Cardinal Richelieu
Cardinal Richelieu 1631, silver, 53mms, GLAHM 37005
Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu et de Fronsac, 1585-1642, French, cardinal, politician, statesman, Chief Minister to Louis XIII. He was a man with huge ambition. Marie de Medici (1573-1642), mother of Louis XIII, believed him talented and had him appointed Secretary of State for War and Foreign Affairs. He was a famous patron of the arts.
Medallist: Jean WARIN II, French.
He was one of the foremost French medallists and engravers of coin-dies of the 17th century and was one of the four engravers at the Mint of the Louvre cutting dies for the ecus and subdivisions with the portrait of Louis XIII.
The back of the medals depicts an angel beside the stars around the earth. This presents Cardinal Richelieu as the director of the revolution of the planets around the world.