1914/1919 “India” Liberty Head Gold Token
MrEureka
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First I’ve seen. Any info appreciated!
Andy Lustig
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
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Comments
Good heavens…..
Is it even an American coin? Looks like a token made for circulation in India. Or, more likely, it was made for use in jewelry such as on a charm bracelet or similar.
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"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
That's cool Andy!
Here's a close up!
It does say TRUST IN GOD!
Well that is different... Someone must have details on this item. Cheers, RickO
It's unusual in that it is dated 1914 on one side and 1919 on the other side. I guess the large "G" is to lead one to believe that it's gold but I imagine that it's brass with gold plating.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
hope it helps @MrEureka
My first thought is that it reminds me of those replica/copy British sovereigns that have a "G" on them to denote gold content.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
Obviously I have no idea what it is or who made it, but my initial gut feeling is that it was made in America.
I suspect that the cataloguer was guessing.
The overall "fabric" of it seems similar to the "Hart's Coins of the Golden West" which were small souvenir gold pieces minted around that same time (1909-1916) and marketed by Mary Hart and/or Farran Zerbe.
Looks like "real gold" to me, the 1914 date had me thinking about Hart, and the mismatched dates makes me think it's a mule.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
It is a 1906 Indian cent. Looks XF to AU. (just kidding)
I think that if anyone here had that piece, they would contact YOU for advice. Good luck in your quest to solve this little mystery.
Here's my guess:
1914-1919 are the dates of WW1. India was under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. The dates match (1914 obverse, 1919 reverse). The large "G" above "INDIA" on the reverse is for Gandhi.
Perhaps dies prepared by an Indian die cutter to sell at a profit in India, or to Indian nationals throughout the world?
WWI ended in 1918 but nice try anyway.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
WWI ended in 1918 but nice try anyway.
Depends on how technical you want to get. I have a 1919 WW1 medal in grading as we speak.
The Treaty of Versailles was in 1919, and officially ended the war. The actual fighting ended in late 1918.
The war ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. This day was made a federal holiday called Veterans Day.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
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In the context of Mr. Eureka's gold token, I think that the 1919 treaty (not the 11/1/1918 armistice), is relevant.
Getting back to the token itself……..
Are better pictures available?
I think that this is as close as we are going to get, unless there's an Indian token specialist on the forum. I found this piece by searching "TRUST IN GOD," which Gandhi was known to say and profess, both verbally and in his writings. That with a few other modifiers eventually led me a website that has several similar pieces, but no exact match. I think that the "G" is a reference to Gandhi, rather than "gold."
All are from the same era. Some are called "temple tokens," others are referred to as "prize medals." The one pictured above has the large "G" with the "TRUST IN GOD" motto. The weight and size are bigger than the OP's token, but the fabric matches, imho.
So, I do think that @MrEureka's piece is a jeweler's token and was indeed made in India. This should be enough for the internet sleuths on this forum to find the exact match online or in a book (an old rectangular thing with paper pages).
Website where the above token was found
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Well done!
i google lensed the rev of the op coin shortly after the thread was posted but to no avail. even after enlarging to the size of my screen. others may have better results. i MAY try again sometime soon.
There is one on eBay now with a similar reverse of the OP and the Obverse of Numisma's pictures. Also several dozen in the completed section.
Pretty sparse description: INDIA 1919 TRUST IN GOD GILT METAL MODEL COIN
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thanks for a better image to work with but lens didn't turn up squat still.
How many variations all together?
Not trying to be a wise guy or anything, but vis a vis India, isn't the singular "GOD" inappropriate?