France vs. Austria in the War of the Spanish Succession

Sale: Triton XII, Lot: 922. Estimate $2000.  Closing Date: Monday, 5 January 2009.  Sold For $1800. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

AUSTRIA, Holy Roman Empire. Josef I. Emperor, 1705-1711. AR Medal Klippe (14.79 g, 12h). G. F. Nürnberger, engraver. Dated 1706. Two armored figures fighting in the clouds; REGNABO, “I will reign” inscribed over the upper figure’s shield; REGNAVI, “I reigned” inscribed over the lower figure’s shield; four people watching the fight from below; D. 7 FEBR. / 1536 / GFN in exergue / RE / GNABO. / CAROLVS / III . REX HISPA / NIAE. / MDCCVI / MDXXXVI / CLXX. in eight lines; RE / GNAVI. / ANIOV. / MDCCVI. in four lines. Van Loon IV, p. 447. Superb EF, proof-like surfaces.

This fascinating medal was produced during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), in which France fought the Austrian Habsburgs to protect its claims on Spanish lands after the death of the Spanish king Charles II. According to Charles’ will, Philip of Anjou, grandson of Maria Theresia and Louis XIV of France, was to become king of Spain. However, the Austrian Habsburgs did not recognize Philip’s claim to the throne. In the ensuing military conflict between Austria and France, Spain lost the Southern Netherlands to Austria. The obverse of this klippe refers to a vision that was recorded by Conrad Lycosthenes in his Prodigiorum ac ostentorum chronicon, a collection of omens and predictions published in Basel in 1557. The account of the vision, which occurred on 7 February 1536, describes two armored figures fighting in the sky, each holding a shield, one inscribed REGNABO (“I will reign”), and the other inscribed REGNAVI (“I reigned”). On this medal, the upper figure is holding a shield decorated with a double eagle, while the lower figure, holding a shield inscribed with a sun, lies prostrate below him. We can assume this is an allegory in which the upper figure represents Austria and the Holy Roman Empire in its victory over France’s Sun King, Louis XIV. The reverse of the klippe records the name of Spain’s new ruler, Charles III (later Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI). According to the legend on the medal, Charles assumes power over Spain 170 years after the vision recorded in Lycosthenes’ chronicles.