Roman Coin or token
- Thread starter stetam
- Start date
stetam
Elite Member
Thanks Doug. I was hoping you would chime it.
Steve
Steve
Tom_in_CA
Elite Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2013
- Messages
- 20,749
If it is genuine, probably a pocket-piece brought back by a returning soldier after WWI or WWII. Yes, old coins (even ancient ones) were souvenir pieces, even back then.
I knew a guy who was visiting the holy land (or Egypt or something like that) back in the 1960s. And as he walked through the crowded street filled with street vendors, he came across one fellow's table , which had a tray set out with handfuls of ancient coins (probably all common). He was hawking them to tourists as souvenirs (and yes, they were real). The street vendor was selling them for something like $1 each. So the guy chooses a couple, and brought them back to the USA with him.
And yes, such souvenirs get lost, just like any other coin. The reason this is so apparent is that you'll notice that around any USA army base, that saw action at WWI and/or WWII, you tend to find foreign coins of those nations : British, German, French, Italian, etc.... That date to what would have been circulating during the war years. Thus : Pocket piece souvenirs brought back by returning soldiers.
I knew a guy who was visiting the holy land (or Egypt or something like that) back in the 1960s. And as he walked through the crowded street filled with street vendors, he came across one fellow's table , which had a tray set out with handfuls of ancient coins (probably all common). He was hawking them to tourists as souvenirs (and yes, they were real). The street vendor was selling them for something like $1 each. So the guy chooses a couple, and brought them back to the USA with him.
And yes, such souvenirs get lost, just like any other coin. The reason this is so apparent is that you'll notice that around any USA army base, that saw action at WWI and/or WWII, you tend to find foreign coins of those nations : British, German, French, Italian, etc.... That date to what would have been circulating during the war years. Thus : Pocket piece souvenirs brought back by returning soldiers.
achaios
Forum Supporter
Since it appears to be a type that should occur in silver, I think it may be a reproduction, but when it was made, I don't know.
--Tom
--Tom
Tom_in_CA
Elite Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2013
- Messages
- 20,749
Good observation. I hadn't noticed that Doug's link indicates "silver". Assuming , of course, they were the same coin (there's subtle differences).
...also very crisp and not split at the edges (hammed between dies), nice and round?
stetam
Elite Member
MTJosh
Elite Member
Looks way to perfectly round. Every Roman I found while in Europe was never perfectly round. Guessing tourists piece brought home from somewhere
stetam
Elite Member
Thanks everyone. I never thought it was real and it just amazes me what I find when hunting corn fields. You dig mostly every signal and 50% of the time it is something cool!
Steve
