Medals of Louis XIV, 1643-1715

A rare contemporary medal from the period before the uniform series of 1692, or those of 1702 and 1723.

In the first six decades of the reign of Louis XIV, medals were issued soon after the events they commemorated, with obverses by leading engravers from the contemporary likeness of the king and allegorical reverses chosen on an ad hoc basis by the Petite Académie; most of these were in the range of 50 to 60 mm. in diameter. These were replaced in the standard series of 1692 (70 mm.) and then those of 1702 and 1723 (both 41 mm.), and were generally not restruck, so are rarely encountered today.

Medal for the Twenty Years Truce between France, Spain and the Netherlands, 1684, by Michel Molart, struck bronze, 58 mm., no edge punches, Virturally Perfect, $650.

Ménestrier, Histoire du roy Louis le Grand par les médailles, 1689, pl.24; Van Loon III, 294. The reverse shows the figure of Victory holding a caduceus, symbol of negotiation, and an olive wreath implying victory, and the legend IVSSIT QVIESCERE “He ordered repose”, and in the exergue INDVCIAE “truce”.

The Uniform Series of 1702 and 1723

The Sun King was the first ruler to produce a unified series of medals marking the events of his reign. In fact, in the course of his long reign, he produced three such series, and established an academy specifically to invent the Latin legends and classical imagery for these pieces. The greatest numismatic artists of the day engraved the dies for the portrait obverses and for the reverse events. The academy selected eight painted portraits of the king at various ages, which were drawn by Antoine Coypel and engraved as obverse dies by Jean Mauger, who was also responsible for the engraving of many of the reverses.

Portraits of Louis XIV at progressive ages engraved for the obverses of the 1702 series by Jean Mauger

The 286 medals of the 41 mm. size were issued as a group in 1702 along with a deluxe folio volume entitled Médailles sur les principaux événements du règne de Louis le Grand, avec des explications historiques illustrating each and explaining the legends and iconography (downloadable at http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1041715f) . In the next two decades some of the reverses were revised, and in 1723 a new catalogue illustrated the revised medals as well as those created for the last years of the reign (downloadable at http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1329711) . For an account of the composition of this series, see Alan M. Stahl, “Ancient and Modern in the Medallic Series of Louis XIV,” The Medal, 67 (Autumn, 2015), 4-11.

The Catalogue Numbers below refer to those in the original 1702 and 1723 publications, which have been taken up in subsequent listings, most recently by Jean-Paul Divo, Médailles de Louis XIV (Zurich, 1982).

AN INTERESTING HISTORICAL NOTE, not without whimsy. History is written by the winners, unless you outlive them. Which the Sun King did. Paul once asked Laurent Stefanini, the French diplomat, numismatist and (most importantly) customer, why the French made medals commemorating battles they lost. He responded : « Over time, they became victories ».

The Paris Mint has traditionally restruck medals any time its inventory of a given issue was exhausted. Only precious metal strikings were edge-marked (with an antique lamp) from 1832-41. Thereafter, the name of the metal was stamped into the edge, incused. A medal struck in 1702 is seldom distinguishable from a striking done 130+ years later, so both are considered « originals », even if a later obverse die was used, mismatching the King’s age and the date of the event.

Except as otherwise noted, all offered here are struck in bronzed copper (‘cuivre’ in French), 41 mm., and without edge stamps.

PRICES: With the fall of the Euro from about $1.25-1.35 to about $1.13, we have lowered our prices for typical pieces from $195 to $179, and to $500 for three. Pieces related to Germany, Italy and Spain are a bit higher, and those related to Poland and Russia higher still. French and American colonies are much higher. In time, we will price all the medals listed here, but inquiries are welcome at pauljbosco@covad.net .

Nearly all the medals are Extremely Fine to (About) Mint State.

Year	Event	Obverse	Reverse	Cat. #	condition	price
		signature	signature
1643	Death of Louis XIII	J. Mauger		3
1643	Elevation of Louis XIV	J. Mauger	Thomas Bernard	4
1643	Capture of Trino and Pontestura	J. Mauger		8
1644	Capture of 30 cities	J. Mauger		13
1648	Capture of Tortosa	J. Mauger		26
1648	Peace of Westphalia	J. Mauger	Jean Le Blanc	28
1654	Arras liberated	J. Mauger		38
1654	14 cities taken	J. Mauger		39
1655	Capture of Landrecy, Conde and	J. Mauger		41
	Saint Guislain
1656	Establishment of the Hôpital Général	J. Mauger		42
1656	Queen Christina enters Paris	J. Mauger		43
1656	Queen Christina welcomed	J. Mauger	Jean Dollin	[44]
	Not in the 1702 catalogue,
	as #44 in the 1723 catalogue.

