Medal of Henry III de Valois of the entourage of French kings from 1835 by Armand Caqué.
Obverse: bust to the right, in a laurel wreath, behind the bust of CAQUE F., below 1835
HENRI III ROI DE FRANCE ET DE POLOGNE
Reverse: an inscription in fifteen lines
HENRI III / 62EME. ROI / FRERE DE CHARLES IX / NÉ - 1551 / ROI. 1574./ ÉTATS DE BLOIS / 1577./ INSTITUTION / DE L'ORDE. DU ST. ESPRIT.1578 / LIGUE DES CATHOLIQUES / ET DES HUGUENOTS 1585./ BATAILLES DE COUTRAS / ET D'AUNEAU 1587./ JOURNÉE DES BARRICADES / 1588./ MORT 1589.
Diameter 52 mm, weight 62.71 g
An interesting medal signed with Caqué and dated 1835. It is part of a series of 73 bronze medals issued by Caqué in the years 1835–1840. Armand Auguste Caqué, born in Saintes (Charente-Inférieure) on January 24, 1795, died in Paris on December 31, 1881 at the age of 86, French sculptor, engraver and medalist. He was the official engraver of Emperor Napoleon III. His medals are mainly signed CAQUÉ F, and sometimes his signature is mentioned "Engraver of S. M. l'Empereur".
Henry III (Henry III Valois), born on September 19, 1551 in Fontainebleau, died on August 2, 1589 in Saint-Cloud, was king of Poland from 1573 to 1575 and king of France from 1574 to 1589. He remained the last king of the Valois dynasty. He was the fourth son of King Henry II and Queen Catherine de Medici, Henry was not destined for the crown. Under the rule of his brother Charles IX, he distinguished himself as head of the royal army by winning the battles of Jarnac and Moncontour against Protestants. At the age of 21, he ran for the free throne of Poland, and on May 11, 1573, he was elected the Polish King and Grand Duke of Lithuania. His reign lasted no more than a year, because after announcing the death of his brother, who had died without a male heir, he abandoned his kingdom to succeed him on the throne of France.
