Item number: M557-4

Reference number: Borna Barac#577-583

Year: AD 1870-1951

Material: Gold and Enamel

Provenance:

1. Leu Numismatik 2025

2. Reza Najafi Collection

This is a miniature insignia of the French Legion of Honour (Légion d’honneur). The Legion of Honour is an order of merit instituted in AD 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte during his tenure as First Consul to reward military personnel and civilians for distinguished services rendered to the nation, with the broader aim of consolidating and bolstering the legitimacy of his governance. The conceptual foundation of the order originated in the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis and the Cross of Saint Louis, established by Louis XIV in AD 1693.

The membership of the Legion of Honour comprises five classes, corresponding to five military ranks: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand Officier (Grand Officer), and Grand-Croix (Grand Cross).

The badge is designed as a five-armed, ten-pointed Maltese asterisk, derived from the Maltese cross and the insignia of the pre-revolutionary French chivalric orders, with the angles between the arms linked by a wreath of oak and laurel leaves. The obverse central medallion features a right-facing profile of Marianne in gilded relief upon a bronze ground, serving as the embodiment of the Republic. The surrounding outer ring is enamelled in blue and bears the gilded legend ‘RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE 1870’, an iconographic hallmark of the Third Republic. The reverse central medallion, likewise set against a bronze ground, depicts crossed tricolour flags, whilst its blue annular border is inscribed with ‘HONNEUR ET PATRIE’ (‘Honour and Fatherland’). The insignia is surmounted by a laurel and oak wreath; the suspension mechanism employs a simplified cylindrical sleeve fitted directly onto the surmounting wreath.

During the Ancien Régime, France had established bodies such as the Order of Saint Louis to confer recognition upon military achievements; however, with the advent of the French Revolution, the former aristocratic hierarchy and chivalric orders were entirely abolished in AD 1792. Although the Directory and the early Consulate subsequently distributed personalised ‘weapons of honour’ (armes d’honneur) engraved with recipients’ names to reward martial feats, the absence of a systematic organisation and the prohibitive financial costs precluded the formation of a coherent national reward system. Confronted with the post-revolutionary reality of social instability, fractured social strata, and widespread demoralisation, First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte recognized the imperative of establishing a system that would transcend feudal birthrights, privilege individual merit, and reunify the citizenry, thereby answering the profound French aspiration for honour and laying ‘blocks of granite’ upon the foundations of the state.

During the legislative deliberations, the measure encountered fierce opposition from detractors who condemned crosses and ribbons as monarchical remnants and frivolous baubles intended to court allegiance. In rebuttal, Napoleon categorically dismissed such abstract objections:

‘You call these things baubles; well, it is with baubles that mankind is led. … I do not believe that the French people love liberty and equality; the French have not changed during ten years of revolution; they are as the Gauls were, proud and high-spirited. They possess but one sentiment: honour. We must therefore nourish this sentiment; they need distinctions. … Do you suppose you can make men fight through philosophical reasoning? Never. That is suited solely to the scholar in his study. The soldier requires glory, honours, and rewards.’

Concurrently, Napoleon overrode prevailing dissent by articulating the pre-eminent role of civil faculties—including scientific, cultural, and administrative achievements—in modern society, maintaining that military and civilian figures must share identical standing within a unified system of honour. Following extensive debates within the Council of State, the Tribunate, and the Legislative Body, the bill establishing the Legion of Honour was formally enacted on 29 Floréal, Year X of the Republic (19 May AD 1802). Subsequently, the naturalist Bernard-Germain de Lacépède was appointed the inaugural Grand Chancellor, establishing the seat of the Grand Chancery at the Hôtel de Salm in Paris. Following the proclamation of the Empire in AD 1804, a complete insignia system was instituted, embedding the Legion of Honour at the very centre of the state apparatus.

Anchored by the central motto Honneur et Patrie, the Legion of Honour persisted through the Bourbon Restoration, the July Monarchy, the Second Empire, and successive republican regimes, progressively broadening its scope to encompass commerce, industry, the sciences, the arts, and public service. Nevertheless, the colossal sacrifices of the First World War and subsequent military engagements resulted in an exponential inflation of recipients, which exceeded 300,000 members by the mid-20th century and compromised the order’s exclusivity. To rectify this devaluation, General Charles de Gaulle promulgated a comprehensive reform code in AD 1962, restricting the quota of living recipients to a maximum of 125,000 and reaffirming that the Legion of Honour be reserved strictly for ’eminent merits’ (mérites éminents). Simultaneously, in AD 1963, the National Order of Merit (Ordre national du Mérite) was instituted to channel and recognise ‘distinguished merits’ (mérites distingués). In the contemporary era, the Legion of Honour has incorporated strict gender parity for civilian awards alongside a citizen initiative procedure, enduring to this day as the highest national honour of the French Republic.

