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 Replies: 13 / Views: 5,638 |
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New Member
United States
26 Posts |
 Identified - moved to World Coins forum - Sap
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New Member
United States
49 Posts |
very interesting..... looks like pickles or sea cucmbers. lol
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4212 Posts |
I know this one, finger money, I belive.
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2891 Posts |
If you do a google search for "tigers tongue money" you'll find some answers - but basicially they are trading ingots from the Laos region 16th century. And the small round one is called "bullet money"
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Moderator
 Australia
16868 Posts |
Yep, the long ones are "tiger tongues". You should be aware that low-silver replicas, both old and modern, are more commonly encountered than genuine period bullion. The big one at top looks suspiciously high in detail to me.
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
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Moderator
United States
56855 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
318 Posts |
Holy Cow! Never seen nothing like this before. They sure do look like cucumbers.
Very interesting......
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Valued Member
Canada
480 Posts |
I think the bottom right is bullet money from Thailand- it appears to have the krut (half-man) mark of Rama II (1809-1824). These pieces were heavily counterfeited during the Vietnam War, and later.The top 2 are Tiger tougues, and the bottom one is a piece of Boat money, from the Laos-Cambodia area. Sap's comments are a good warning.
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New Member
 United States
26 Posts |
wow you guys have been so helpful. any more information beyond what has been given would be appreciated as well. I too am worried about the authenticity of the largest "tigers tounge". any thoughts on what I should do to make sure they are real? if they are completely real silver does that make them authentic? and thanks again for all of the great information. i'll make sure I come up with more interesting stuff for you guys to help me with  Edited by silver_surfer
03/15/2012 4:03 pm
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Moderator
Australia
16868 Posts |
If you can test them for silver and they come back positive, that's a good sign - they're supposed to be 75% to 90% silver fineness, but if they've got any silver in them at all, they're probably genuine. Most of the tourist replicas I've seen are cheap brass knock-offs. For "primitive monies" like this, provenance is always good. How did you come about them? If they were acquired from a dealer who seems to know a lot about world, ancient and primitive currencies, or they've been sitting around in an old collection for several decades, your chances of them being genuine are better than "I bought them last week in a tourist shop in Phuket". The zeno.ru database pages for Southeast Asia have some more good examples of this type of currency. For example, this one closely matches your smaller tiger-tongue; the three circular stamps date it to the period 1400-1450. 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
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New Member
United States
26 Posts |
Sap thanks so much! They appear to be REAL silver, however I will take them somewhere to get them tested. is there a good way to test them without lowering the value? here's the kicker, I bought these from an 84 year old who acquired them from his friend who was even older when he passed away. the gentleman didn't seem to know much about them. but I thought they were silver when I seen them so I bought them. but yes, just as you described, they were sitting around for several decades. as far as making sure they are silver, should I take them to a reputable dealer who could maybe tell me by eye if its silver, or should I take it elsewhere? this is very interesting stuff!
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Rest in Peace
United States
9104 Posts |
Just don't allow destructive (filing, acid test, etc) testing. There's a Canadian poster with access to a spectrograph who could check it for you.
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Valued Member
Australia
262 Posts |
Thai? I guess, because I think saw someone list on eaby last year
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New Member
United States
26 Posts |
this is what I was told by someone who is an expert in sycee etc. Rare Laotian Tiger Tongue Money, ca. 17th-18th century, this unusual bar coins used by the Laotian people inhabiting the Mekong river near modern day Siam, occasionally found by villagers in this remote region and are highly treasured, it is impossible to absolutely date these bar coins, but I was told by several experts in the numismatic field that this bar dates between the 17th-18th century, made of a "Low grade" silver-copper composition, in excellent condition with no damage and or restoration.
and thanks again for all of your help. I never would've gotten this far without you guys.
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Replies: 13 / Views: 5,638 |
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Posted 03/15/2012 12:33 am
to CCF. The bottom one looks like "boat money" check here 
