Auction Catalogue

17 November 1999

Starting at 1:00 PM

.

Ancient, Celtic, British, Irish and World Coins, Tokens, and Historical Medals

The Regus Conference Centre  12 St James Square  London  SW1Y 4RB

Lot

№ 894

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17 November 1999

Estimate: £50–£70

France, The Dreyfus Affair, 1906, Æ propaganda medal by J. Baffier, bust of General Mercier to left, reverse legend, 50mm. Very fine to extremely fine (£50-70)

In 1894 Alfred Dryfus, a French officer of Jewish faith assigned to the War Office was accused of spying and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island. Doubts concerning the fairness of the trial and Dreyfus’ guilt surfaced almost immediately and led to Emile Zola’s famous and impassioned public letter “J’ accuse” in which he denounced the military and civil establishment. The trial polarised French opinion between the conservative, nationalist and anti-Semitic elements of French society on the one hand and republican, socialist, and anticlerical and enlightened opinion on the other. After a number of dramatic twists and turns Dryfus was finally exonerated, despite right wing opposition. General Mercier was the chief accuser of Dryfus.