La Régiment de la Calotte

878096.

Sold For $575

FRANCE, Joseph Charles Roettiers. fl. circa 1711-1771. Æ Medal (42mm, 38.64 g, 12h). La Régiment de la Calotte. Paris mint. Struck circa 1720. RIDERE REGNARE EST (to laugh is to rule), Folley seated slightly right on throne set upon clouds, holding scepter surmounted by Jester’s head; below, J.C.Roettiers fecit in script / LUNA DUCE AUSPICE MOMO (under the guidance of the moon and the auspices of Momus), coat-of-arms of the régiment: oval shield decorated with the three phases of the moon above scepter, surmounted by Jester’s head, set on field of bees; above, facing helmet decorated with bells and surmounted by weathervane above cat left; to left and right, simian supporters, each with heads turned outward and holding smoking cornucopias; all set on floral scroll. Adams S-3; Betts 66-70, n. 3. EF, brown surfaces. Rare and historically interesting.

Most likely struck for the Régiment de la Calotte, a festive and carnival society of military origin, this medal has been traditionally ascribed to John Law, the famous Scottish economist of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Surrounded by a bad reputation for the disastrous results of his financial and economic adventures – such as the Mississippi bubble – he is now considered to have been a forerunner in his field. The whimsical nature of this medal could be viewed as a satire upon Law, but the later attribution is indeed accurate, as the reverse bears the coat-of-arms and banner of the jovial French society.