(sold for $174.0)

Mint Place: Paris References: SB-57b.var. Medallist: J.C. Roettiers (JCR) Condition: Certified and graded by PCGS as SP-62! Denomination: Medal - Coronation of Louis XV at the Reims Cathedral, on 25th October 1722. Mint Year: dated 1722 (re-struck with the original dies after 1880 (possibly during 1819), which is marked by the cornucopia privy mark on it´s edge!) Diameter: 30mm Material: Silver

Obverse: Young crowned  and draped bust of Louis XV right. Medallist´s signature (JCR) inside lower part of drapery. Legend: LUD .  XV . REX - CHRISTIANISSIMUS Reverse: Coronation scene at the Notre-Dame de Reims Cathedral, which show the young Louis XV kneeling, being blessed by Archbishop and surrounded by clerics and nobles. Legend: REX COELESTI OLEO UNCTUS. Exergue: REMIS . 25 . OCT . / 1722

Notre-Dame de Reims ("Our Lady of Reims"), sometimes known in English as Rheims Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the French city of the same name, the archiepiscopal see of the Archdiocese of Reims. The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was the traditional location for the coronation of the kings of France.

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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.

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