1716 Bronze Medal Betts-125var, Du Vivier Obverse

Coin Details

Description

This 1716 bronze medal (Betts-125var) features the Du Vivier obverse, a variant of the standard Betts-125 design. The Du Vivier family were among the most celebrated medal engravers in French history, with multiple generations serving the Paris Mint from the seventeenth through eighteenth centuries. The 1716 date places this medal at the beginning of the Regency period following Louis XIV's death in 1715, when Philippe d'Orleans governed France on behalf of the young Louis XV. The variant designation indicates a different obverse die from the standard Betts-125, attributed to a member of the Du Vivier family rather than the original engraver. Colonial-era medals were produced at royal mints, private workshops, and jewelers' studios across Europe, with production quality ranging from masterfully engraved official issues to crudely cast provincial pieces. Such die variants are of particular interest to specialists in French colonial medallic art.

Rarity Notes

Original 1716 bronze. Du Vivier obverse variant. Scarce.

Cross References

Betts-125var; Du Vivier obverse; French Regency era 1716