Here comes the Sun King: Louis XIV's Herakles connection

[Ryro]

Louis the 14th ruled for 72 years, from 1643-1715! Augustus may have lived to the ripe old age of 75 but he only ruled Rome for 40 years. 

(Image of a straight up player)

This guy took France to it's zenith, nearly destroyed it, and sowed the seeds that brought it back as a major power. He ran the gamut of human emotions, success, failures, and, much like Augustus, died with his legacy continuously in flux by generations reevaluating him to their current standards. 

Come to find in my current obsession/compulsion with a certain square shaped hero/god's works/labors that Louis XIV had at least 2 coins of said labors. He was fortunately not afraid of the old gods and clearly celebrated my favorite ancient god. Are there more? It'll be fun searching for them. 

Here is one of the king as the greatest man that may have ever existed, and a coin that was recently unearthed:

Louis XIV “The Sun King”, 1649, 

Labor of Hercules, Lernaean Hydra

CONSILIO. - NILNISI. . Crowned shield within order chain R/ERIT HERCVLE MAIOR. Crowned Louis XIV standing left as Hercules, holding a club and trampling the hydra with his right foot; in the exergue: (1649).

VF, RR

Bronze, 26.5mm. Unearthed Oct 2024 Burgundy region of France

And here is one that is just as brutal and beautiful in hand. Herakles smashing the 3 heads of the monster Geryon:

 

FRANCE LOUIS XIV LE GRAND “The Sun King”, labor of Hercules, 1675 (24,5mm, 5,49g, 6h) VF

Obverse : LVD. XIIII. D. G. FR. ET. NAV. REX Buste to right of Louis XIV

Reverse : VNVS. TERGEMINVM. 1675. Hercules standing on the left knocking out Geryon placed on the right

VF 

Catalog: F.12667

Aaaand for fun, not Sun King related, here's another recently purchased coin of Herakles 2nd labor (and my current avatar) the killing of, what should have been a protected species, the hydra😉

THRACE, Hadrianopolis. Pseudo-autonomous issue. 3rd century AD. Æ 17mm (17mm, 4.42 g, 6h). Labor of Hercules type. TON KTICTHN, laureate head of Hercules right / ADRIANO POLEITW(N), Hercules standing left, holding club overhead in raised right hand, with his left holding the Lernaean Hydra, which is entwined about his left leg; to right, bow and quiver set on ground. Voegtli type 2i; Youroukova, Hadrianople 709 (V298/R670); Mouchmov 2479; SNG Copenhagen. VF. Purchased from Savoca Sept 2024

 

Have any coins of Louis XIV, Herakles labors, thoughts, or anything that strikes your fancy French fancy please share!

[ominus1]

...congrats Ryro....now you've moved into another dimension of collecting...:)

[I_v_a_n]

Fantastic coins, @Ryro! Congratulations! I've never saw this types, it was very interesting for me to learn about them.

Coins from France are my second favorite area after ancients and I am proud to have this double louis d'or related to the topic.

[Kali]

Congrats.

Louis XIV (1638 - 1715 A.D.)

AR Ecu
O: LVD•XIIII•D•G (soleil) FR•ET•NAV•REX, Bust with square neckline.
R: Lettering: SIT•NOMEN•DOMINI• E BENEDICTVM 1693 M Crowned round arms of France within sprays.
Toulouse - flan réformé
38mm
27.45g
Dy# 1520

[ominus1]

..viva la Franks...viva la Louies   

[Qcumbor]

Great post as usual @Ryro and very interesting jetons.

Same period (1648), three jetons for Gaston d'Orléans. He was Louis XIII's young brother, thus Louis XIV's uncle. Had Louis XIV not existed or died in childhood, Gaston would have been king. He couldn't stand that and plotted against the King his all life. The three following jetons are minted from the same pair of dies in three different metals. They feature Mercury and Hercules facing each other :

Atelier de Trévoux
. GASTON . FILS . DE . (croix de l'Ordre de St Esprit) . FRANCE . ONCLE . DV . ROY. Ecu d'Orléans couronné entouré des colliers des ordres du roi
CONSILIO . DEXTRAQVE PARI. Mercure debout de face, la tête à droite et Hercule marchant à gauche. A l'exergue 1648 ("à celui dont la prudence égale la valeur")

 

And below is a Louis XIV quart d'ecu from the Lyon (Lugdunum) mint

 

Louis XIV (1643-1715) - Quart d'écu aux palmes - 1694 D (Lyon)
LVD. XIIII. D. G (SOLEIL) - FR. ET. NAV. REX. Buste de Louis XIV à droite, cuirassé, avec la grande perruque
(croissant) SIT. NOMEN. DOMINI. - D - .BENEDICTVM. 1694. Écu rond de France couronné entre deux palmes.
6,46 gr - 30 mm
Ref : C #1896, Dy #1522A

Q