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France - 1792

Vivre Libres ou Mourir

Obverse:

Soldiers swearing allegiance to France, who holds a copy of the Constitution.
Above the flags, PACTE FEDERATIF

Legend:

VIVRE LIBRES OU MOURIER .

Exergue:

14 JUILLET . 1790

Size:

40 mm.

Reverse:

MEDAILLE DE CONFIANCE DE CINQ-SOLS REMBOURSABLE EN ASSIGNATS DE 50 ET AU DESSUS.

Legend:

L'AN IV DE LA LIBERTE

Exergue:

MONNERON FRERES NEGOCIANS A PARIS 1792.

Vern's Comments:

Edge Marked: DEPARTEMENS DE PARIS . RHONE ET LOIRE . DU GARD . &c

The second example shown here is probably typical for the series. The shortage of small change not only affected Great Britain where the famous copper tokens produced by the small businesses allowed them to continue to do business. Like those practical Englishmen, the Monneron brothers of Paris, and other places felt the pinch and produced their own coinage. These are two examples, one heavily worn and another almost as struck.

Obverse - France - Monneron Brothers token 5 sols

Reverse - France - Monneron Brothers token 5 sols

Fortunately I acquired the nice example first, in fact several years ago. Look at the tremendous detail of this token. I chose this portion of the token because of several interesting points: the fleur-de-lys on the shield, the portrait of Louis XVI, the image of France as a helmeted young woman, the Constitution of the French, the swearing soldiers. All this, plus the date of July 14, 1790 clearly identify this as prior to the King's execution. Also, the date 1792 on the reverse would also tend to date it to this period.

"Another wonderful design by Dupré. The date l'An IV de la Liberté refers to the French Constitutional Calendar and therefore translates as 1792. The scene on the obverse recalls the Oath of the Federation, the first anniversary of which was celebrated by the Festival of the Federation on 14 July 1790 (hence that date in the exergue). The Festival, which included a mass held by the great French statesman Talleyrand (1754-1838), then the Bishop of Autun, also commemorated the taking of the Bastille and the bond which united the nation with the king and the people.

This coin, or more correctly token, was actually minted in my home city of Birmingham, England. From the end of 1791 Matthew Boulton, utilising his new steam driven coin presses, was commissioned by the Monneron Brothers to produce 2 and 5 sols pieces in great quantity at his Soho Mint near Birmingham (Birmingham has grown considerable since those times and now encompasses the site where the mint once stood). According to various sources, the total weight of these coins produced was in excess of 70 tonnes, implying a fabrication of 2,334,000 pieces weighing 30 gms. each. These 'monnaies de nécessité' were to be used to remedy the lack of specie which plagued France during the early revolutionary years. The technical and aesthetic quality of the tokens was far superior to the mediocre, officially produced base metal coins of the time.

In March 1792, the Monneron Brothers became bankrupt and one brother, Pierre, fled the business. Under the other brother Augustin, the business recovered, but a law of 3rd May 1792 forbade the production of privately issued coinage. In September, a further decree also forbade the marketing of these 'Medailles de Confiance'. This emergency coinage only remained in circulation therefore until the end of 1793. Most of this information was obtained from the aforementioned French web site www.cgb.fr "

Thanks to Mish Webster for the info!

(Isn't the Internet cool?)

Hennin:

N^o. 431. Pl. 42.

31 Décembre 1792.

Monnaie particulière.

Vivre libres ou mourir.
R. Monneron frères. 1792. Médaille de confiance de cinq-sols. L'an IV.

Avers semblable à celui de la pièce précédente.

Revers semblable à celui de la pièce précédente, excepté que ces mots: L'AN III DE LA LIBERTE, sont remplacés par: L'AN IV. DE LA LIBERTE.
Tranche semblable à celle de la pièce précédente [40^m.]. Cuivre.

Voyez l'article de la pièce précédente.
La pièce du présent article est une variété de la précédente, dans laquelle on a substitué à l'an III l'an IV, par les motifs détaillés au dernier article. Cette pièce-ci est celle des deux qui fut mise en cours en très-grand nombre.

Vivre Libres ou Mourir