1658	Capture of Mortaria	J. Mauger	51
1660	Marriage to Maria Teresia	J. Mauger	56
1660	Empress Maria Teresia enters Paris	J. Mauger	58
1661	The King takes the reins of the state	J. Mauger	59
1661	The secret of the counsels	J. Mauger	62	SOLD
1661	Homage of the Duke of Lorraine	J. Mauger	64
1662	Promotion of the Order of the Holy Spirit	J. Mauger	66
1662	Royal generosity during the famine	J. Mauger	69
1662	Dunkerque recovered	J. Mauger	71
1662	Fortification of Phillipsbourg	J. Mauger
	This reverse does not appear in either
	the 1702 or the 1723 catalogue; it is
	illustrated in the unofficial 1692
	catalogue of Claude François Ménestrier,
	Histoire du Roy Louis le Grand par les
	médailles, p. 18.

1663	The Motto of the King	J. Mauger		74
1663	Alliance with the Swiss	J. Mauger		76
1664	Peace of Pisa	J. Mauger	Jean LeBlanc	[77]
	This medal was not in the 1702 series,
	but was added in the 1723 catalogue as
	#77, with the correct date 1664; the
	actual medal, however, reads erroneously MDCLIV: 1654.

1664	Audience of Legate for Corsican Crimes	J. Mauger		79
1664	Erfurt returned to the Elector of Mainz	J. Mauger		80
1665	Military reviews	J. Mauger		85
1666	Death of the Queen Mother	J. Mauger		86
1666	Establishment of the Academy of Science	J. Mauger		88	SOLD
1666	Aid given to the Dutch	J. Mauger		89
1666	Defrauders of goods punished	J. Mauger		92
1667	The new law code	J. Mauger		94
1667	The Flanders Campaign	J. Mauger	Thomas Bernard	95
1667	Capture of Tournai and Courtrai	J. Mauger		96
1667	Capture of Douai	J. Mauger		97
1667	Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture	J. Mauger	Thomas Bernard	102
1668	Pyramid in Rome taken down by Clement IX			109
1669	Manufactures			[110]	SOLD
	This event does not appear in the 1702		Jean Le Blanc
	catalogue; it is in the 1723 catalogue as
	#110.

1669	Protector of Public Security	J. Mauger		112
1669	King of Poland Jan II Kazimir received			113
1670	Lorraine taken			115
1671	Academy of Architecture instituted		Jean Le Blanc	[116]	SOLD
	This event does not appear in the 1702
	catalogue; it is in the 1723 catalogue as
	#116.

1672	The King protector of the Académie	J. Mauger	119		SOLD
	Française
1672	Four Rhineland cities taken	J. Mauger	[121]	Obverse
	The reverse illustrated in the 1702 and			die break
	1723 catalogues has the Roman
	numeral IV in the legend and the exergue is horizontal; this variant
	has IIII and a curved exergual legend.

1672	The Yssel abandoned by the enemy			124
1672	Raising the siege of Woerden	J. Mauger		127
1672	The storehouses			128
1672	Raising the siege of Charleroi	J. Mauger	Thomas Bernard	129
1673	Capture of Maastricht	J. Mauger		131
1673	The Académie Française at the Louvre				SOLD
	Neither this event nor the reverse
	appears in either the 1702 or the
	1732 catalogue.

1674	Second capture of Besançon	J. Mauger		133
1674	Second capture of Dôle	J. Mauger		134
1674	Battle of Seneffe	J. Mauger		137
1675	Rescue of Messina	J. Mauger		144
1675	Capture of Huy and Dinant	J. Mauger		145
1675	Combat near Althenheim	J. Mauger		147
1676	The Invalides	J. Mauger		151	SOLD
1676	Capture of Bouchon	J. Mauger		154
1676	Naval battle of Palermo	J. Mauger		155
1677	Capture of Valenciennes	J. Mauger		160
1677	Capture of Cambrai	J. Mauger		162
1677	Capture of Saint-Omer	J. Mauger		163
1677	Defeat of the Spaniards in Catalonia	J. Mauger		164
1677	Lifting of the second siege of Charleroi	J. Dollin		165
1677	Capture of Saint-Ghislain	J. Dollin		168
1678	Expedition to Ghent	J. Mauger		169
1678	Capture of Lewe	J. Mauger		172
1678	Capture of Puigcerda	J. Mauger		173
1679	Marriage of Marie-Louise to Carlos II	J. Mauger		177
1679	Peace of the North	J. Mauger	Joseph Roettiers	178
1680	Submission of Alsace	J. Mauger		179
1680	Marriage of the Dauphin	J. Mauger		180
1680	Port of Toulon	J. Dollin		182
1680	60,000 seamen enlisted	J. Mauger		183
1681	Casale restored	J. Mauger		187
1681	Port of Brest	J. Mauger		189
1682	Companies of Cadets established	J. Mauger		191
1682	The King condemns himself	J. Mauger		192
1682	Birth of Duke of Burgundy	J. Mauger		193
1683	Death of the Queen	J. Mauger		196
1683	Royal apartments at Versailles	J. Mauger		198	SOLD
1683	800 young sailors enrolled	J. Mauger		199
1683	Birth of the Duke of Anjou	J. Mauger		[200]
	In the illustrations in both the 1702 and
	1723 catalogues, the bust of the
	Dauphin on the reverse faces left; on the medal it faces right; the exergue
	varies as well.

