(sold for $60.0)

1748, Royal France, Louis XV. Silver "King´s Buildings Administration" Jetton/Medal.

Mint year: 1748 Medallist: R.Filius References: Feuardent 3173. Condition: A nicely toned VF+ Denomination: Jetton/Medal - Buildings Administration of the King Material: Copper Diameter: 30mm Weight: 8.08gm

Obverse: Wreathed bust of Louis XV right. Medallist´s signature (R.Filius) below. Legend: LUD. XV. REX. CHRISTIANISS . Reverse: Various instruments of architecture within inner circle. Legend: ET. HIS. QUOQUE. VINCIMUS. ARMIS Exergue: BATIMENS. DU. ROY.1758 .

The Bâtiments du Roi (The King's Buildings) was a division of Department of the household of the Kings of France (the "Maison du Roi") in France under the Ancien Régime. It was responsible for building works at the King's residences in and around Paris.

The Bâtiments du Roi was created by Henry IV of France to coordinate the building works at his royal palaces. Formerly, each palace had its own superintendent of works. Henry gave the task of supervising all works to Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully.

In the 17th century, the responsibilities of the Bâtiments du Roi extended beyond pure building works, to include the manufacture of tapestries and porcelain. In 1664, Jean-Baptiste Colbert was entitled surintendant et ordonnateur général des bâtiments, arts, tapisseries et manufactures de France ("superintendent and director-general of building, art, tapestries and factories of France"). This title was retained by several of his successors. Other areas that came within under the control of the Bâtiments du Roi included botanical gardens, and the Royal Academies of painting and sculpture, and of architecture

The wide scope of the responsibilities meant that the superintendent of the Bâtiments du Roi was effectively a minister of the French king. The director general was assisted by the first architect to the King (Premier architecte du Roi) and the first painter to the King (Premier peintre du Roi), a staff of inspectors, architects and several hundred workmen. Much of the work was left to the director's first lieutenants, such as Robert de Cotte and Gilles-Marie Oppenord.

Louis XV (Versailles, 15 February 1710 – Versailles, 10 May 1774) ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death on 10 May 1774. Coming to the throne at the age of five, Louis reigned until 15 February 1723, the date of his thirteenth birthday, with the aid of the Régent, Philippe, duc d'Orléans, his great-uncle, thereafter taking formal personal control of government.

Unexpectedly surviving the death of most of the royal family, he enjoyed a favourable reputation at the beginning of his reign and earned the epithet "le Bien-Aimé" ("the Beloved"). However, in time, his lack of morals, general inability to effectively reform France and the Monarchy, and the perceived failings of his foreign policy lost him the affection of his people, and he ended his life amongst the most unpopular kings of France.

While historians have traditionally treated Louis XV harshly, more recent research has suggested that he was in fact very intelligent and dedicated to the task of ruling the largest state in Europe, bar Russia. His nagging indecision, fueled by his awareness of the complexity of problems ahead, as well as his profound timidity, hidden behind the mask of an imperious king, may account for the poor results achieved during his reign. In many ways, Louis XV prefigures the "bourgeois rulers" of the romantic 19th century. While dutifully playing the role of the mighty king carved out by his predecessor and great-grandfather, Louis XIV, Louis XV in fact cherished nothing more than his private life far away from the pomp and ceremony of Court. Having lost his mother while still little more than an infant, he longed for a reassuring and motherly presence, which he tried to find in the intimate company of women, something for which he was much criticized both during and after his life.