101364 | GERMANY & WESTERN EUROPE. Peace of Utrecht satirical cast tin Medal.

101364  |  GERMANY, GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE & HOLLAND. Peace of Utrecht satirical cast tin Medal. Issued circa 1714 or shortly thereafter. The growing discontent in Europe (43mm, 26.02 g, 12h). By C. Wermuth.

 

CONCORDIA RES PARVAE CRESCVNT (by concord, small things increase), three soldiers (representing Great Britain, France, and Holland) wearing tricorne hat and squatting, all with their backs facing one another, defecating in a pile between them; word bubbles emanate from each, respectively reading "I AM PLEASE," "SI VOUS PLAIT" (if you please) and "IK MAEK MEE" (I do it also); in two lines in exergue, NOOT BREEKT ISEN / PAX OU TREC (necessity breaks iron / peace or dirt [also, Peace of Utrecht]) / DISCORDIA MAXIMA DILABVNTVR (by discord, the greatest things fall), the same three soldiers now stand facing one another, flinging feces from the same pile; word bubbles emanate from each, respectively reading "FIE, WHAT IS THAT!," "SANS REGARD" (without regard) and "WAT! BEHAEGT U DAT" (what–does that please you?); in two lines in exergue, DAT SOL IE HIER BEWISN / PAX IN TREC (that I will prove here / peace in dirt [also, Peace of Utrecht]). Edge: Some scattered marks as made.

 

Pax in Nummis 444 var. (silver); Montenuovo 1420 var. (same); GPH 784; MI 409/273 (silver, lead, and bronze); Eimer –; Medals of Dishonour 7. Essentially as cast. Light pewter-gray surfaces, with some brilliance. A very popular and graphic satirical early 18th century issue.

 

The War of the Spanish Succession stemmed from the death in 1700 of the childless Carlos (Charles) II of Spain. Owing to the nexus of power presented by the Spanish throne, namely control in parts of Italy, the Spanish Netherlands, and vast territories in the New World, it offered great strategic importance. On account of the Habsburg familial ties to the Holy Roman Empire, it also presented a potential shift in the European balance of power. The deceased Carlos had named Philippe of Anjou as his successor, who ultimately agreed to the throne. The remainder of Europe, however, including the Holy Roman Empire, England, and the Dutch Republic, opposed this proclamation, with war breaking out among the various realms. Ultimately, the conflict changed little, as nothing decisive occurred through the hostilities, and the respective powers sought an end to the conflict, first at the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, then at the Treaties of Rastatt and Baden in 1714. Philippe would stay as king of Spain (as Felipe V), though he renounced any future French claims for himself or his successors. Additionally, Spain ceded some of her Italian possessions while retaining those in the New World. England garnered recognition of the Hanoverian line along with a repudiation of the Jacobite cause in France. The Holy Roman Empire saw a decrease in overall expanse from her heyday a little over a century prior; as such, her attentions turned to her southern borders and increasing conflicts with the Ottoman Empire.

 

Focusing on the first of these treaties, this medal–by the German engraver Christian Wermuth–saw the initial peace as rather dubious, with none of the supposed allies actually receiving something palatable for their warring efforts. He quite crudely portrays the "allies" of Great Britain, France, and Holland descending into childish antics with a bit of literal "potty humor."

 

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