Orions Belt And Unknown Token - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 7 / Views: 6,379
D Pillar of the Community Canada 899 Posts	Posted 11/09/2011 12:00 am Far Out and Way Up There ? What are the chances ? Finest of all the constellations is the glorious Orion, the warrior-giant of the ancients. Orion's Belt is part of a larger constellation called The Hunter. Orion is a very prominent and popular constellation, perhaps being the best-known and most conspicuous constellation in the sky. Orion's three "belt" stars are found on the celestial equator and are visible throughout the worlds. The three belt stars are of medium brightness and are the medium part of the constellation. Orion is not the only name for The Hunter. In Australia the belt and sword of Orion are sometimes called the Saucepan. It is called the Drie Konings (Three Kings) by Afrikaans and Trois Rois (The Three Kings) by the French. Both of these names are founds in 17th and 18th century seaman's guides. Historically it is also referred to as Babylonian "Shepherd of Anu." Report this Post to the Staff

D Pillar of the Community Canada 899 Posts	Posted 11/09/2011 5:25 pm Although I am not certain if this is associated with Orion and just to add fuel to the fire, I found this picture. Similiar as in Warrior and Shield? Edited by D 11/10/2011 02:47 am Report this Post to the Staff
wheatiefan Pillar of the Community United States 507 Posts	Posted 11/10/2011 08:29 am I'm glad to see you brought this up. I was away from CCF for 1-2 years, and when I came back I wondered if your coin/token was ever IDed. At first, I thought it was a fellow banging a drum, like in a marching band. Then, I thought it was a pregnant lady, with a pronounced but off center belly-button. But there are other feminine attributes of a pregnant woman that aren't shown, so that seems unlikely. Now that you bring up the shield, that could fit as well. But I'd expect the guys to have swords or some type of weapon as well, so maybe not. I don't think the stars fit. They're roughly equidistant from each other while your stick figures aren't. But it might not be barking up the wrong tree to think of possible mystical connections. Now that I look at it: Do you think the circles are identical (made by a punch) but the stick figures are freehand? It's fun to speculate, but I suspect that only one human being can say why it was made and if it 'means' anything...... Edited by wheatiefan 11/11/2011 06:19 am Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16827 Posts	Posted 11/10/2011 08:55 am I've always pictured Orion as holding a bow, rather than a shield. The stars certainly form more of a bow-shape than a shield-shape. Of course, I'm looking at him upside-down, so what do I know? A controversial theory among Egyptologists is that the three Great Pyramids of Giza were deliberately aligned the way they are to mirror on Earth the three stars of Orion's Belt. Personally, I think it's just a demonstration of the human ability to see familiar patterns and assume some kind of causality, where there is none. Take three points, line them up exactly and space them evenly - then move one of them just slightly (any one - it doesn't matter which) and you will end up with an "Orion's Belt" configuration. 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 Report this Post to the Staff
D Pillar of the Community Canada 899 Posts	Posted 11/10/2011 12:04 pm wheatiefan, great observation. Just finished looking at the figures under the microscope and I would have to agree with your assessment. The circles are punched and the stick figures are not consistent in proportion, depth and size which I would now say they were done by hand. Good eye... sap..While researching this aspect of Orion I have found several interpretations of the stars and what they represent. One is of the picture in my second post a giant-warrior with shield, another one is of Orion with a club and lion, a third is of a female warrior with bow. As you pointed out and I think different peoples and cultures viewed these same stars with different meaning of what they meant to them and their region. What I do know is that it has taken me several years to find any thing this close that has some sort of pattern and potential relationship. Orion's Belt is certainly worthy of more research. The figures on the token done by punch and hand are not going to be exact and the real meaning, interpretation, beliefs and reasons will only be known by the maker. Report this Post to the Staff
DVCollector Bedrock of the Community United States 10045 Posts	Posted 11/10/2011 1:45 pm Quote: Personally, I think it's just a demonstration of the human ability to see familiar patterns and assume some kind of causality, where there is none. This is perhaps the truest explanation of how the human mind works--and why the "scientific method" was such a great leap forward. Without it, our imaginations look for causality everwhere...and we create our own mythology, whether we're a "modern" or a "primitive" people. Well...pardon my pedantics; I worked in archaeology publishing and I can't help myself. As for the token in question, it's possible the position of the figures is entirely random, since they appear hand-punched. If you want to interpret it astronomically, you might want to ask yourself why these symbols have legs. Stars are generally perceived to be "fixed" in relation to each other, but planets were once called "wandering stars". I just find the token interesting for its patina and crudeness; it looks fairly old...and good luck finding the story behind it. Report this Post to the Staff
D Pillar of the Community Canada 899 Posts	Posted 11/11/2011 2:02 pm DVCollector...great comment "you might want to ask yourself why these symbols have legs"... I have many times..Several years ago when I first seen and purchased this token my initial thought was of warriors with shields and now that Orion was suggested to me as a possible connection I am exploring that first thought. Your other comment "I just find the token interesting for its patina and crudeness; it looks fairly old" is right on the money and another reason to pursue Orion's Belt. Who ever made this did not have good tools and did a great job with what they had on hand and by hand. I believe it is possible the stick figures were done to represent a warrior as perceived by the maker as what the stars and Orion's Belt meant to him. Attached is a picture with four Orions as others perceive them to be... Report this Post to the Staff
Lobby Pillar of the Community United States 548 Posts	Posted 11/11/2011 2:50 pm I thought ya'll were talking about the movie. Report this Post to the Staff
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