Coin ID Help! Half Sovereign Gold?

mnstortuga

Hello- I got some great help from this board a while ago so here it goes again. My sister found this coin scuba diving in Bermuda about 5 years ago. We have had a few people look at it to no conclusion. I finally got my mother to get it out of the safety deposit box so I could give it a shot with the CU Board. It cant be to old since the Brittish didnt even control Guiana until the early 1800's. I have been told it weighed about 1.23 grams but I do not know where that was done it just says that in my mothers notes she gave me. The coin is very small, maybe a hair under the diameter of a dime. I'm trying to figure out a better way to scan this tiny thing and will post upgraded pics if I'm successful.

Any thoughts?

Thanks- Mike

dan8402

It doesn't look like any half sovereign that I have ever seen. Plus, if it was one, it should weigh around 3.6612g

mnstortuga

I only thought sovereign because the front is simular to ones I found online and the fact it's Brittish. I really hope someone here knows what this thing is!

dan8402

The reverse is "similar", but would have a date at the bottom if real.



I know that still doesn't help to tell you what you DO have.

mnstortuga

Perhaps this is why a few coin dealers had no idea what it was....Can you submit a coin for grading without knowing what it was? I submit baseball cards all the time but have never submitted coins.

ajaan

Looks like a fantasy piece but I don't know for sure. The medal doesn't have a date on it so I doubt it is a coin. Or, perhaps it is a private issue.

mnstortuga

The lack of date is troublesome to me as well. It feels heavy for the size and one jeweler did say it was gold. The off white “gunk” found on both sides is some foreign substance and not a layer under the “gold” if you will. Well maybe someone will see this post and have a better idea. Thanks again for the imput.

dan8402

You might try to soak it in pure acetone to get rid of the "gunk". If the jeweler says its gold, at least you're off to a good start

spoon

Supposing it's genuine (no reason to think it's not), it's Pridmore-69. From just after the turn of the century, should be 1.45 grams, 14mm.

See here and here for examples at auction.

The latin motto translates roughly to "we give and expect in return".

ajaan

Great links spoon. So it is a token.

mnstortuga

spoon- THANK YOU! You have re-inforced my beleif that this board can ID anything. I will do the gold test as suggested and thank you guys again for the imput.

Mike

satootoko

For those, like me, who had never heard of Pridmore ("Prid") numbers, a little time on Google disclosed that they come from The Coins of the British Commonwealth of Nations, a multi-volume work by Fred Pridmore, published in 1960.

ormandh

Good job Eric! Man, this place always seems to amaze me with the plethora of knowledge. -Dan