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I was going to post this in the mystery object heading, but then I thought there probably isn't really and answer to that question.
It is a Louis XIV silver 1/12 ecu minted in Lyon in 1660. Someone then wrapped it around a rock, or a stone. My best guess is that it was some kind of a souvenir perhaps of a building that was torn down. The Bastille was torn down over a hundred years later, so that doesn't work.
I posted this on a coin site years ago, and almost all I got was people saying what a shame to wreck a nice coin.
Someone asked me once what I had it for, so I told them one of my ancestors gave it to his son and said, "if you ever see this man, throw the rock at him and run." It wasn't true, in fact in 2007 I voted Royalist.
I doubt anyone has a serious answer for this, but humorous answers are allowed. In either case I am all ears.
Maurice
Long shot but Louis XIV was not very popular at the end of his rein of 72 years; when the common people only paid tax and brought on the brink of starvation and superior France in Europe was on the brink of bankruptcy. During the French revolution many of Louis XIV monuments were destroyed and his coffin was dragged out of Saint Denis and his remains thrown in a pit outside the church.
Your piece of stone with the coin face of Louis XIV or "LOUIS LE GRAND", le Roi-Solei attached to it symbolizes what was left after his reign; only rubble.
Well, I kinda of like the whole throwing the rock at the man on the coin idea. It makes one of the best stories anyway. I'd be curious to see what a historian would say about this piece. It is interesting to say the least.
I agree with Oel and also with your guess, Maurice. A souvenir from the time of the French Revolution. Why do I think so?
This is a small coin, 1/12 ecu. A bit more than two grams. The coin is worn, remained in circulation for a long period. In Switzerland we had 1/2 Franc coins from similar size in circulation for 90 years and the are similarly worn. So a circulation of 130 years is possible, though it looks rather good for such a long circulation period.
In 1660 Louis XIIII was 22 years old, already king but not in power. Mazarin was in charge. He was then not the hated despot yet, but a promishing young king. There is no specific reason to be angry with the young king. If this souvenier would be from the later time of the reign of Louis XIIII, for example a souvenier from the War of the spanish succession (1701-1714, Marlborough, Prince Eugen, Malplaquet, Blenheim etc..), the I assume a current coin would have been used, not a 40 to 50 year old one. So I roule this out.
But it looks perfectly like a Souvenir from the French revolution. Everything fits: A small coin, so everyone could afford it. Crudely made, a hastly made souvenir. And from the distance of 100 years any coin of the hated king would do it. And at this time the coin was not yet a collectors item, this comes later, in the 19th century.
The stone is a sediment. Is it a sand stone ore a lime stone? Both are common in Paris. But I think the assumtion as a souvenir from the bastille fits 100%.
Maybe you compare the Stone with aremain of the Bastille? Does the stone material fit?
I Quote here from the English Wikipedia aricle "Bastille"
The ruins of the Bastille rapidly became iconic across France. A memorabilia industry surrounding the fall of the Bastille was already flourishing and as the work on the demolition project finally dried up, Palloy started producing and selling memorabilia of the Bastille.[201][W] Palloy's products, which he called "relics of freedom", celebrated the national unity that the events of July 1789 had generated across all classes of French citizenry, and included a very wide range of items.[203][X] Palloy also sent models of the Bastille, carved from the fortress's stones, as gifts to the French provinces at his own expense to spread the revolutionary message.[204] In 1793 a large fountain featuring a statue of Isis was built on the former site of the fortress, which became known as the Place de la Bastille.[205]
Again, I think an authentic example of a "Bastille Souvenir"
That is a very logical analysis. In the back of my mind I wondered if it wasn't the Bastille because what other building would one keep a piece of. The date on the coin threw me off, but your reasoning works. Also I thought it odd that one would use a coin with a monarch's visage on it, to commemorate an act of revolt, but then what other kind of coin would one have, as they all had the monarch's visage on them.
I am not sure how one could be absolutely certain, the piece of stone came from the Bastille. I am relatively certain that the stones of the Bastille were mined in Paris, as those of most of the early buildings were. I have or had an early engraving showing how they mined them and brought them to the surface with a large wheel. I guess the next thing to do would be to see if anyone else has a similar souvenir of the Bastille.
Thanks
Maurice
