Lock with two keys and thirty pins, with a possible ten thousand combinations (0 to 9,999). It features two inscriptions: “This arithmetical lock was removed from the treasury coach abandoned in Charleroi on 19 June 1815” and “Imperial treasury lock, the keys of which were conferred to Provost Marshal Badet and were changed every day along with the watchword”.
An imperial treasury coach always accompanied the emperor when he was on campaign. On 7 June 1815, Guillaume Peyrusse, the imperial treasurer, dispatched to the army a paymaster and coach containing one million in gold and 300,000 Francs in bank notes. The coach arrived on campaign and was placed with the Vieille Garde, Napoleon's elite troops. Its security was assured by the provost Etienne Radet, guardian of the keys who also changed the lock combination on a daily basis. During the chaotic scenes in Charleroi on the night of 18 June, the paymaster unlocked the coach and attempted to save the treasure inside. This explains why the lock was not forced. In the general confusion, however, the treasure was stolen. On 19 June, the lock was removed and the coach most probably torched.
Pierre Branda (tr. H.D.W.)
The lock features as part of the “Berline de Napoléon. Le mystère du butin de Waterloo” exhibition. The original French text appeared in the Berline de Napoléon exhibition catalogue (published by Albin Michel).
"Arithmetical" lock taken from the Imperial treasury coach
