An ancient in Ohio?

tbirde56

I got the following photo and email. Can you help?



'I am just trying to determine what this coin/medal/jetton is, and the face value is not really important. It was found during an archaeological excavation of a Woodland site dating to approximately 1000-1500 AD. It appears that a hole was drilled into the top, in order to string as some kind of adornment. The metal is very corroded and pitted, but appears to contain copper. The reverse is so corroded, you cannot tell anything. This picture of the profile was the best we could do, unfortunately.
Any help is much appreciated (our group knows nada about coins).
Thanks so much for reading this and for replying to my query,

Sundea Murphy
Falls of the Ohio Archaeological Society'

historygeek

Isn't it a bit too round to be an ancient?

1jester

That's really neat. Did they say what else they'd found at the site? Is the site on a river or other waterway? I wonder if the Vikings were there? The profile appears to look Nordic, but I have no clue really. Please let us know what you find.

newsman

I remember reading somewhere that there's archaeological evidence of European exploration along the Ohio River sometime around 1000 AD -- I think the Falls of the Ohio State Park in Indiana has some of the artifacts on display. It's also possible that the tribes of the Ohio River valley traded with Indians who had contact with the Vikings who settled in Newfoundland. My guess would be to check with an expert on Norse and Celtic coins.

elverno

Is that a saint's halo?

CIVITAS

No, it's the crest of the helmet that the bearded figure is wearing. It's probably supposed to be Zeus/Jupiter in a Corinthian helmet. The style does not look ancient to me, but rather Renaissance. A weight and diameter might help to narrow it down especially if they can make a definitive assessment of the composition. Well, barring any stratigraphic contamination, it appears their Late Woodland site is no longer pre-contact.

coachleonard

The style, to me, seems similar to certain British Condor tokens of the 1790's to early 1800's. My guess is that it's a token or medalet from that period-- though I'm not sure if its British, Canadian or U.S origin.

coachleonard

P.S-- I wouldn't rule out 1500's or 1600's either (some kind of jeton). Any yellow metal showing up-- as in a brass piece?

boiler78

newsman- My family visited the Falls of the Ohio state park just across the river from Louisville this past October. The museum has a very interesting display of fossils and Indian artifacts dating back to the last iceage but the most fascinating display for me was a group of Roman bronze coins. Here is a link discussing this interesting find. Roman coins

This link must be a bit outdated because there are over a dozen coins and they are on display. They must have located the worker.

Shipcoin

Looks like interesting, enigma, Tbirde Let us know ,please about the latests developments about that!