Have Never Seen Anything Like This.

What is the size and weight of the different pieces?

I found another photo of them, this one with additional objects. The ones on the right are the original three.



Using a crude scale based on the width of the lines on the sheet they were sitting on, I believe the longest ones are slightly larger than three inches, while the smaller ones are between 1.5 and 2.5 inches.

No way to tell the weight though:(

:o

Yes these are coins from Laos under the Luang Prabang, Vientiane, Lanchang Kingdom and Kingdom of Laos. They are of various purity in silver, with the later ones beingg debased. AE were also issued.

These look like the Laos 'boat money' we bought recently . We were told they were used before coinage. We assumed they were modern reproductions.

At the same time we bought what we were told was also pre-coinage in an odd shape: a near 6 inch long flat 'silver boat' with 7 small 'balls' sitting in it. Varying sizes from a large ball bearing size down to a small marble size. They have a very strange and interesting shape to the top of them where the metal has been folded back on itself but still leaving a groove either side of the fold. They also have a series of small motifs punched into them.

Assuming these are reproductions, I was wondering if originally the grooves either side went all the way through below the fold. If so, they could have been threaded and worn around the neck.

Our guide in Vientiane (where we bought them)told us that he remembered his grandmother having some.

Does this ring any bells with anyone?
thanks