Greetings, long time no post...I have a question :-)

hamiltonjh

What, if anything, can anyone tell me about this coin, or medal?
For now, all I'll say is it's supposedly from France around 1680
and No, i dont own it, and this isnt a test. The website, which I'll leave out of this for now, didnt really explain about it, and I just want to know what the pro's think/know besides what the website says.

cacheman

A UFO on a 17th century French coin continues to mystify rare coin experts.

Centuries' Old UFO Coin Remains Mystery
An unidentified flying object on a 17th century French coin continues to mystify rare coin experts.

Colorado Springs, CO (PRWEB) January 28, 2005 -- After decades of seeking possible answers about a mysterious UFO-like design on a 17th century French copper coin, a prominent numismatic expert says it remains just that: an unidentified flying object. After a half-century of research, the design has defied positive identification by the numismatic community.

"It was made in the 1680s in France and the design on one side certainly looks like it could be a flying saucer in the clouds over the countryside," said Kenneth E. Bressett of Colorado Springs, Colorado, a former President of the 32,000-member American Numismatic Association and owner of the curious coin.

"Is it supposed to be a UFO of some sort, or a symbolic representation of the Biblical Ezekiel's wheel? After 50 years of searching, I've heard of only one other example of it, and nothing to explain the unusual design."

Bressett said the mysterious piece is not really a coin, but a "jeton," a coin-like educational tool that was commonly used to help people count money, or sometimes used as a money substitute for playing games. It is about the size of a U.S. quarter-dollar and similar to thousands of other jetons with different religious and educational designs that were produced and used in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.

"The design on this particular piece could be interpreted as showing either a UFO or Ezekiel's wheel, but little else. Some people think the Old Testament reference to Ezekiel's wheel may actually be a description of a long-ago UFO," he explained.

"The legend written in Latin around the rim is also mystifying. 'OPPORTUNUS ADEST' translates as 'It is here at an opportune time.' Is the object in the sky symbolic of needed rainfall, or a Biblical reference or visitors from beyond? We probably will never know for certain," said Bressett.

"It is part of the lure of numismatics that makes coin collecting so intriguing."

hamiltonjh

wow...thanks Cache. I read PART of that on the website, but not nearly all that was in there.

I was just wondering if there might have been a different explination or way to look at it, but I saw it as a UFO coin.


thanks man!!

WhiteLighnin

hamiltonjh

I guess even the little green guys drop "coins" time to time huh?

MSD61

I hear x-files music hambooger

goldrush00013

It's a weather balloon. A high government official told me so.

Askari

That's been on here a couple of times, but unfortunately, I couldn't find either with the lousy Search function. As I recall, it's an exceptionally rare medal, with 2 known -- and this is the poorer-grade example.

Stork

Link

Old thread link

Another Link

A picture

There was another, more recent thread, but I couldn't find it either.

Askari

Hmph!! The Search function must like you better! I got nothing even when I used those search strings.