Krewe of Janus Cloisonnes

Each year at the Krewe of Janus Grand Ball, krewe members are presented with a heavy doubloon called a cloisonne. They are about the size of a silver dollar but thicker and heavier. It has the current theme on the front and the Krewe logo on the back. They are gorgeous and also rare, since only Krewe members can receive them. I have been collecting them ever since I joined the Krewe in 2017. Some I have gotten as a member, some I have bought from various sources. They are SO rare to find! I asked a couple of the remaining founding members at the last meeting and they think the first one was done in 1985 for the second year. They are going to have to check their collections and get back to me. As you can see here, I have over half of them; twenty-seven in all. My earliest one is from 1985, the second year of the Krewe. I have scanned my collection to share below, showing the fronts and backs of each. Sorry about the quality! My scanner isn’t that good! I had to lighten the scan because it was too dark. These are SO gorgeous and vibrant in person! If you hear of anyone wanting to get rid of their collection, let me know!

Edit: September 4th: I got so annoyed with the quality, I took new pictures with my phone! Hopefully they are a better view. I have also put each one in a nice holder for display. I will update this photo when I get new ones in my collection!

FRONT

BACK

Edit: August 5, 2025: Over the weekend, at a Krewe party, a friend of mine came with his collection and gave me an extra he had of the 2006 cloisonne. Very pretty! He also shared some extra doubloons I didn’t have! We had a former king come over to see what we were doing and said he had some extra cloisonnes from around his reign I didn’t have, so hopefully soon, I will be adding to my collection!

My friend had two others I didn’t have, but he only had one of each. I made sure to document them. One of them is a bit of a puzzle! Here is 2000’s cloisonne:

And this is what I think is 1989’s cloisonne:

If you will notice, the side where the theme image should be is blank. The krewe logo side has a date of 1989 where the founding year of 1984 is usually found. If you will look back up at the older cloisonnes, they too had the current year in that spot. Is this a misprint error, or is this what the 1989 cloisonne looks like? Other krewe members who saw it were just as puzzled.