Jean Lafaurie

Jean Lafaurie (1914–2008) was a renowned French numismatist specializing in medieval French coinage. Initially employed by the postal service in Bordeaux, he moved to Paris and, in 1944, joined the Cabinet des Médailles at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, where he worked until his retirement in 1979. Concurrently, he completed his studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études, earning his degree in 1949 with a thesis that formed the basis of his catalogs on the coinage of French kings.

In 1951, Lafaurie published his first catalog, covering the monarchs of the Capetian dynasty and the House of Valois up to Louis XII, followed in 1956 by a second volume dedicated to the rulers of the 15th and 16th centuries. In 1958, he was appointed Director of Studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études, where he taught Roman and medieval numismatics. His research later focused on coinage from the 3rd to the 11th centuries, including Ostrogothic, Visigothic, Burgundian, and Frankish issues, with particular emphasis on Merovingian coinage.

An active member of the Société Française de Numismatique (SFN) since 1942, Lafaurie served as its secretary and later as president from 1959 to 1961. He frequently directed the Revue Numismatique and contributed extensively to its publications. His contributions to numismatics earned international recognition, including the Medal of the Royal Numismatic Society in 1965, the Huntington Medal of the American Numismatic Society in 1974, and the Derek Allen Prize from the British Academy in 1993.