Found in back yard today! Now have scans!

bumanchu

I found a coin that I have not been able to identify. I have scans but I seem to be having difficulty in getting them attached. I will continue to try and I will elaborate more on the coin when/if I am successful. It appears to be a quarter eagle of the classic head type. The coin is dated 1842 and is almost exactly the size of a dime. There is no denomination on the coin and the reverse is similar to the capped head reverse, but differs slightly. Also ther is no E Pluribus Unum on the reverse.

Dave99B

?

XpipedreamR

<< <i> >>





I didn't find anything, either.

bumanchu

Okay I got the scans attached to the original message!

Deadhorse

Some sort of pattern coin?

Got me, never seen anything quite like it before.

What type of metal does it seem to be made of? Hard to tell from that scan.

mirabela

That's pretty weird. Some kinda hard times token, I'd guess. You say you found that in your friggin' back yard? Pretty neat!

pharmer

Neat, way to go.

cladking

I'm not familiar with this but many of this sort of thing are notgeld, German play money, game counters and the like.

bumanchu

I'm not exactly sure except that there is a coppery or goldish look beneath the brownish grey "overcoat" . I presume it was in the soil for a long time and think that if it were copper, it would be terribly corroded.

bumanchu

I just built a new home and had seven dumptruck loads of topsoil hauled in and it was evidently in one of those loads. There was a lot of other crap in the soil as well. I think it had been scooped up near an old homesite.

bumanchu

I am thinking about scratching in one of the clipped/dinged areas with a needle to see if it will let me see what it is made of.

techeff

Maybe a pattern quarter eagle? Wait for more feedback before you "scratch" it....

numobri

I would say that it is not a coin,it has a metal turn to it. Both the reverse and obverse are north on the coin.

Jmho.


Brian

bumanchu

I flipped the coin for the scans, it has the traditional orientation for obverse/reverse of US coins. Notice the damaged areas to confirm this.

No, you are correct!!! Disregard the above!!

braddick

Children's play money from the 1950's or so.

numobri

Your right,sorry.


Brian

bumanchu

Possibly play money. I wonder why it isn't corroded more though, and why there is no denomination on it.

Artist

Neat find!!!

Here is my take:

The coin is based on the classic head design of the 1830s - but since it is more crudely executed and dated 1842, I would all but conclude that the piece is NOT mint made.

Furtermore, since the classic head design had been discontinued by 1842, that I would thing that very well WOULD be the date it was made - (if the piece was made more recently, and it's makers backdated in an attempt to fein antiquity, I would think they would choose a more plausible 1830s date.)

Those uniform clips HAD to serve some function, and therefore we can CONCLUDE that the coin you have is MISSING whatever gave those clips context; maybe something, like a button, or a medal, or a piece of jewelry.

IF the piece were gold, it would still look like gold even after being in the ground for 160 years. If it has ANY green, it has copper in it. If there is no green, it may very well be silver to have survived int he ground this long. Whatever you do, I WOULD NOT scratch it with a needle - no matter what color you see, you still are going to have questions, so why damage your find?

D

<< <i>Possibly play money. I wonder why it isn't corroded more though, and why there is no denomination on it. >>



I'd assume because it was made fairly well. Hate to have people taking them and saying they're "Counterfeit".

After all, there were people that accepted gold plated V-Nickels as Five Dollar gold coins.

-Daniel

numobri

Sorry again but,The big hole is at the top of the obverse and also at the top of the reverse.Wouldn't the top of the reverse be at the bottom of the obverse?
Sorry if i'm being stupid.


Brian

bumanchu

No, and you were right and I edited my comment above to reflect that. Thanks.

bumanchu

This may be going overboard, especially if it isn't a real coin, but the two damaged areas are distinctly different from each other. The top area looks like a clip. The bottom area has rim indentation damage and it also looks like it was hit with a sharp nail set or something. At least thats the way it looks.

numobri

I would say that the clip at the top is not a clip,it's to narrow.

Jmho.


Brian

Coxe

What a fabulous find! This appears to be an uncatalogued (unknown?) hard times token. My guess is that it is a Whig Token distributed during the disastrous 1842 Congressional elections. That would explain the lack of a merchant, state or denomination designation. This is just a wild guess though. It may very well be significant. Do you have Rulau's book? If not, I can get it out of my library tonight and see if there is anything, but I don't think there is.

bumanchu

Clip-like, not like a clip from something happening at the mint, but after it was made.

bumanchu

No I do not have that book and would appreciate any info you could dig up!

Coxe

<< <i>No I do not have that book and would appreciate any info you could dig up! >>



I looked through mine. The craftsmanship of what you have and the date fit with HTTs. Surely there is an expert in tokens around here. You may have to ttt this thread tomorrow in the morning and in the late afternoon t get a bite. Also, host the images somewhere and edit them into your top post. These things are usually copper or brass. I cannot imagine they would survive in that state burried in the dirt for over a century and a half. Looks like it was mounted originally and probably worn as a button for something. Good luck and it will be neat to know what it turns out to be.

John C

bumanchu

Thanks!

NoGvmnt

Jim

291fifth

Probably once part of a costume jewelry piece.

bumanchu

TTT. Any other help/suggestions/comments would be appreciated. I will be unavailable to post until around from noon til after midnnight as I will be at work.

Thanks,

Michael

IndianHeadMan

From my detecting experience I would say that your best indication of how old it may be is to find where they brought the dirt in from. After that I would find someone to detect the rest of the dirt or area. With that info you should be able to create a date window. Where are you located. It just doesn't have the typical "look" of an old dug coin.

saintguru

Coin facsimile. Not "real".

bumanchu

Any more opinions?

messydesk

<< <i>I'm not familiar with this but many of this sort of thing are notgeld, German play money, game counters and the like. >>


This would be a Spielmark, not Notgeld. Notgeld was emergency money printed by local govenments or even private companies during wartime or hyperinflationary times when the money supply was insufficient.

cladking

<< <i>

<< <i>I'm not familiar with this but many of this sort of thing are notgeld, German play money, game counters and the like. >>


This would be a Spielmark, not Notgeld. Notgeld was emergency money printed by local govenments or even private companies during wartime or hyperinflationary times when the money supply was insufficient. >>



You're right I misspoke.

CoinRaritiesOnline

It is a Spielmark for sure. No denomination, base metal, sometimes with a brass or even silver wash. I have similar "coins" like that in my collection of fakes and replicas. It also might be a decoration for clothing, since the button manufacturers of the 1860's-1880's in Waterbury, CT made similar pieces.

Cool item though!

TorinoCobra71

Nice Find! Maybe A Token?

TC71

lloydmincy

No patterns made that year, FYI...