Counter commemorating Admiral Jules Sebastien César Dumont d'Urville (1790-1840). Obverse: Busts of a woman in a poke-bonnet (left) and a man (right), the head of a child between them; crossed laurel sprays below. Legend: 'AUX MANES DE L'AMIRAL D . DURVILLE.' Reverse: Inscription, 'A LA MEMOIRE DES INCENDIES DE LA MALHEUREUSE JOURNÉE DU 8 MAI 1842.'
Sebastien César Dumont d'Urville circumnavigated the globe three times between 1822 and 1840 making new discoveries in the Pacific and the Antarctic regions. Shortly after his promotion to Rear Admiral in 1842, he was burned to death in a railway accident with his wife and child and a number of other passengers.