(sold for $32.0)

1716, Royal France, Louis XV.  Silver "Numismtic Committee" Jetton Coin. VF

Condition: VF Mint Place: Paris Mint year: ca. 1716  Denomination: Jetton (Medallic Coin) - Issued by the Numismatic Committee of the The Academy of Inscriptions and Literature Diameter: 30mm Weight: 7.69gm  Material: Silver

Obverse: Draped bust of Louis XV right with medallist´s signature  below. Legend: LUD . XV . REX-CHRISTIANISS . Reverse: Wreathed and togate figure of Vista, holding wreath and flanked by pillar and Obelisk. Legend: VETAT MORI ("It/she prevents from diyng") Exergue: REGIA INSCRIPT . ET . HUMAN . LIT . ACADEMIA .

Jetons were widely used by government institutions such as state treasuries, revenue services and the bureos, stewardship courts or councils that supervised the royal family´s finances and internal affairs. The production of jetons for such institutions was standardised and regulated. WIn time, they ceased to be used for accounting purposes and became mere instruments of political propaganda.

The Academy of Inscriptions and Literature (also known as the "Little Academy") was founded by Jean Baptiste Colbert in 1663. At its founding It consisted of a small council and a handful scholars, responsible for the decoration, design and superivision of statues, medals, inner appearance of buidings and even for composing of musical pieces (librettos) and writing of poems, mainly dedicated to the King (then Louis XIV, later Louis XV) and his merits.

Louis XV (Versailles, 15 February 1710 – Versailles, 10 May 1774) ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death on 10 May 1774. Coming to the throne at the age of five, Louis reigned until 15 February 1723, the date of his thirteenth birthday, with the aid of the Régent, Philippe, duc d'Orléans, his great-uncle, thereafter taking formal personal control of government.

Unexpectedly surviving the death of most of the royal family, he enjoyed a favourable reputation at the beginning of his reign and earned the epithet "le Bien-Aimé" ("the Beloved"). However, in time, his lack of morals, general inability to effectively reform France and the Monarchy, and the perceived failings of his foreign policy lost him the affection of his people, and he ended his life amongst the most unpopular kings of France.

While historians have traditionally treated Louis XV harshly, more recent research has suggested that he was in fact very intelligent and dedicated to the task of ruling the largest state in Europe, bar Russia. His nagging indecision, fueled by his awareness of the complexity of problems ahead, as well as his profound timidity, hidden behind the mask of an imperious king, may account for the poor results achieved during his reign. In many ways, Louis XV prefigures the "bourgeois rulers" of the romantic 19th century. While dutifully playing the role of the mighty king carved out by his predecessor and great-grandfather, Louis XIV, Louis XV in fact cherished nothing more than his private life far away from the pomp and ceremony of Court. Having lost his mother while still little more than an infant, he longed for a reassuring and motherly presence, which he tried to find in the intimate company of women, something for which he was much criticized both during and after his life.