1803 - Establishment of the French School of Fine Arts in Rome

elverno · January 27, 2005 6:03AM

I ran across this on my site last night while I was classifying another medal. I think it's beautiful, you usually see these gilded. This wasn't actually produced until May, 1814. By that time Louis XVIII was in Paris but to say that his hold on the throne was tenuous is an understatement! The engraver, Gatteaux obviously wasn't going to let a little thing like the overthrow of Napoleon prevent him from having the medal struck. In fact it would be three years before Louis would order the Napoleonic dies taken away from the mint.