Vercelli. Engraving from Gerard van Loon's Hedendaagsche Penningkunde (1732)

Started by Pellinore, September 27, 2021, 09:27:22 AM

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Pellinore

French medal commemorating the capture of Vercelli, a town in Piemonte (then part of Savoy), by Louis XIV in 1704. With the real thing in an American collection. It's a 41 mm bronze medal.

The snag is: Vercellae was not captured by the French, it sustained Louis Quatorze's siege during the Spanish Succession War (in fact a large all-European war with far-reaching consequences).

-- Paul

Figleaf

Fun metallic lie. I was wondering about the monogram below the bust. I expected it to be that of the chief engraver of the Paris mint. In 1704, that was Georges Roettiers. However, he seems not to have signed most of his medallic works, perhaps using an R occasionally. I wonder why Van Loon did not include this detail in his etch.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.

eurocoin

According to the Louvre they are the initials FB of artist François Briot. The information was taken from this page on their website, that depicts a different medal that has the same portrait on its obverse.

At least Van Loon was consequent with leaving out artists initials, as the initials on the reverse were also omitted on his etch. Not a good idea to omit them though.

Figleaf

Thank you! That is interesting information. Briot is a catholic family from Lorraine with a number of scions active in engraving. In UK numismatics, François' nephew, Nicolas, is known for being a key player in early attempts to mechanise the Tower mint in the face of resistance of the minters.

Since industrial property had not been invented yet, leaving out the engraver's marks may have had to do with avoiding possible claims from Briot on pictures in Van Loon.

Peter
An unidentified coin is a piece of metal. An identified coin is a piece of history.