Napoleon III satiricals
Dentuck
Posts: 3,824 ✭✭✭
I'm familiar with two general types of early-1870s satirical pieces lampooning Napoleon III, from the time of the Franco-Prussian War. One is an altered coin, and the other is a token.
1. A government-issue dix centimes coin engraved with a Prussian pickelhaube (spiked helmet) on the emperor's head. This is an altered coin similar to a hobo nickel (Buffalo nickel tooled by an itinerant folk artist during the Great Depression).
2. A token the size and fabric of a dix centimes, with Napoleon's portrait, etc. The legends are modified to include "Vampire de France," etc.; again, a pickelhaube is a major part of the design; and typically the imperial eagle on the reverse is replaced with a spooky and hollow-eyed owl.
Has anything definitive been written about these pieces? Any standard valuations attached to them? (I purchased a nice brown example of the token last year, and I was just offered an engraved coin at the Denver ANA show.)
Thanks,
-- Dentuck
1. A government-issue dix centimes coin engraved with a Prussian pickelhaube (spiked helmet) on the emperor's head. This is an altered coin similar to a hobo nickel (Buffalo nickel tooled by an itinerant folk artist during the Great Depression).
2. A token the size and fabric of a dix centimes, with Napoleon's portrait, etc. The legends are modified to include "Vampire de France," etc.; again, a pickelhaube is a major part of the design; and typically the imperial eagle on the reverse is replaced with a spooky and hollow-eyed owl.
Has anything definitive been written about these pieces? Any standard valuations attached to them? (I purchased a nice brown example of the token last year, and I was just offered an engraved coin at the Denver ANA show.)
Thanks,
-- Dentuck
0
Comments
"Vampire de France", eh?
Unfortunately, I've never come across anything written about them outside of these ebay listings.
Collecting:
Conder tokens
19th & 20th Century coins from Great Britain and the Realm
This one was actually 1 centime size. I've seen the struck versions on 5c-size as well as the 10s - and of course the engraved versions on just about everything. (I seem to recall a 1 or 2 franc engraved?)
Unfortunately, this is an area I've been lazy with. I always have an interest in them, but never bothered to figure anything out about them!
My wantlist & references
France entered the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 with expectations of an easy victory. Its people were shocked by the inglorious defeat of a large French army at Sedan, near the Belgium border on September 4, 1870. The elderly Emperor Napoleon III, who commanded the army, surrendered 80,000 troops and went into exile in Germany. Another 173,000 French troops surrendered at the battle of Metz, but even that did not end the war. The city of Paris was besieged and fell to the Prussians on January 28, 1871, and "Sedan" became the rallying cry of anti-monarchists.
Numerous anti-Napoleon III tokens, medals, and countermarked coins were made at this time. On many of them the portrait of Napoleon was re-engraved to show him with a Prussian helmet, and the French eagle has become a vampire bat. Little contemporary evidence exists about these satirical coins, although one commentator mentioned that none of them were seen in Paris until after the war. While seven mints were operating at this time, most of the satirical pieces were minted at Paris, Strasbourg and Lille, which were closest to the war zone in northeastern France. So the countermarked coins probably were made in German occupied Alsace, and many sold there as souvenirs, particularly in the city of Strasbourg. There are two basic varieties of the countermark: One has an accent mark over the E in SEDAN and the other does not
www.brunkauctions.com
Thanks,
Rick
1836 Capped Liberty
dime. My oldest US
detecting find so far.
I dig almost every
signal I get for the most
part. Go figure...
try nap III sedan
and monnaies satiriques
and and another
all in french, but nice pictures
David