Genevan Medal, 21 Nov 1767
Renée Marshall shares a medal from the collection.
In the Society’s collection is a small group of coins, medallions and tokens. One of the more interesting items is this bronze medal struck in the Republic of Geneva in 1767. Engraved by medalist of Geneva , Jean Colibert Fecit, it was made for the commissioners of the Republic of Geneva. At the time, Geneva was an independent city-state governed by an elite Council of Twenty-five. The more representative body, the General Council of citizens, was largely disenfranchised and there was considerable popular unrest. This opposition became known as the représentants (representatives) because they represented the people. The medal was struck to commemorate an agreement between the two groups.
The obverse depicts a father showing a bundle to his children. The scene illustrates the moral of the fable (Aesop's Fable) "The Bundle of Sticks," where a single stick is easily broken, but a bundle is unbreakable. The image symbolizes the power of unity and the importance of civic instruction. The artist's initials, "J.C.F." for Jean Colibert, can be found below the figures.
Vous voyez leur dit l’effect de la concorde.
(You see, they tell you the effect of concord.)
The reverse reads:
Decernee par les citoyens et bourgeois representans a leurs 24 commissaires.
(Awarded by the citizens and bourgeois representatives to their 24 commissioners.)
In the center are listed the names of the commissioners.
The medal was given by Daniel DeSaussure (1736-1798) to his son, Henry William DeSaussure (1763-1839), who in turn passed it to his son Henry Alexander DeSaussure in 1809. The accompanying note reads:
“This medal was presented to me by my late venerated father – who got it in Switzerland when he visited his friends there in 1777. I present it to my son Henry, with a request that he will keep it in the family. It is a beautiful illustration of the importance and effect of harmony in families. We have enjoyed that blessing. I hope it will ever be continued.”
Henry W. DeSaussure
17 Jany. 1809
