1 1703 Duchesse Du Maine Order of the Honey Bee Gold Medal

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(currently in collection) 1703. Gold. Diameter 29mm, 14.5 grams. Obverse: Bust of the Duchess facing right with surrounding legend: L. BAR. D. SC. D. P. D. L. O. D. L. M. A. M.  for Louise BARrone De SCeaux Dictatrice Perpetuelle De L'Ordre De La Mouche A Miel. Reverse: A bee flying over rough ground, a bee hive in the distance, surrounded by the legend:  PICCOLA SI. MA FA PUR GRAVI LE FERITE (Small she is, but she gives cruel wounds.). This ecclectic and obscure medal is one of my personal favorites, and is a good example of a medal that is more historic than historical.  During the reign of Louis XIV, Anne-Louise-Benidicte, the Duchess of Maine, who was married to the king's illegitimate son, created her own "court" at Sceaux, emulating the court of King Louis XIV, and created a secret society called the "Order of the Honey Bee" or "Ordre du Mouche a Miel".  The Duchess of Maine was of very small stature, and had a crippled arm, but was regardless an attractive woman with a strong charismatic personality. The reverse legend reflects her strength. As part of the secretive order, the 39 members were to wear this gold medallion, and follow a series of secret rituals.  This medal is actually a 19th century restrike with twin cornucopia privy marks on the edge.  I have seen only one other example in gold, and three in silver from the 19th century, and with the unusual common twin privy marks, believe that these were privately struck by the Paris mint by a group who was either creating a revision of the Order of the Honey Bee, or alternatively, the order was in fact kept intact for all those years, and these were struck for the orders use. It is interesting that the Monnaie du Paris (Paris Mint) is currently restriking an "Order of the Honey Bee" medal; but they have apparently lost any record of the original design.  The Paris mint modern restrike is of a completely different design, though of the same theme, and with the same legends.  I am guessing they read only a description of the medal, and without an example, they came up with their own completely inaccurate version.

Item record created March 17, 2009.
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item record in VRA Core 4.0

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