(sold for $155.0)

Mint Place: Paris Medallist: J. le Blanc.  References: Fleurimont, cfr 23. , Divo 51.  Condition: Certified and graded by PCGS as SP-62! Denomination: Medal - Commemorating the birthday and Majority of Louis XV, which was reached on 16th of February 1723. Mint Year: dated 1722 (re-struck with the original dies after 1880 (possibly during 1819), which is marked by the cornucopia privy mark on it´s edge!) Diameter: 30mm Material: Silver

Obverse: Draped bust of the young Louis XV left. Medallist´s initials (J.B.) inside arm truncation. Legend: LUDOVICUS XV. REX CHRISTIANISSIMUS . Reverse: Louis XV enthroned left, holding globe and rudder. Justitia standing in background, and holding sword and scales. Hilaritas is standing to his left and holding palm frond and cornucopia. In front of him Philippe d'Orléans (who aceted as his regent before his majority) advancing right, delivering the rudder of regency to the young King. Legend: IMPERIUM SUSCEPTUM . Exergue: ANNO · ÆTAT XIV INUENTE/ XVI · FEBRUARII/ M.DCC.XXIII.

Louis, Dauphin of France (Louis Ferdinand; 4 September 1729 – 20 December 1765) was the elder and only surviving son of King Louis XV of France and his wife, Queen Marie Leszczyńska. He had a younger brother, Philippe, who died as a toddler. As a son of the king, Louis was a fils de France. As heir apparent, he became Dauphin of France. However, he died before ascending the throne. Three of his sons became kings of France: Louis XVI (reign in 1774–1792), Louis XVIII (1814–1815, again in 1815–1824) and Charles X (1824–1830), a feat only shared - in French royalty - by kings Henry II and Philippe IV.

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Louis XV (Versailles, 15 February 1710 – Versailles, 10 May 1774) ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death on 10 May 1774. Coming to the throne at the age of five, Louis reigned until 15 February 1723, the date of his thirteenth birthday, with the aid of the Régent, Philippe, duc d'Orléans, his great-uncle, thereafter taking formal personal control of government.

Unexpectedly surviving the death of most of the royal family, he enjoyed a favourable reputation at the beginning of his reign and earned the epithet "le Bien-Aimé" ("the Beloved"). However, in time, his lack of morals, general inability to effectively reform France and the Monarchy, and the perceived failings of his foreign policy lost him the affection of his people, and he ended his life amongst the most unpopular kings of France.

While historians have traditionally treated Louis XV harshly, more recent research has suggested that he was in fact very intelligent and dedicated to the task of ruling the largest state in Europe, bar Russia. His nagging indecision, fueled by his awareness of the complexity of problems ahead, as well as his profound timidity, hidden behind the mask of an imperious king, may account for the poor results achieved during his reign. In many ways, Louis XV prefigures the "bourgeois rulers" of the romantic 19th century. While dutifully playing the role of the mighty king carved out by his predecessor and great-grandfather, Louis XIV, Louis XV in fact cherished nothing more than his private life far away from the pomp and ceremony of Court. Having lost his mother while still little more than an infant, he longed for a reassuring and motherly presence, which he tried to find in the intimate company of women, something for which he was much criticized both during and after his life.

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