Nomos 13

Switzerland, Zürich. Cast Baptismal Medal or Patenpfennig (Silver, 74mm, 66.7 g 12), for the Baptism of Princess Claude of Valois (1547-1575), daughter of Henry II of France, as a gift from the Swiss. By J. Stampfer, undated but 1547/1548. Hand of God holding ornamental ribbon inscribed with numbers (1-13) giving the official order of the thirteen cantons which then formed the Swiss Confederation, and whose arms appear on named shields above the numbers. Beginning with Zürich they are given in pairs on the left and on the right: 1 Zürich (l.), 2 Bern (r.), 3. Lucerne (l.), 4 Uri (r.), 5 Schwyz (l.), 6 Unterwalden (r), 7. Zug (l.), 8 Glarus (r.), 9. Basel (l.), 10 Fribourg (r.), 11 Solothurn (l.), 12 Schaffhausen (r.), 13 Appenezell (at the bottom). Rev. Two Angels supporting a Swiss cross inscribed SI DEVS NOBISCVM QVIS CONTRA NOS (=if god is with us who is against us); all within a circle of ribbons and bands containing the shields of the seven allied states (each named on the band above): the Abbey of St. Gallen, the city of St. Gallen, The Graubunden, Wallis, Rottweil, Mulhouse and Biel. Habich 868. Hahn 14. Leu SM 92. Schwarz-Lösel M 12. An early cast with a raised rim. Good very fine.

Claude was the favorite daughter of the scheming Catherine de’ Medici, wife of Henry II. She later married Charles III of Lorraine when she was 11 (he was 15) and they probably had a happy marriage. She had a clubfoot and a hunchback, a Medici inheritance, but when she was of age she and Charles promptly began having children, 9 in the end, until she died in childbirth in 1575. Charles remained a widower until his death in 1608. This famous medal was given to the French at a time when the Swiss were doing their best to mend fences with Catholic France.