A Token I'm Having Difficulty To Pinpoint

Thank you for your help and links.

I still don't get one thing. You're saying that (in your opinion) 2 ARGENT means silverplated. What about 1 Argent than? Goldpalted?

I'll do a bit more research tomorrow.

From previous research on some of my own medals I believe 1ARGENT is high purity silver, 2ARGENT slightly lower purity, and 3ARGENT is lesser still. Again, working from memory I believe the use of the 1, 2, 3 with ARGENT was limited to the period 1900-1930s. It was common during this period to coat or plate silver on bronze medals and gold on silver medals.

It was (and is) common for the Paris mint to restrike whatever medals/jetons a customer desires from the thousands of dies they have archived.

The original jeton of this type was minted between 1860 and 1879 as identified by the minter's mark of a bee on its edge. It was created by the renowned Alphee Dubois who lived 1831-1905. The original bore the date 1775 which is likely the date it was minted.

The posted piece is undoubtedly a revised version of this earlier piece with the date modified to 1599. It was likely ordered by the Chamber of Commerce or their agents for some purpose or event. The date 1599 is when the Marseille Chamber of Commerce was founded, but I can only speculate on when the posted medal was minted. The 1ARGENT leads me to believe the medal was struck sometime between 1900-1930. However, the impression on the box that you showed seems to be of a later period.

It would likely have been for a special event or unique occasion or, perhaps they ordered a fair number of them to hand out over the course of years and reordered as needed. That would explain the period box (1910s-1920s) in the ebay offering of the same type of medal. If you enjoy a mystery I would encourage you to undertake a historical search to see what the Marseille Chamber of Commerce may have celebrated in the 1910's-1950's. Maybe you can find a link to this medal. Would be fun and I'd be glad to hear of what you discover.

In any case, it's an interesting piece to say the least.

Hope this helps.

Edit: Edited for clarity.

I have a Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce silver jeton by Tiolier & Dubois, dated 1967 on one side.
It is not plated, but has the same markings as yours, Cornucopia and "1 ARGENT."

Also I found this:


From here:

http://www.lioncoins.com/francemed.htm
Jeton - Chambre de Commerce de Marseilles - Gold plated

Dagaz, thank you for providing that additional info. That along with bungle's info indicates that the Paris Mint continued using the 1 and 2 argent marking at least up to the late 1960's when they purportedly began including the year in the edge mark. Bungle, does your jeton have a date on the edge?

Yes the same 'doubling' appers on token I've posted, but it seems to me it is even more obvious in your case.