Anyone Know Of This Coin? Silver? 1898 Or 1897?

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Author	Replies: 3 / Views: 3,029
pdm12772 Valued Member United States 105 Posts	Posted 05/30/2013 2:42 pm Stearns Dekadrachm token made in 1897 or 1898? I thought mine read 1897...bronze, several silver and a few gold. Not sure what mine is. Not gold obviously and doesn't look bronze...not sure if its silver? It weighs 25.4 grams Report this Post to the Staff

Sap Moderator Australia 16834 Posts	Posted 05/30/2013 6:07 pm It is a replica of a famous ancient Greek coin, the decadrachm (also spelled "dekadrachm") of Syracuse, Sicily. The Greek lettering above the Roman numerals (neither of which appear on genuine decadrachms) says "STEARNS". It was made by the Stearns Bicycle Co. in 1898 in the city of Syracuse, New York, where the company was based, as an advertising piece. As far as I can tell, these were only made in pewter. Pewter can turn brown and look bronze-like, especially if buried. This CNG auction of one copies the advertisement Stearns placed, offering these for a small fee. As you can see, even though it is not a genuine ancient coin and not silver, it is nevertheless a 100 year old artefact in its own right and worth a couple hundred dollars to the right people, 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 Report this Post to the Staff
pdm12772 Valued Member United States 105 Posts	Posted 06/01/2013 09:53 am Thanks Sap. I did read that they made them in silver and gold also...but in a very limited number. I had a book stating this. I will have to try and find it now. I was trying to find the exact weight of this coin to compare too. I have had some tell me it looks to be silver and another person told me it looked silver..But I don't know. Report this Post to the Staff
pdm12772 Valued Member United States 105 Posts	Posted 06/01/2013 10:17 am I found the book. It states that it is copper/Lead and a very few silver examples were struck as well as a few gold specimens were struck. What date is the one you see above that I have pictured? It says it is supposed to be 1898...but mine shows 1897. Is it just a mistruck coin that doesn't show that last I? Edited by pdm12772 06/01/2013 10:22 am Report this Post to the Staff
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