"1744" (1860-1879) French Geodesic Mission Medal. Betts-Unlisted. Bronze. Mint State.

42 mm. Obv: Bust of King Louis XV right, inscription LUD . XV . REX CHRISTIANISS. around, signed FM below. Rev: Figure and two cherubs standing on hemisphere, field of nine stars at upper right, inscriptions MENSOR ORBIS TERRARUM above, MISSIS AD AEQUATOREM / ET POLUM ARCTICUM / ASTRONOMIS / M . DCC / XLIV . below in exergue. Edge: Stamped (bee) CUIRVE at 6 o'clock. Not listed in Betts, this medal commemorates a scientific journey into the heart of South America to locate the Equator. A related expedition headed to the Arctic, in the hopes that the question of the earth's proximity to a perfect sphere could be settled.

Estimate: $ 300