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The Siege of Mainz, 1793 and Clausewitz
spoon
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The Seige of Mainz was one of the major points in the early French Revolution's expansion. I was recently reading a book on Clausewitz's life to gain some context for his writings, Clausewitz and the State by Peter Paret. I highly recommend the book, and anything by this author. Before getting to the coin I'll take an excerpt from the book regarding Mainz, page 29:
By December 1792 the French invasion of the right bank of the Rhine had been brought to a halt. Frankfurt was soon liberated, and the French commander in chief, Custine, withdrew to the Palatinate; a strong garrison in Mainz, which in the course of the winter reached 23,000 men, supported by the armée du Rhin operating in the valleys of the Mosel and Saar rivers, might be able to hold the newly proclaimed Rhenish Republic. In the meantime the Prussians reorganized their forces in preparation for the siege. Clausewitz's regiment arrived on the Rhine toward the end of January; a few weeks later he saw his first combat when the regiment took part in the shelling of a village some miles from Mainz. In the last days of March the main army crossed the Rhine north of the city; but instead of trying to destroy Custine's outnumbered forces, Brunswick was content to fight a number of limited engagements, which drove the French several days' marches farther west, beyond easy reach of the city. It required another six weeks for the necessary guns and siege equipment to be assembled; until then a costly war of ambushes and sorties was waged among the outlying villages which the garrison had converted into strongpoints. On 6 June, a few days after Clausewitz's thirteenth birthday and his promotion to ensign, one battalion of his regiment stormed the village of Zahlbach, after which the seige trenches could be opened. By the end of the month the earthworks had come to within 800 paces of the main walls, and the bombardment began. Goethe, who had accompanied the Weimar contingent to the siege, observed the bombardment from the headquarters' redoubt, pitying the stricken city and appreciating the beaty of the incendiary bombs as they lost themselves in the starry sky before dropping on their targets, while in a trench below, Clausewitz joined in the cheers of his soldiers at the sight of the first flames. Violent fighting during the next weeks led to the capture of the remaining outworks, and on 23 July the garrison surrendered the city, obtaining for itself the freedom to return to France.
So, pretty neat, huh?
Thing is, I know nothing at all about the coin! Can someone fill me in on any relevant details about it? (or add to the above history, if you like) How'd I do on price?
Ebay link: French Siege Coinage City Mainz 1793 5 Sols
By December 1792 the French invasion of the right bank of the Rhine had been brought to a halt. Frankfurt was soon liberated, and the French commander in chief, Custine, withdrew to the Palatinate; a strong garrison in Mainz, which in the course of the winter reached 23,000 men, supported by the armée du Rhin operating in the valleys of the Mosel and Saar rivers, might be able to hold the newly proclaimed Rhenish Republic. In the meantime the Prussians reorganized their forces in preparation for the siege. Clausewitz's regiment arrived on the Rhine toward the end of January; a few weeks later he saw his first combat when the regiment took part in the shelling of a village some miles from Mainz. In the last days of March the main army crossed the Rhine north of the city; but instead of trying to destroy Custine's outnumbered forces, Brunswick was content to fight a number of limited engagements, which drove the French several days' marches farther west, beyond easy reach of the city. It required another six weeks for the necessary guns and siege equipment to be assembled; until then a costly war of ambushes and sorties was waged among the outlying villages which the garrison had converted into strongpoints. On 6 June, a few days after Clausewitz's thirteenth birthday and his promotion to ensign, one battalion of his regiment stormed the village of Zahlbach, after which the seige trenches could be opened. By the end of the month the earthworks had come to within 800 paces of the main walls, and the bombardment began. Goethe, who had accompanied the Weimar contingent to the siege, observed the bombardment from the headquarters' redoubt, pitying the stricken city and appreciating the beaty of the incendiary bombs as they lost themselves in the starry sky before dropping on their targets, while in a trench below, Clausewitz joined in the cheers of his soldiers at the sight of the first flames. Violent fighting during the next weeks led to the capture of the remaining outworks, and on 23 July the garrison surrendered the city, obtaining for itself the freedom to return to France.
So, pretty neat, huh?
Thing is, I know nothing at all about the coin! Can someone fill me in on any relevant details about it? (or add to the above history, if you like) How'd I do on price?
Ebay link: French Siege Coinage City Mainz 1793 5 Sols
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I think you did ok on the price. I've seen these go much higher and strangely enough, sometimes dirt cheap. The condition is about as good as you'll find, the really exceptional condition pieces command pretty high prices. Plus, it could easily be "as struck", the mints inside a besieged city were often very crude as was the skill of the engravers. The Mainz pieces had both a regular mint and skilled engravers available but the workers were often drafted into defending the city during a siege and the equipment was probably operated by amateurs.
You want how much?!!
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