103397 | FRANCE. Napoléon I bronze Medal.

103397  |  FRANCE. Napoléon I bronze Medal. Issued 1804. The Galerie d'Apollon (Gallery of Apollo) at the Louvre (34mm, 18.87 g, 12h). By Bertrand Andrieu at the Paris mint.

 

Laureate head right // Ornate perspective view of the gallery, from a vantage point down the middle and with numerous statues and busts; SALLE DE L'APOLLON on archway above; MUSÉE NAPOLÉON in exergue. Edge: Plain.

 

Bramsen 370; Julius 1319; d'Essling 1046; Zeitz 31. Choice Mint State. Rich glossy brown surfaces, with some enchanting brilliance and hints of cobalt nearer the peripheries.

 

Following Napoléon's capture of Italian treasure, a number of ancient and renaissance works of art were put on display at the Louvre, with the Apollo Belvedere prominent among them. This idea of 'cultural protection' was summed up by a quote in Le Moniteur from 3 October 1803, referring that the Venus de' Medici "...is in the safe keeping of the most powerful of nations, and that the sanctuary where she is placed is for her the temple of Janus of which the doors are forever closed." (Todd, Richard. Napoleon's Medals. The History Press, 2009, p. 9).

 

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Upload: 2 February 2026.