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I'm looking to find some info on a coin I found in the creek in my yard.
Jamieeee
Posts: 13 ✭
I'm looking to find some info on a coin I found in the creek in my yard. It has an Elizabeth II Regina bust on one side and a Medio-balboa conquistador with an ornate helmet on the other side. The metal seems strange, not silver or gold. Any suggestions? Edited 1/19/17; I live in KY north of Lexington, I've loaded pictures, and I had to use my son's microscope to see some of the details. Does this help? Should I use Coca-Cola to try to clean this coin better?
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WillieBoyd2
Posts: 5,036 ✭✭✭✭✭
Jamieeee's "trinket" above is a version of an Egyptian Magic Coin called a "Helen Trent" or "Pokemon".
Egyptian Magic Coin - Pokemon or Helen Trent versionThere is more information on my website (signature line link).
The Panama item appears to be a 50 centavo coin, really worn.
https://www.brianrxm.com
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Sounds like a United Kingdom penny. What's the date? Can you post a picture?
Can you post a picture? One side sounds British and the other South American..
Usually the Elizabeth II coins will have a date on them as well (1952-now), so if you can find that, it will help.
The country name should be on it as well.
Sounds like a mix up with the coin presses over at Alibaba.
We may now have a Canadian Panamanian mule.
Charles III Album
Charles III Portrait Set
Charles IV Album
Charles IV Portrait Set
No legends or text describing a denomination ? If not, then probably a commemorative medal.
"Everything is on its way to somewhere. Everything." - George Malley, Phenomenon
http://www.americanlegacycoins.com
Post some clear photos of the coin please.
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
@Jamieeee....Welcome aboard... you will need to post pictures in order to receive real assistance... also your general location may help... Cheers, RickO
Welcome.
You might get an answer over on the World Coin forum
This thread is useless without........
I collect Panama and have never seen such as you describe. PM me if that is easier and may be able to help. That all sounds quite unusual.
Well, just Love coins, period.
Possibly the coin has Elizabeth I on it and is a commemorative.
In 1572 the English pirate Francis Drake led a raid on Spanish Panama to capture a gold shipment from Peru.
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cell phone photos are ok
above the text box for posts is a page with a dog ear. select that and you can drag and drop images into that to post them, or you can select "browse" and choose them off your computer.
My YouTube Channel
What he said........
Sell on eBay as a rare creek find.
I wonder if there was a 'Battle' at that creek
Funny, but not helpful! Lol
You're going to need to post pics for any real help with this one.
i suggest you type your question into google. without pictures, you will get the same answers there and might actually find pictures....
something that look like this?
P.S. The above photo shows a coin with Elizabeth II, but without a country name.
This means it's from Great Britain. There is an old tradition of putting the ruler on coins,
and that is enough to identify the ruling country (but sometimes not the mint where the coin was made).
Trying to get the hang of the web site. I live in KY north of Lexington. I thought it was trash when I first saw it. I had to use my son's microscope to make out some of the details. I am very skilled at google, and could find info on each side, but not both together. Do you think I could use Coca-Cola to clean it up a bit? What do you suggest?
It appears to be a Panama coin... other than that I can offer no help. Well I guess I can say with certainty what's left of it is worthless.
Looks somewhat like this one from Panama:
but the lower left side does not match.
A better match is this "charm" (imitation coin):
A real coin from Panama would not have ELIZABETH II REGINA on the other side, since Panama was not part of the British Empire.
Also, the metal is wrong. Your coin looks like it was made from steel, judging from the way it has stained the dirt brown, eroded away, etc.
Most countries do not make coins from steel (although Canada has from time to time), since it does not last.
Copper-nickel is a lot more common.
So the wrong metal also suggests an imitation coin.
@yosclimber - Yes it looks similar to that. The one I found has a design all over the helmet. Not just on the ridge.
@Jamieeee Welcome, does a magnet stick to the coin you found?
@yosclimber - The other side looks similar to this, but it's not copper and the lettering appears to be slightly larger and closer together on mine.
Sounds like you found a broken token. It is interesting to find stuff like this. I used to love hunting in abandon dump sites in the farming areas when I was a kid I had a pretty good bottle collection at the time but years have gone by and so have the bottles.
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
@thebigeng no a magnet does not stick to it.
If the magnet doesn't stick its not steel. I'm guessing it has come from a piece of jewelry but doubt that it is a precious metal.
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
Many Panama coins are sized the same as US coins.
Is it the same size as a cent, nickel, dime, quarter or half dollar US?
Same thickness?
(Many Panama coins from 1966-1983 were actually made by the US Mint, and used the same composition - copper clad with copper-nickel, since it is simpler to use the US blanks but strike the Panama designs on them).
Still, the combination of Elizabeth II on one side and Balboa on the other side does not sound like a regular coin.
If it is twice as thick, it might be 2 coins from different countries bonded together.
However, many imitation coins (or tokens) are made as well, for kids, for games, etc.
A very cool find!!!! Sounds like you should go back with a metal detector in hand... Welcome to the board and thank you for sharing the pics and story...
AB
@Jamieeee...If it is very thick, then it is likely two coins corroded together... although the corrosion makes it look more like novelty jewelry. Thanks for the pictures. Cheers, RickO
It's slightly larger than a quarter and about the same thickness. I'm always poking around in that shallow creek (in my horse pasture-the horses keep it churned up) looking for geodes and arrowheads. I guess now I'll be on the lookout for coins anything odd shaped. I agree it's probably some sort of broken jewelry or token. I thank everyone for responding. @WillieBoyd2 I now know more about Sir Frances Drake than I ever thought I would. I did see a lot of conquering and stealing from Panama, but not collaboration (which the coin suggests), but I did take a good look and stayed up way too late doing it. It was exciting! Again, I thank everyone for taking the time to respond.
Jamie
My neighbor found this, which I took to the KY Collectibles show on KET for him. They thought it was a trinket of some sort too.
For some reason I am not getting the pictures of OP coin - is anybody able to forward to me? Things like this are always interesting.
Well, just Love coins, period.
Keep looking for stuff and post it here!! We will help you if we can.
Wow!! @WillieBoyd2 thank you very much!!!! My neighbor found the "Helen of Trent" 52 years ago in a tobacco field. He will be thrilled to have this info. However, I do not know how to access your website... you mentioned "signature line link", however nothing took me to your site. Would you mind sending me your website please?
Respectfully,
Jamie
My website is in the signature line under any of my posts.
Here it is:
http://www.brianrxm.com
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This thread just keeps getting cooler and cooler by the day. Can't wait to see what else you find. I agree on the metal detector.
Yes indeed... a metal detector would be highly recommended for your area.... get a reasonably good one... I promise you, you will have fun and likely some amazing finds in that area.... Cheers, RickO
The radio program was called "The Romance of Helen Trent", but I like "Helen of Trent" better.
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@willieboyd2 I couldn't wait to show my neighbor the info about the watch fob (he doesn't have a computer or smart phone). I was baffled as to how something as exotic as that made it to this small farming community. I know from the stories most of the families had what they needed, but not a lot of money for anything extra. Then he broke out the pictures of this railroad depot that once existed here. Hinton was quite the bustling little town, with 5 stores, barber shop, and hotel (none of which exists now). He said the census from that time showed 300 people living in Hinton. But when the train quit stopping, the town died out. So what now appears to be all farms now was once a hot spot of activity. @ricko my uncle has a metal detector, think I might borrow it and give it a try.
Thanks again to everyone.