SOLD! Colonial-era silver... PCGS AU58 Secure/Trueview, pop 1 all grades, killer toning- $185!
lordmarcovan
Posts: 43,218 ✭✭✭✭✭
The description and links below are copied from my Box of 20 subthread about this piece. This one gained a little admiration on the forums, and deservingly so, but now it's about to "fall out of the bottom" of my Box of 20, to make way for new upgrades, so here's your shot at it.
This one covers just about all the bases. It's a lovely piece of colonial-era silver, decent-sized, very attractively toned, with an awesome classical design, and in a PCGS holder with TrueView images (also pop.1 in ALL grades). The TrueViews are of course "glamor shots" - as with many early proofs (this is an AU58), the colors on this only "pop" at certain angles to the light, while it has a more subtle off-white/grey appearance at other angles. (My primitive cell phone shots of the slab are the "anti glamor shots", to give you some idea). But "pop" the colors do, when this piece is held just so.
It's a great piece, and for the money, I don't expect it will last terribly long, but who knows.
Asking $185.00 delivered.
France: silver jeton of Louis XV, "Aurora in cloud chariot", undated (ca. 1740)
(Photoshop "shadowbox" template image below was made from the TrueView. See the cert page for that.)
Obverse: LUD. XV. REX CHRISTIANISS, bust of Louis XV right.
Reverse: LATE.CVNCTA.PROFVNDIT., female deity or personification Aurora(?) in biga (two-horse chariot) galloping right through clouds, holding torch or candle.
Feuardent-13203, PCGS AU58, cert. # 32657468. Ex-Atlas Numismatics, 10/13/2015.
These French jetons are often surprisingly inexpensive. One sees some spectacular ones from the 19th century, but I had to have this early 18th century example when I saw the toning and the reasonably modest price. Not too long ago, I briefly had another like it with the same Louis XV bust but a different reverse. They're roughly the size of a United States half-dollar. Big silver with nice toning and some history to it, already in PCGS plastic with a TrueView image? I couldn't resist it. Also, I later found out this is population 1 in all grades at PCGS as of late 2015, which is kind of neat, though not completely surprising.
As to the symbolism of the reverse, interpretations vary, but I would agree with those who say the personification is that of Aurora, the Roman goddess of the dawn. One interpretation has it that here she represents Christianity bringing peace to the world, though I think of this more as a motif representing enlightenment in general. This was, of course, struck during the era commonly referred to as the Age of Enlightenment.
Miscellaneous links:
Larger image
PCGS cert verification page (with TrueView image link)
Wikipedia links:
Jeton
Louis XV of France
Aurora (mythology)
