100926 | BELGIUM. "L'affaire de Buck" satirical bronze Medal.

100926 | BELGIUM. Satirical bronze Medal. Issued circa 1865. L'affaire de Buck (32mm, 13.40 g, 12h).

 

RENDEZ À CÉSAR QUI APPARTIENT À CÉSAR (render unto Caesar that which belongs to Caesar) / INDIGESTION D’ESCOBARD (the indigestion of Escobard [a famous Jesuit]), Jesuit priest bent over left, vomiting coins into satchel held open by convict—wearing ball and chain around ankle and the number 13 on his pants and coat—kneeling right / UN PAGE DE L’HISTOIRE / DE BUCK / FLÉTRI PAR LES JÉSUITES; / RÉHABILITÉ / PAR L’OPINION PUBLIQUE, / LES TRIBUNAUX BELGES / ET / PAR SES ENERGIQUES / DÉFENSEURS / PAUL JANSON & ROBERT (a page of history—Benoît De Buck: scandalized by the Jesuits, but acquitted by public opinion, the Belgian courts, and his enthusiastic defenders, Paul and Robert Janson) in ten lines. Edge: Plain.

 

Liberaal Archief Coll. 463. About Uncirculated. Warm brown surfaces, with some lightly scattered marks. Highly interesting satirical type.

 

The "de Buck Affair" was a legal matter which captivated the Kingdom of Belgium in 1864, whereby Benoît de Buck was accused of threatening to kill a Jesuit priest. The ensuing courtroom proceedings showed that the Jesuits in Antwerp had befriended a rather rich relative of de Buck, William de Boey, who had passed away in 1850, but not before Valentyns, an attorney for the Jesuits, had coerced de Boey's fortune away from his family. The court quickly acquitted de Buck—under the representation of Paul and Robert Janson—seeing that the Jesuits, along with their advocate, had acted unseemly in praying upon de Buck's ancestor. In the end, for their actions, the Jesuits were labeled as legacy hunters—essentially, gold diggers, and de Buck's threats upon the priest were discounted.

 

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