Félicien de Saulcy trained at the École Polytechnique and served in the military. He published his first archaeological work in the early 1830s and was particularly interested in numismatics. In 1841, he became curator of the musée de l’Artillerie in Paris. He travelled around the Mediterranean and Near East and was fascinated by ancient remains. He is well-known for his archaeological work in the Bible Lands.
Close to Napoleon III, in 1858, he was appointed president of the Commission de Topographie des Gaules. He remained in that position until 1879. In 1872, he sold his collection of Gallic coins, one of the most important collections of its time, to the Cabinet des médailles.