Medal France Benedicte de Bourbon, Duchess of Maine, Order of the Honey Bee 1703

Well! This medal has a colorful history. Louise Benedicte de Bourbon, forced to marry the Duke of Maine, became the Duchess of Maine and dabbled in all sorts of pleasantries, including creating her own chivalric order, known as the Order of the Honey Bee. Each member of the order had a robe embroidered with silver thread, a wig in the shape of a beehive, and a medal engraved with the letters L. BAR. D. SC. D. P. D. L. O. D. L. M. A. M, meaning Louise, baronne de Sceaux, dictatrice perpétuelle de l'ordre de la Mouche à miel (Louise, Baronne de Sceaux, perpetual dictator of the Order of the Honey Bee).

On the other side of the medal, perhaps the duchess was referring to herself: PICCOLA SI MA FA PUR GRAVI LE FERITE. (She is small, yes, but nonetheless gives cruel wounds).

These medals come in gold, silver, and bronze, with approximate catalog values as follows

GOLD
circulated: $900 US dollars approximate catalog value
fully uncirculated: $1500

SILVER
circulated: $100 US dollars approximate catalog value
fully uncirculated: $300

BRONZE
circulated: $80 US dollars approximate catalog value
fully uncirculated: $200
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