Louis XV and earlier (through 1774)

FRANCE. Louis XVI/Construction of the Canal de Bourgogne Bronze Medal, 1785. CHOICE UNCIRCULATED.

54mm; 70.71 gms. Wurzbach-5592. By Duvivier. Obverse: Draped bust right; Reverse: Four river gods (two male: Rhone & Seine; two female: Saone & Yonne) reclining and facing one another, the two females clasping hands; four overturned urns pour forth the water from the respective rivers; Edge : Plain. Glossy chocolate brown surfaces, with some lustrous hints radiating in the fields. A great allegorical type. The Canal de Bourgogne was begun in 1775, with the purpose of connecting the Rivers Saone and Yonne. In so doing, it completed the link of waterways from the English Channel to the Mediterranean Sea, via further connecting to the Rivers Seine and Rhone, as alluding to on the reverse of this medal.

Estimate: $140.00- $220.00