1684	Twenty-year cease-fire	J. Mauger		205
1684	Return of contribution to Spaniards	J. Mauger		206
1685	Liberality of the King	J. Mauger	Joseph Roettiers	208
1685	Calvinist temples demolished	Jean Dollin		211
	This is one of the few medals in the
	Series featuring Christian rather than
	Pagan symbolism, but the Calvinist
	temple is depicted as an ancient ruin.

1687	Recovery of the King	Jean Dollin	Norbert Roettiers	218
1687	Festival at the Hôtel de Ville	J. Mauger		219
1687	Maison Royale de Saint Cyr	J. Mauger		220		SOLD
1688	Philippsburg taken	J. Mauger		222
1690	Battle of Fleurus	J. Mauger		228
1690	Naval Battle	J. Mauger		229
1690	Conquest of Savoie	J. Mauger		230
1690	Three Victories	J. Mauger		231
1691	Capture of Nice	J. Mauger		236
1691	Nice and Mons Taken	J. Mauger		237
1691	Battle of Leuze	J. Mauger		238
1692	Battle of Steenkerque	J. Mauger		241
1692	Battle of Steenkerque	J. Mauger		242
1693	Capture of Furnes and Dixmude	J. Mauger		245
1693	Defeat of the Smyrna fleet	J. Mauger		248
1693	Defeat of the Smyrna fleet	J. Mauger		248	gilt

1693	Battle of Nerwinde	J. Mauger		249
1693	Battle of Marsal near Turin	J. Mauger		250
1693	Capture of Charleroi	J. Mauger		251
1693	Splendor of the Navy	J. Mauger		251
1694	Capture of Girona	J. Mauger		256
1694	Defeat of the English at Brest	J. Mauger		257
1694	France supplied with grain	J. Mauger		258
1694	Dauphin at the Pont d’Espierre	J. Mauger		259
1696	Dutch Fleet defeated at Texel	J. Mauger		263
1696	Campaign of 1696	J. Mauger		264
1697	Capture of Ath	J. Mauger		266
1697	Capture of Barcelona	J. Mauger		267
1697	France continually victorious	J. Mauger		270
1697	Peace of Rijswijk	J. Mauger	Joseph Roettiers	272
1697	Peace of Rijswijk	J. Mauger	Joseph Roettiers	274
1697	Peace of Rijswijk	J. Mauger	Joseph Roettiers	274	Reverse
					flan crack
1697	Marriage of the Duke of Burgundy	J. Mauger		275
1698	Camp of Compeigne	J. Mauger		277
1699	Equestrian Stature of the King in Paris	J. Mauger		278
	In the illustrations in both the 1702 and
	1723 catalogues, the statue of the King
	on the reverse faces left; on the medal it faces right.

1699	Homage of the Duke of Lorraine	J. Mauger		279
1700	Edict against imposters	J. Mauger		281
1700	Edict against luxury	J. Mauger		282
1700	The Chamber of Commerce	J. Mauger		283
1700	The Duke of Anjou on the Spanish throne	J. Mauger		284
1700	The Duke of Anjou on the Spanish throne	J. Mauger	Thomas Bernard	285
1713	The Peace of Utrecht	Thomas Bernard	Joseph C.		Gilt,
	Not in the 1723 Catalogue; in Pax in		Roettiers		partially
	Nummis as #434.				worn off

1715

The Constancy of the King

J. Mauger

316

Send us your want lists to: pauljbosco@covad.net .

Paul Bosco Coins and Medals

Capture of La Capelle

Jean Dollin

This event is commemorated in the

1702 catalogue as #45 with a different reverse; it appears with this reverse as

#46 in the 1723 catalogue.