Germany, Nuremberg, Lauer Jeton - Alexander Romanov, Tsar of Russia

Germany, Nuremberg, Lauer Jeton. ca 1804-1812 - Alexander Romanov, Tsar of Russia. Bronze Jeton (1.13g, 15mm).  ALEXANDER, Laureate head of Alexander right / DAS BESTE IETON, winged heart on top of anchor, cross with a crown.

EF, interesting and historic "rechenpfenning."

These jetons were produced in Nuremberg by the Lauer family - Ernest Ludwig Sigmund Lauer (1783-1833), Johann Jakob Lauer (1806-1865), Ludwig Christian Lauer (1842-1873).  They are called “rechenpfennig” - reckoning counters used for casting accounts at the Royal Exchequer, and by government officers and merchants for conducting their respective financial calculations.  They were placed on on a chequer board, analogous to beads on an abacus, in order to make computations before the adoption of Arabic numerals.  Brass jetons were often struck as gaming counters. The popularity of gaming houses had been increasing since the end of the 16th century, and the opportunity this presented was not lost on the jeton manufacturers.  See http://www.ukdfd.co.uk/pages/nuremberg-jetons.html

The "anchor heart" refers to early Christian symbolism where the anchor (with its cross-like top bar) was used to represent hope and faith.  Common interpretations of anchor/heart/cross are that the trio represent hope, love and faith (i.e., faith/hope/love, as in St Paul).  Similar tokens exist for Louis XVI and Napoleon without the title of Emperor.  Louis XVI was king of France until 1792, Napoleon was crowned Emperor in 1804 and Alexander became Tsar in 1801.  Thus, the likely dating for these is 1804-1812, which period includes a brief peace in Europe and 1807 Treaties of Tilsit between France, Russia and Prussia.  In 1812, France and Russia fell out and Napoleon invaded.