Anyone ID this coin for me?

constablescott

Sorry this picture is poor quality but I had to take the pic using my digital camera of the image on my computer monitor. I saw the coin on a documentary about UFO's. I'd like to ID it to try and scoop one up somewhere for myself. Anyone know what it is?

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y36/constablescott/coin.jpg

Can someone please post the pic for me? I can't get it to work for some reason so I posted a link to the pic on photobucket.

lordmarcovan

It's a French jeton from the late 1600s, I believe.

And a fascinating one, with that "wheel in the sky" motif.

Very popular with the UFO set. I gotta admit it is interesting to see a flying saucer portrayed on a 300-year-old jeton.



PS- good luck trying to find one- I think they are pretty scarce, and not cheap!

spoon

Yep, questions about those pop up on forums every now and then.. Like LM said, they're pretty scarce (I've never actually seen one for sale, not that I was actively looking). Considering their popularity I'm surprised no one's made repros to float on eBay yet.


BTW, if you want to post a picture from your web browser: first try right clicking it and copy the URL and just post that OR save the image and upload it. If for whatever reason you can't just grab the image, hit Print Screen on your keyboard- open any kind of photo editing software- create a new picture- and hit Ctrl-V to paste it- chop it up as needed, save it and it's yours!

Daltonista

Interesting commentary from Ken Bresset, snatched from a blog at: prattle.net

"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.

<Q>"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.</Q>

"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.

<Q>"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,</Q> he explained.
"
<Q>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,</Q> said Bressett."

An alternative theory is that this jeton depicts a shield which protects us earthlings and our crops from celestial threats such as lightning and hail. We can read all about that (or translate it) here: Shield theory.

Have a great weekend!
Tom

savoyspecial

tcollects

dirigeababe