NEWP: 1820 France medal with quadriga

brg5658

I took advantage of the 10% eBay coupon today, and picked up this medal from Atlas. It's my first numismatic purchase for quite a long while, item #269 added to my horse collection of numismatica.

Best,
Brandon

FRANCE. 1820 AE Medal. PCGS SP65. By Barre. 50.6mm. 58.76gm.
(Bramsen 1831; Slg. Julius 3685.)
Obverse: Winged Victory in quadriga over globe depicting Europe and Egypt.
Reverse: Legend in wreath of laurel and oak branches. / LES SOUSCRIPTEURS ASSOCIÉS POUR TRANSMETTRE A LA POSTÉRITÉ LES VICTOIRES ET CONQUÊTES DES FRANCAIS DE 1795 A 1815. ÉDITEUR C. L. F. PANCKOUCKE 1820.
Bramsen 1831; Slg. Julius 3685.

Struck for the subscribers to a work by C. L. F. Panckoucke, on the victories and conquests of Napoleon. Charles-Louis-Fleury Panckoucke, born on 26 Dec 1780 in Paris and died on 11 Jul 1844 in Meudon, was a French writer, printer, bookseller, and publisher. His most famous published work as editor was that for which this medal was created, published in Paris in 1820.

Ex E. J. Haeberlin collection. Ernst Justus Haeberlin (born 19 Jun 1847 in Frankfurt, Germany, died 5 Dec 1925 ) was a lawyer and commercial councilor in Frankfurt am Main. However, Haeberlin became known primarily as a numismatist. In 1906 he was a co-founder of the Frankfurt Numismatic Society. His coin collection was dispersed after his death, with the Aes-Grave portion and other items entering the coin cabinet of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin .

Jackthecat1

An outstanding medal.

Iosephus

Beautiful!

Zoins

Beautiful piece! Great execution and condition.

Any idea why she looks like she's holding 2 wreaths and has already dropped 2?

PatAR

Glorious! Exceptional! History preserved through beautiful medallic art. You've got a great eye, Brandon.

Any idea why she looks like she's holding 2 wreaths and has already dropped 2?

This is purely speculation on my part, but I suspect this may be an allusion to the Triumph procession of Roman tradition. The wreaths symbolize the fact that Napoleon achieved not one, but many, many victories.

worldcoinguy

Very sharp. I like the obverse with the map in particular.

brg5658

@Zoins said:
Beautiful piece! Great execution and condition.

Any idea why she looks like she's holding 2 wreaths and has already dropped 2?

I interpreted it in the same was as @PatAR . She has actually already dropped 3 on the map (Italy, Russia, Egypt), 2 are in the process of falling, and one is in Victory's hand. See the blown up map portion of the medal (from the PCGS TrueView) below.

@worldcoinguy said:
Very sharp. I like the obverse with the map in particular.

The map is what put me over the top and sold me on this one.