Encased 1894 Italian 20 Centesimi
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Has anyone ever seen anything like this before?
It is an encased 1894 Italian 20 Centesimi. The encasement is plain, and I'm unsure of its composition. I also can't say that the encasement is contemporary, but based on the patina I assume that it has been on there a long time.
Does anyone have any idea why this might have been done? Did it serve some purpose or was someone just bored in "shop class"?
Philippians 4:4-7
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In some cultures, using coins at the base of cups or bowls is commonly done. Haven't seen anything like it from Italy before.
Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, "Meditations"
Apparently I have been awarded one DPOTD.
Possible use as a casino chip?
Espresso cups are small, maybe a saucer?
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Very interesting. With the color similarity between the coin and the encasement, if you’d have told us it was some kind of die trial on an oversized planchet, I might have believed you.
I do think that patina indicates it’s been in there a long time, and is likely contemporary.
I have seen it before and it is a coin encased in a metal ring for what reason I can't remember. I have seen 1860's copper in these
It's been a long week, but I finally had time to dig this out and examine it some more. I'm still not sure what I have or why it was made, but I do believe that it is an encasement not a trial strike, etc. based on the metal overlap seen on the reverse.
The coin itself is supposed to weigh 4.0 grams (at least in unc. condition) with a diameter of 21 mm.
The coin and encasement weigh 14.43 grams with a diameter of 36 mm.
I am still not sure of the metal composition, but it is not magnetic.
Philippians 4:4-7
Maybe it is a vintage florentine disc or flat dish with a coin on the center, I have seen something similar in Florence Italy.
Similar to this:
and btw the image i posted it is from a non flat dish, that happens that also it is now posted on the BST
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1086597/fs-italy-coronation-medal-mariana-anna-augusta-ferdinand-i
It's definitely not a trial strike. I just sold the Meduno collection at HA.com last week and can tell you it's not in Pagani or Montenegro or any other prova books of Italy