Token - Martineau and National Tokens - La France en médailles Les chemins de Saint Jacques de Compostelle ND

Reverse

Stylized representation of France in the center. Inscriptions at the edge of the scroll. Letter M (of Martineau) in a circle in the lower part.

Script: Latin

Lettering:
* * La France en médailles * *
COLLECTION
Héritage
M
★ MARTINEAU & NATIONAL TOKENS ★

Edge

Reeded

Comment

An object marking the completion of a pilgrimage, the shell corresponds to symbols used as far back as antiquity: talisman, shell evoking the waters where it is formed, symbol of the fecundity inherent in water, symbol of love (like Venus emerging from her shell) and good luck. According to the Codex Calixtinus, the shell has been associated with "good works" since the 12th century: "the two valves of the shell represent the two precepts of love, namely to love God above all and to love one's neighbor as oneself".
From the first half of the 12th century onwards, pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela were distinguished by the emblematic scallop shell. The waters off the Galician coast are home to bivalve-shelled molluscs belonging to the genus Pecten. From their ancient dedication to Venus, they derive their Spanish name of concha venera. These are the Galician veiras, large shells reminiscent of the shape of a hand, which backpackers gather on the shore and sew to their hats as a sign of their peregrination when the time comes to return home. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A8lerin_de_Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle?uselang=fr