| |Grand document=-16 juin 1770 : « This morning Monsieur d’Ennery, a citizen of Paris, has been with me. He is one of the greatest and indefatigable collectors of medals in France. His Cabinet is often mentioned by Don Tommaso Mangerat (sic!), Benedictine and antiquarian of his royal highness Prince Carlo of Lorraine, governor of the Austrian Netherlands, in his work: Introduction a la science des medailles etc. printed at Paris in the year 1763 in folio magno, but much more is spoken of it by Monsieur Beauvais in his work: Histoire abrégée des Empereurs Romains et Grecs, des Imperatrices, des Cesars, des Tyrans, et des personnes des fammilles imperiales pour lesquelles on a frappé des medailles etc. at Paris 1767, three volumes in duodecimo. This gentleman travels for the first time in Italy, he seems to be over 50 years old. He came through Milan in order to travel back home, having already been to Rome and to all the other most conspicuous cities of our Italy. Having observed my medals, he asked for three in gold, i.e. the Mark Antony with the head of M. Antonius, the son, on the reverse; the Gallienus with the head united to that of Salonina, and the Victorinus with the fifth Macedonian Legion. In exchange he showed me some gold medals which he had in duplicate, and even though among these were heads which I did not have myself, I did not want to commit myself, even though I was fully aware of the fact that he would given my free choice of six or eight, and even more than that. The reason for not concluding the exchange was because two of my three heads are extremely rare, i.e. the Mark Antony with the aforementioned reverse, and the Victorinus with the Legion. The Mark Antony alone, is said by monsieur Beauvais, in his aforementioned work, to be found only in the cabinet of the king of France and in that of Vienna, and the price is of 600 Franks which translate to 50 or more silver coins with the lily stamp. The Victorinus with the fifth Legion is perhaps the only one. As far as the Gallienus is concerned, even though it is in gold, it has no great rarity, it became however very rare through the head of Salonina which is conjoined with that of her husband on the right hand of the medal. I said to this gentleman that I would gladly have made purchases from him, paying with money for the medals he had in duplicate in gold, but there was no way, however much I entreated him, to convince him to satisfy me. P.S. Addendum. Having to write last year <1774.>, to Paris to the very renowned Giuseppe Bartoli who has been living there for the past year or more, I wrote to him to give my regards to monsieur D’Ennerij, and to tell him that should he have among his duplicates some gold coin of Charlemagne with the portrait, I would very happily purchase it in return for payment with money. This Frenchman has responded to my request with a letter written from Paris on 27 March 1775 showing to me a rather heavy gold medal of Charlemagne and others also in gold and of heavy weight of Louis XII, King of France, as well as a holy panel painting executed in the Middle Ages, in Greek style, of which he has compiled me an accurate drawing in the letter, adding that he would be prepared to negotiate a sale of these pieces, as soon as I would wish to deprive myself of the already above-mentioned medals. Goodness gracious, it is hard to believe that after five years to this day this antiquary insists that he wants to have those medals: in reality it is no little matter that an antiquarian who collects everywhere, and as rich as is in reality Mr D’Ennerij has not yet tried [?] to acquire the three above-mentioned medals in some museum: this is proof of their variety. This Frenchman, when he proposed me his above-mentioned pieces, perhaps thinks perhaps to allure me for gold medals of some weight: but he is completely wrong. His large medal of Charlemagne which he describes himself as of recent coinage since it was minted in Aquisgrana [Aachen] by the Chapter of the Basilica of St. Mary [Our Lady]: a church erected by the above mentioned emperor, in which he desired to be entombed; of these medals which are handed out by the churches founded by the Carolingian emperors, one may obtain exemplars quite easily: they have nothing to do with the coins minted while those rulers were alive, which every time that they have their likeness are very appreciated, and serve as continuation to those who wish to own the series up to the present times. But even had it been a coin of Charlemagne minted in his days, I would never have made this exchange, if not as part of a pact to give me eight or ten other gold medals, each one of a different emperor, whose heads I did not have yet.» (Doyen – Rambach 2020, p. 18, note 