Jetton, foreign, issued at France.

Brass reckoning counter, or jetton

French, Languedoc, late 14th - early 15th century

This jetton shows a bear walking left on all four limbs across a flowery ground. The design of many jettons copies the design of the coinage but here the bear is a local emblem that has no links with French regal coin designs. It is thought that bear jettons were struck for local use in the Languedoc and that the animal is the legendary beast (Malle beste) of night time Toulouse.