A few weeks ago, The collection of Navarrese coins seen during a visit to the Staatliche Münzsammlung coin museum in Munich I presented.
The most unique of all the specimens in the museum, probably the only known specimen in the world, would be the joint medal of Joan III and Henry III mentioned by Adrien Blanchet.
Adrien Blanchet, in his book “Histoire monétaire du Béarn”, published in 1893, used the following drawing to describe the medal. He also stated that it had a diameter of 39 millimeters and a weight of 25.05 grams. From what we have seen, and based on the photographs taken, we can say that Adrien Blanchet did a fairly good job. Our measurements give us a diameter of 39.3 millimeters and a weight of 25.02 grams and if we compare Blanchet’s drawing and our photographs, we can only attribute one mistake to the extraordinary researcher Adrien… he was unable to read the year 1574 correctly on the obverse.
Medal of Joan III and her son Henry III, described by Adrien Blanchet in his 1893 book "Histoire monétaire du Béarn"
Silver medal minted in the name of Henry and his mother Joanna 1574 – 25.02gr – 39.3mm – Staatliche Münzsammlung München
DESCENT: HENRICVS*II*D*G*REX*NAVARRE*D (Cow – Bearn) B (Acorn) Acorn – Emblem of the engraver Jerond Le Normand
HELL: IOANNA*DEI*GRATIA*REG*NAVARRE*DB (Domina Bearni) 1574
I believe that this medal was struck with a flywheel press at the Pau mill mint under the direction of the engraver Jerond Le Normand. But what are the grounds for my statement? Contrary suspicions can also be developed; the weight value of 25 grams seems too round and can be compared to the decimal system of the Latin monetary union used in the second half of the 19th century. Could the medal therefore be a fantasy creation struck in the second half of the 19th century?
At least I don't think so; I actually think it was made around 1574 and I will present a couple of facts and comparisons in an effort to support this statement. Also, if it was created in the 19th century, why do we have only one known copy and why has it survived to this day so worn and worn? Let's look at a couple of points of development in the study.
The busts of the kings and queens used in this medal are well known. On the one hand, we can recognize the second bust model that appears on the testimonies of Queen Joan in her last years and, in the case of King Henry III, the stable model that appears on the testimonies of the first years of his reign.
Proof coin from the Pau mill mint of Henry III, 1574 – 9.38 gr; 29 mm
Found: HENRICVS.II.DGREX.NAVARE. D (Cow) B (Acorn) Engraver Jerond Le Normand
Obverse: GRATIA.DEI.SVM.QD.SVM 1574 (N) Pierre Nyert, mintmaster
MONNAIES D'ANTAN, AUCTION 27, LOT 753 30.05.2020
Second model coin from the Pau mill mint of Joan III, 1571 – 9.60 gr; 27.5 mm
Found:IOANNA.DGREG.NAVARRAE. (Cow)DB
Obverse: (B) GRATIA*D*SVM*ID*QVOD*SVM 1571 – Attributed to the mintmaster Etienne Bergeron
CGB.FR, E-MONNAIES JUIN 2015, LOT 356416 30.06.2015
But the size of these testes is usually 28 or 29 millimeters and their weight is also considerably less than the 25 grams of the medal (around 9.60 grams). Let's then compare the busts that appear on the medal and the testes; let's start with Henrique's.
If we place them side by side, we can see that the bust on the medal has more empty space around it, that is, it has a much greater distance to the image text. If we make a first analysis of the proportions, we can see that both the busts on the medal and the teston have very similar proportions.
Comparison of the proportions between the busts of a medal and a teston from 1574
In the next step, I took computer measurements inside the photos. Once I knew the measurements of the outer circumference of the medal and the testa, I could make different measurements on the busts that appear inside.
After taking three different measurements on each bust, we can conclude that the sizes of the body busts inside both the medal and the test piece are the same.
Measurements taken on busts within two different specimens – All values in millimeters
So far we have looked at the bust of Henry the Conqueror, but what can we say if we look at the bust of Joan? The results of the analysis are very similar. Let's start by looking at the proportions.
Comparison of the proportions between the busts of a medal from 1574 and a bust of Joan from 1571
Let's continue with the measurements taken on the busts:
Measurements taken on busts within two different specimens – All values in millimeters
After all these analyses, we can conclude that the busts used on the medals and testons are of the same size. Since they also have the same appearance and details, we can suspect that the same bust punches from the 16th century were used to make the medals and testons.
What can we say if we look at the other elements of the medal, that is, if we look at the image text and symbols? Let's start by looking at the symbols.
If we look at the symbols, we can highlight two main symbols; on the one hand, the star that separates the words and on the other, the acorn that appears on Henry's forehead. It is known that we also have the cow, which is the characteristic of Bearn, and the DB acorns, which are the abbreviation of DOMINVS BEARNI or DOMINA BEARNI, but these do not have any special implications in our analysis.
