102733 | FRANCE. Var. Contract Lawyers of Toulon octagonal silver Jeton.

102733  |  FRANCE. Var. Contract Lawyers of Toulon octagonal silver Jeton. Issued circa late 19th century (30mm x 30mm, 13.26 g, 12h). Paris mint.

 

LEX EST QUODCUMQUE NOTAMUS, two clasped right hands over radiant background // NOTAIRES / DE / L'ARRONDISSEMENT / DE / TOULON / (VAR) in six lines; all within garlanded wreath of oak and laurel branches. Edge: «cornucopia» ARGENT.

 

Lerouge 399. PCGS MS-63. Mostly argent and highly brilliant, with some toning at the peripheries. The only such example of the type in the PCGS census.

 

Ex Collection "PL."

 

Among the numerous jetons issued predominantly during the 18th and 19th centuries in France, certain professions tend to stand out. These jetons, dissimilar to their counterparts from prior centuries, which may have had some numismatic function as well as reckoning use, had far less utilitarian appeal. Instead, as James McClellan notes in his work, Old Regime France and its Jetons: Pointillist History and Numismatics, "...the historical and numismatic interest in jetons stems more from what else they became, particularly though the end of the eighteenth century under the Bourbon monarchs, as perks of office for office holders in the burgeoning nation state of France, New Year’s Day presents exchanged among certain segments of society, and lagniappe handed out for attendance at meetings in town halls, regional estates, and learned societies. Jetons figured in the rites and rituals of the guilds and faculties; they were swag for general meetings of the clergy, and they served as calling cards for noble families. Decoding hidden messages became a parlor game for cognoscenti, and as “petit monuments” some jetons are miniature works of high art produced by the world’s most talented artists/engravers at the world’s preeminent mint."

 

Here, the role of the "notaire" is mentioned, specifically for Toulon. While sometimes being translated as the English cognate "notary," the role of the "notaire" in France was, and is, much more involved. Essentially serving as a contract lawyer, the "notaire" deals in all facets of contracts in French life, most notably with wills, estates, and the sale of property. Given the omnipresent nature of such dealings in day-to-day life, it's not surprising how rampant the issuance of jetons for notaires was.

 

Upload: 3 February 2025.