FRANCE, Tricentenaire du Rattachement de Valenciennes à la France [Tercentenary of the Annexation of Valenciennes to France], 1978, a bronze medal by G. Thurotte, Marianne, her head flanked by a lis and the Phrygian cap, receiving the arms of the city, two swans below, rev. crowned arms of Louis XIV emanating from a radiant sun, clasped hands below flanked by a sword placed on a shield decorated with an octopus, ears of wheat, a toothed wheel, a painter's palette, a feather and an unrolled parchment, edge impressed 1978 bronze and cornucopia, 77mm, 206.24g (CGMP p.1793; cf. Crinon, Oct. 2013, 716). Mint state; in blue card box of issue £30-£40

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Silich Collection of Historical and Art Medals.

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bt Simmons, June 2015

The two swans on the medal explain the etymology of the city's name 'Val des cynes'.