted that Philip couldn't become king of France also. The Spanish Bourbons inserted the three lillies in the Spanish arms as a heart shield. In view of the restrictions on their kingship, the lillies could only be the arms of the Bourbon family, not France. I'll spare you the Parma bit (which removes the family even further from France) and mention only that the connection with the Bourbons came about when his mother, Charlotte, who was grand duchess, married an unemployed Bourbon-Parma. Incidentally, his granddad was king of Portugal. Why doesn't he claim Portugal also?

The three fleur-de-lis are much like buying spark plugs at a Mercedes dealer, putting them in your Volkswagen and calling it a Daimler-Volkswagen.

Peter

[brg5658]

I'm linguistically confused by the legends in Letzeburgesch (hope I have that spelling right): the Prince is "Prenz *Jean*", but John the Blind is "*Jang* de Blannen".  Two chaps with the same name, but two spellings, on opposite sides of the coin?

I'm not sure why you're confused.  John the Blind's first name was actually given to him in Letzeburgesch as "Jang", but Prince Jean's given first name is "Jean"...equivalent to the same cross-mapped "John" in English, but clearly associated with his French speaking roots.  His full name is actually Jean Benoît Guillaume Robert Antoine Louis Marie Adolphe Marc d'Aviano...doesn't get much more French than that.

Are you suggesting that the first name of persons should also be translated to the particular legend language?  As example, are you suggesting that an Italian coin featuring Louis Armstrong should read "Luigi Fortebraccio"?   

[Figleaf]

Do take into account the our blind friend was raised in Paris (Jean), king of Bohemia (Jan) and (AFAIK) never set foot in Luxembourg (Jang).

My guess is that the modern Jean insisted that his name was spelled the French way and damned be Letzeburgesch.

Peter

[brg5658]

My guess is that the modern Jean insisted that his name was spelled the French way and damned be Letzeburgesch.

Probably a good guess.  That and the 600 years of tradition that "Jang" had been known as "Jang de Blannen".

But, according to a reference in Wikipedia, he actually did spend time in Luxembourg.

"Like his predecessor Henry, he was disliked by much of the Czech nobility. John was considered to be an "alien king" and gave up the administration of Bohemia after a while and embarked on a life of travel. He parted ways with his wife and left the Czech country to be ruled by the barons while spending time in Luxembourg and the French court." from [Teich, Mikuláš. Bohemia in History. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998. 53-55. Print.]

[translateltd]

Are you suggesting that the first name of persons should also be translated to the particular legend language?  As example, are you suggesting that an Italian coin featuring Louis Armstrong should read "Luigi Fortebraccio"?   

Or that Johann Strauss should be known as John Ostrich, or Giuseppe Verdi as Joe Green - no, not for a nanosecond.

I have, however, toyed with reverting to the Norman French version of my surname (Purdy -> Pardieu), which presumably shares a common origin with that of Gerard Depardieu, and thus improving my chances of entitlement to a Russian passport.  I think the paint fumes from my wife's decorating are getting to me.

[translateltd]

My guess is that the modern Jean insisted that his name was spelled the French way and damned be Letzeburgesch.

That's rather more likely.  My more serious analogy would be the late King of the Belgians, known as Boudewijn or Baudouin, depending on whom he was dealing with at the time. 

[chrisild]

As for whether Johann has ever been to Luxembourg, what complicates things is that we are talking about two countries or territories which are not exactly congruent ...

On this €7 coin (700 cent, referring to the 700th anniversary of his wedding) he is called Jean de Luxembourg.
http://www.muenzen.eu/tl_files/bilder/luxemburg/7-euro-hochzeit-johann-2010.jpg

By the way, the Czech mint issued a coin with basically the same reverse design:
(rev) http://antique.cz/10750-198-thickbox/200-kc-2010-eliska-premyslovna-proof.jpg
(obv) http://antique.cz/10750-197-thickbox/200-kc-2010-eliska-premyslovna-proof.jpg

(The strange little dots are the seller's "watermark". But you can still view the details.)

Christian, digressing as usual