Help identifying a coin.

Furtrapper

I've had this coin for sometime but I'm not sure what it is. I picked it up in an estate sale (cigar box of coins).

Any help with the identification would be appreciated.







Thanks!

Ron

Aethelred

That is a copy of a 1790 British Guinea.

lordmarcovan

It's a copy, but not a modern one. These were often used as gaming counters, I've heard. I'm pretty sure it's from the 19th century. Maybe the early Victorian era. Not quite as old as the date would indicate, but old, nonetheless. Worth a buck or two as a curiosity, anyway.

I have one just like it on my "Holey Gold Hat", just for fun. There's a real 1789 half-guinea on there, so I took my brass gaming counter "guinea" and some Nev-R-Dull, and shined that sucker up real purty, so it would fit in with the gold coins on my hat.

I need to find a real holed guinea to go on there, in addition to the gold half-guinea and the brass guinea I have. I also have a 1787 George III sixpence that was holed and gold-plated. Somebody might have tried to pass that as a half-guinea, even though the design's a little different. I hang it next to the half guinea for comparison. Of about 13 coins on my Holey Gold Hat, ten are gold and three are "look-alikes".

You can see my half-guinea peeking out from under a Feuchtwanger cent, just below the Trade dollar in the top left of the picture (which is of only a few highlights from my Holey Gold Hat and Holey Coin Vest.)

I didn't put the brass guinea in this picture, but it's just like yours. If you put yours on your keychain, it would probably get nice and shiny after a while. (And if you did shine it up, you wouldn't have to feel guilty for cleaning it, like I did mine, since it's only a copy and holed. T'would make a really classy keychain ornament.)



Hmm... I think I'll make that my temporary sig line picture.