It's a class of object known as a "lucky penny" or "pocket piece". You can find them with all sorts of designs and motifs, from all sorts of groups. They were first made in the late 1800s / early 1900s once aluminium became cheap, they became very popular in the Depression era, and people are still making them today. You can even find foreign examples; I have seen British ones which use a farthing rather than a British penny, which is much larger than an American cent.
While the coin in the middle is genuine, the sad thing is that the coin has most likely been damaged in the process of getting it in there; the press flattens the rim of the target coin, to give the aluminium ring something to grab onto. So if you were to attempt to extract the coin out of the aluminium ring, it would look something like
this.
As such, it's value is as a collectable medal, in and of itself, rather than the value of the coin it contains. I'm not sure what the current market value for such pieces is in America these days, nor if this particular piece is more sought after than others. As a general rule, pieces with dates on them like this are worth more than undated examples. Yours also appears to be in excellent condition.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
Posted 03/12/2012 7:45 pm
