SWITZERLAND - LAUSANNE - Lot 381

SWITZERLAND - LAUSANNE ABBAYE DES GRENADIERS DE LAUSANNE - VAUD INDEPENDENCE CENTENARY. Two hands joined under a lighted pomegranate and two branches of laurel and oak. Above 1816 - 1898. R/. Grenadier in front of the Abbey, standing near a cannon and cannonballs. Silver medal by Geroges Hantz 1898 (39.23 g) Only 218 were struck. Very rare. High-relief reverse. Superb. Centenary of Waldensian Independence. On January 24, 1798, the burghers of the towns of Vaud put an end to the Bernese regime and proclaimed, on the Place de la Palud in Lausanne, the Republic of Lake Geneva. This independence was short-lived. A few weeks later, French troops took possession of the Pays de Vaud. In April, Bonaparte forced the Confederates to surrender and imposed the Helvetic Republic.