物件編號: M557-4

參考書目編號: Borna Barac#577-583

年代: 公元 1870-1951 年

材質: 黃金和琺瑯

來源:

1. Leu Numismatik 2025

2. 雷扎·納加菲舊藏

這是一枚迷你版的法國榮譽軍團勳章。榮譽軍團是拿破崙擔任第一執政時於公元1802年創設的勳位，頒予對國家有功績的軍人和平民，旨在希望能夠強化自身的統治合法性，其概念構想發源於路易十四在公元1693年建立的聖路易騎士團和聖路易勳章。 

榮譽軍團成員分為五種勳位級別，對應到五個軍階，分別是騎士級(chevalier)、軍官級(officer)、指揮官級(commander)、大軍官級(grand officer)、和大十字級(grand cross)。

勳章呈五臂十角星，源於馬爾他十字和法國舊騎士團的勳章設計，各臂角隅有月桂與橡葉冠相連接。正面圓蓋中央以同色為底，浮雕著金色的瑪麗安妮(Marianne)女神右側肖像，為共和的象徵。外圈則以藍色為底，鐫有金色銘文「REPUBLIQUE FRANCAISE 1870」，為第三共和時期的徽章特徵。背面圓蓋中央同樣以銅色為底，圖樣則為交叉的三色國旗，背面的外圈銘文刻有「HONNEUR ET PATRIE」，即「榮譽與祖國」。勳章上方頂飾為月桂與橡葉冠，章體的懸掛為套筒，直接套在頂飾的葉冠上，是較為簡略的設計。

法國在舊制度時期曾設立聖路易勳章等團體以表彰軍功，但隨著法國大革命爆發，舊有的貴族階層與騎士團體於1792年全遭廢除。督政府與執政府初期雖曾改以發放銘刻姓名的「榮譽武器」來褒揚戰功，但因缺乏系統性組織且耗費龐大，始終未能建立健全的國家獎勵制度。面對大革命後社會動盪、階層瓦解且人人士氣渙散的局面，第一執政拿破崙·波拿巴深感必須建立一套既能打破封建血統特權、以個人功績為尊，又能重新凝聚全體國民的制度，順應法國人對榮譽的強烈追求，在國家基底上奠定如「花崗岩般的基石」。

審議過程中，此案遭遇了強烈反對，反對者批評勳章與綬帶是君主制的遺毒與收買人心的玩具。對此，拿破崙一世力斥這種空泛的理論：

「你管這些東西(勳章)叫小玩意兒，嗯，正是有了這些小玩意兒，人們才被引導……我不相信法國人熱愛自由和平等；在十年的革命中，法國人並未改變；他們就像高盧人一樣，驕傲和光榮。他們只有一種感情，那就是榮譽：因此，我們必須滿足這種感情，他們需要榮譽。……你認為你能透過推理讓人們戰鬥嗎？絕不。這只對研究中的學者有好處。士兵需要榮耀、榮譽、獎勵。」 

同時，拿破崙更力排眾議，深刻闡明現代社會中科學、文化與行政等民事才智的崇高地位，堅持軍人與文職人員必須在同一體系中享有同等榮譽。在參政院、保民院與立法院的激烈辯論後，創設「榮譽軍團」（Légion d’honneur）的法案最終於共和曆10年花月29日（公元1802年5月19日）表決通過。隨後，自然學家拉塞佩德出任首任大總管，將總管署設於巴黎薩爾姆宮，並於公元1804年帝國建立設立完整勳章制度，使榮譽軍團正式成為國家體制的核心。

榮譽軍團勳章以「榮譽與祖國」（Honneur et Patrie）為核心格言，經歷波旁復辟、七月王朝、第二帝國乃至數次共和政體的更迭而始終延續，授勳對象亦逐步擴展至工商業、藝術與社會公益等各領域。然而，第一次世界大戰及後續各場戰事造成獲勳人數急遽膨脹，至20世紀中葉已達三十餘萬人，影響了勳章的崇高地位。為此，戴高樂將軍於1962年頒布法典，嚴格將現存獲勳人數上限控制在十二萬五千人，重申榮譽軍團僅頒予具備「卓越功績」（mérites éminents）者，並於1963年創立國家功績勳章以分流獎勵「顯著功績」。當代榮譽軍團體系更進一步落實了文職獲獎者的性別平等原則與公民推舉機制。至今，榮譽軍團勳章仍為法蘭西最高榮譽。