LEOPOLD I: RECONSTRUCTION OF THE BRIDGE IN THE FOREST OF HAYE

ST URBAIN, Ferdinand de: Lorraine, 1727, Bronze, 64 mm
Obv: Leopold (r), in peruke, wearing armor and the Order of the Golden Fleece     LEOPOLDVS. I. D.G. DVX. LOT. BAR. REX. IER (Leopold Joseph, by the Grace of God, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, King of Jerusalem)
Rev: A traveling horseman going over bridge toward Abundance in countryside. In background landscape a herm of Mercury     PROVIDENTIA. PRINCIPIS (The Providence of the Prince)
Exergue:  VIAE. MVNITAE MDCCXXVII (The Roads Maintained 1727)
Signed:  SV
Ref: Forrer V, p. 309, #6; Slg. Florange 171; Molinari 40/120;  Europese Penningen # 1739;Pollard 670;   Weiss BW358

Leopold Joseph Charles (Leopold I) (1679-1729), Duke of Lorraine and Bar (1697), was the son of Charles V, Duke of Lorraine and Bar. This medal commemorates further the many reconstruction projects that Leopold I, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, fostered during his reign, in this case, the reconstruction of the bridge in the forest of Haye. The reverse alludes to the fact that the bridge increased commerce (Mercury) in Lorraine and led to more abundance for its inhabitants.
A herm, referred to in this medal, is a statue consisting of the head of the Greek god Hermes mounded on a square stone post. Hermes is the god of commerce, invention, cunning and theft, who also serves as messenger and herald for the other gods.

LINK to History of Lorraine (from Proceedings of the Friesian School. Edited by Kelley L. Ross, Ph.D.)

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