The acorn (on some coins the acorn is pointed upwards, on others downwards) is the hallmark of the engraver Jerond le Normand, and appears on coins struck at that time either with the Morlaas hammer or with the flywheel at the Pau mill mint. Jerond began working as an engraver around 1570 or 1571 and his acorn mark appears on francs struck until 1583. In his later years, he also worked as a mintmaster at the Pau factory and in 1579, together with the mintmaster of Morlaas, Auger de la Garde, Deal to reopen the Donapaleu currency exchange He did it with King Henry.
Henry III's Pau mill mint test coin, 1575 – 9.49 gr; 28.5 mm
Found: HENRICVS.II.DGREX.NAVARE. D (Cow) B (Acorn) Engraver Jerond Le Normand
Obverse: GRATIA.DEI.SVM.QD.SVM 1575 (N) Pierre Nyert, mintmaster
CGB.FR, MONNAIES 54, LOS 264 21.06.2012
The star, on the other hand, was the hallmark of the previously mentioned mintmaster Auger de la Garde. Auger was the mintmaster of the Morlaas factory at this time and in 1577 he became the mintmaster of Pau, replacing Pierre Nyert, until he was succeeded by the same Jerond.
Henry III's Morlaas hammer mint test piece, 1574 – 9.25 gr; 29 mm
Found: HENRICVS.II.DGREX.NAVARE. D (Cow) B (Acorn) Engraver Jerond Le Normand
Obverse: GRATIA.DEI.SVM.QD.SVM 1574 (Star) Mintmaster Auger de la Garde
INUMIS, MAIL BID SALE 20, LOS 872 12.03.2013
Is one of the stars on our medal the hallmark of Auger de la Garde? Oh my gosh; it is clear that they had star punches of that size and measure at their disposal, since Auger's hallmark appeared on the coins. Since we are talking about a medal, this was not an officially issued coin, and therefore it did not necessarily require a mint mark, nor any guarantee of its quality.
Moreover, as we can see in the following example, there was an earlier custom in Pau of separating words with asterisks; this example example had the same Jerond as the engraver:
Second mintmark of Joan III's Pau mill, 1571 – 9.11 gr
Title:IOANNA*DEI*G*REG*NAVARRE* *(Cow)D*B (Acorn)* Engraver Jerond Le Normand
Obverse: (DB) GRATIA*D*SVM*ID*QVOD*S 1571 (Acorn) Attributed to Jerond Le Normand – Etienne Bergeron, mintmaster
TAULER & FAU AUCTIONS, AUCTION 49, LOS 2813 14.01.2020
The final analysis will be conducted around the corners that make up the image text. Here too, if we compare the size and shape of the corners that make up the testons and the medal, the results are quite significant. Both the size and shape are the same.
Comparison between the image-texts of a medal and a teston from 1574 – Notable similarities
After all these studies, I have concluded that this medal is the result of genuine work created on the wheel press of the Pau mint by the engraver Jerond le Normand. Jerond used punch elements from test specimens made at the same time to make the dies for this medal.
We do not know how many medals were struck; this seems to be the only one that has survived to this day. Why they were struck is also unknown. Adrien Blanchet explains the creation of this medal as a test for the silver francs or livres that were later struck. But the creation of the francs was regulated by the ordinance published on May 31, 1575, by which time this medal must have already been struck, and on the other hand neither the weight nor the size correspond to the characteristics of the francs.
Perhaps, after the death of Queen Joan and while Henry was a prisoner at the French court (he only managed to escape in 1576), the Navarrese court was preparing this medal that proclaimed the legitimacy and visibility of the Huguenot royal house. Henry was ready to continue his mother's work and this medal was intended to convey this political message to his followers.
But perhaps, perhaps I should say again, the flywheel presses of the Pau castle mill mint were not suitable for working such large and heavy coins, they did not achieve the deep relief of the central bust image.
This could be one of the reasons why the images show such significant signs of wear, namely that the images did not achieve a deep groove during the coinage process. After a few tests, the project was abandoned and the only trace that remains of that project has ended up in the coin museum in Munich. Congratulations!
Bibliography:
CATÁLOGO GENERAL DE LA MONEDA DE NAVARRA – Ricardo Ros Arrogante – 2013 – Altaffaylla argitaretxea
Navarre medieval currency – Manual of Numismatics – Miguel IbaÑEZ ARTICA – 2021
Coin of the Basque Country – Pablo Maria Beitia – 2018
Histoire monétaire du Béarn – Jules Adrien Blanchet – 1893 – link
MONNAIES DE FRANCE, DE NAVARRE ET DU BÈARN – Jean Claude Ungar – 2010
MONNAIES FEODALES BEARN ET NAVARRE – Serge Salles – 2022
LA MONEDA EN NAVARRA – MUSEO DE NAVARRA – EXPOSICION DEL 31 DE MAYO AL 25 DE NOV 2001. Miguel Ibáñez Artica – link
Staatliche Münzsammlung München – Wikipedia – link
Die deutschen Münzen aus der Sammlung Jacob von Reichel – Kirill Tschernyschow -2011 – link
Traité des monnaies des barons – Pierre DUBY – Paris -1790
General description of Hispano-Christian coins since the Arab invasion - Alois Heiss -1869
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