Vivier Benjamin (1 results)

Silver medal, 60 mm., a few tiny marks, especially to the rim, but extremely fine. A fine and rare silver La Pérouse medal, from the very scarce issue with the extended inscription. With its high surfaces and fine detail, this medal is more commonly seen with significant wear. The medal was designed by the celebrated Benjamin Duvivier, chief engraver at the French mint until 1791. Only one hundred such examples were minted for the sailing of La Pérouse in June 1785, some in bronze and some silver: although the actual number of each is still open to speculation, the silver issue of this particular medal was evidently very small, perhaps fewer than fifty. On the obverse is a bust of Louis XVI; on the reverse, within a laurel wreath, "LES FREGATES / DU ROI DU FRANCE / LA BOUSSOLE / ET L'ASTROLABE / COMMANDÉES PAR M.M. / DE LA PEROUSE / ET DE LANGLE / PARTIES DU PORT DE BREST / EN JUIN 1785". Although the voyage was primarily one of scientific discovery, it also had explicit "Political and Commercial Objects" (Spate, Paradise Found and Lost, p. 157); thus the minting of medals for trade with the South Sea islanders was obviously thought to be expedient. Indeed, the official accounts of the voyage include a staggering array of goods and baubles, taken along as gifts or for exchange. It includes a total of 700 medals, the first 600 simple medals in bronze or silver with only the effigy of the king, and 100 more of the elaborate medals, detailing the voyage, as here. They are listed as "Médailles d'argent ou de bronze, à effigie du roi, avec l'inscription portant les noms des bâtiments et l'époque du voyage, les unes avec des chaînes de même métal, les autres sans chaînes, 100". The appearance of the two silver and bronze versions is effectively identical. Having said that, there are small discrepancies in Duvivier's name beneath the bust: here, "B. Duvivier F." appears to have been newly lettered when compared with an example of the bronze issue that we have examined. It would also seem that the date "1778", the apparent date that the bust was struck, has been removed from either the die or the medal itself. It would be interesting to find out more details about the exact history of the minting of this medal, but suffice to say that this is a model examplar of a very rare piece. .