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French colonial exploration and exploitation encompassed Africa in the 18th century, and a relic of that effort will be auctioned off in October.
A silver token, issued in 1774 during the reign of Louis XV and associated with the Compagnie royale d’Afrique de Marseille (Royal African Company of Marseille), is one of the numerous lots at the MDC Monaco auction on March 20. and October 21st in Monaco.
The front of the token shows a laurel-decorated portrait of the monarch and the back shows a scene from the African coast.
The legend on the back in Latin roughly translates as “the wealth of Africa is the wealth of Marseilleâ€, an obvious reference to the company’s extraction from the colony.
The reverse shows a woman portraying Africa, wearing an elephant’s head, sitting on a rock on the right, facing the ships from Marseilles and holding a cornucopia from which ears and coral branches protrude.
French business in Africa
According to the auction house, the Marseillais traded wheat and corals in the Berber states and seas from the beginning of the 16th century.
Many companies were created and succeeded one another, but the main one was the Royal African Company for the Exploitation of French Concessions in the Barbary States. Founded in 1560, reorganized in 1597, dissolved in 1719 and re-founded in 1741, the company was finally abolished during the Revolution.
His trading posts in Algeria were La Calle (which was preferred to the former Bastion de France because of the climate), Bône and Le Collo; Posts in Tunisia were Cap Nègre, Bizerte and Tabarque. The management was based in Marseille, where the city’s Chamber of Commerce was represented and a partner. The main directors were Armény de Bénézet and Martin.
The company paid substantial license fees to Algiers and Tunis for their concessions, in Spanish Piasters, some of which were difficult to obtain. The company wanted its own piaster, and trials were carried out in Aix-en-Provence in 1768.
The navy minister approved their issue, but the piastre strike never took place.
However, the approval for the minting of these coins in the Monnaie d’Aix-en-Provence is dated November 29, 1773 by the Minister of the Navy.
They should be distributed to the meeting of the company’s directors in Marseille, up to a maximum of 3,000 livres per year.
The example in the auction is the best known and illustrates the book by Jean Lecompte, Monnaies et tokens des colonies françaises, Gadoury editions, 2007.
The token was rated Mint State 63 by the Professional Coin Grading Service and has an opening bid of € 150 (US $ 177).
To hand over: 1774 silver Royal African Company of Marseille jeton
Condition: Coin condition 63
Auction location: Monaco
Auction date: October 20, 2021
Details: Rare silver token is related to French colonial efforts in Africa
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