90). | | |Grand document=-16 juin 1770 : « This morning Monsieur d’Ennery, a citizen of Paris, has been with me. He is one of the greatest and indefatigable collectors of medals in France. His Cabinet is often mentioned by Don Tommaso Mangerat (sic!), Benedictine and antiquarian of his royal highness Prince Carlo of Lorraine, governor of the Austrian Netherlands, in his work: Introduction a la science des medailles etc. printed at Paris in the year 1763 in folio magno, but much more is spoken of it by Monsieur Beauvais in his work: Histoire abrégée des Empereurs Romains et Grecs, des Imperatrices, des Cesars, des Tyrans, et des personnes des fammilles imperiales pour lesquelles on a frappé des medailles etc. at Paris 1767, three volumes in duodecimo. This gentleman travels for the first time in Italy, he seems to be over 50 years old. He came through Milan in order to travel back home, having already been to Rome and to all the other most conspicuous cities of our Italy. Having observed my medals, he asked for three in gold, i.e. the Mark Antony with the head of M. Antonius, the son, on the reverse; the Gallienus with the head united to that of Salonina, and the Victorinus with the fifth Macedonian Legion. In exchange he showed me some gold medals which he had in duplicate, and even though among these were heads which I did not have myself, I did not want to commit myself, even though I was fully aware of the fact that he would given my free choice of six or eight, and even more than that. The reason for not concluding the exchange was because two of my three heads are extremely rare, i.e. the Mark Antony with the aforementioned reverse, and the Victorinus with the Legion. The Mark Antony alone, is said by monsieur Beauvais, in his aforementioned work, to be found only in the cabinet of the king of France and in that of Vienna, and the price is of 600 Franks which translate to 50 or more silver coins with the lily stamp. The Victorinus with the fifth Legion is perhaps the only one. As far as the Gallienus is concerned, even though it is in gold, it has no great rarity, it became however very rare through the head of Salonina which is conjoined with that of her husband on the right hand of the medal. I said to this gentleman that I would gladly have made purchases from him, paying with money for the medals he had in duplicate in gold, but there was no way, however much I entreated him, to convince him to satisfy me. P.S. Addendum. Having to write last year <1774.>, to Paris to the very renowned Giuseppe Bartoli who has been living there for the past year or more, I wrote to him to give my regards to monsieur D’Ennerij, and to tell him that should he have among his duplicates some gold coin of Charlemagne with the portrait, I would very happily purchase it in return for payment with money. This Frenchman has responded to my request with a letter written from Paris on 27 March 1775 showing to me a rather heavy gold medal of Charlemagne and others also in gold and of heavy weight of Louis XII, King of France, as well as a holy panel painting executed in the Middle Ages, in Greek style, of which he has compiled me an accurate drawing in the letter, adding that he would be prepared to negotiate a sale of these pieces, as soon as I would wish to deprive myself of the already above-mentioned medals. Goodness gracious, it is hard to believe that after five years to this day this antiquary insists that he wants to have those medals: in reality it is no little matter that an antiquarian who collects everywhere, and as rich as is in reality Mr D’Ennerij has not yet tried [?] to acquire the three above-mentioned medals in some museum: this is proof of their variety. This Frenchman, when he proposed me his above-mentioned pieces, perhaps thinks perhaps to allure me for gold medals of some weight: but he is completely wrong. His large medal of Charlemagne which he describes himself as of recent coinage since it was minted in Aquisgrana [Aachen] by the Chapter of the Basilica of St. Mary [Our Lady]: a church erected by the above mentioned emperor, in which he desired to be entombed; of these medals which are handed out by the churches founded by the Carolingian emperors, one may obtain exemplars quite easily: they have nothing to do with the coins minted while those rulers were alive, which every time that they have their likeness are very appreciated, and serve as continuation to those who wish to own the series up to the present times. But even had it been a coin of Charlemagne minted in his days, I would never have made this exchange, if not as part of a pact to give me eight or ten other gold medals, each one of a different emperor, whose heads I did not have yet.» (Doyen – Rambach 2020, p. 18, note 90). |
