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 Replies: 8 / Views: 1,851 |
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New Member
United States
2 Posts |
Hello all, I recently was given several coins of my fathers. I noticed one was a little piculiar. Upon investigating I found it had the Lords Prayer inscibed on the back. At first I thought it was just a carnival press token, but the front side of the coin is still perfect. I would appreciate any information about this coin. Estimated value if anyone has a guess. Thanks   |
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Forum Mom
 United States
5877 Posts |
Welcome to our CC family!  Your coin is genuine, but oftentimes people would take a coin and make it into a token of some kind. You will find a lot of love tokens that were made this way - some have very beautiful engraving. In your case, the reverse of the coin was professionally engraved with the Lord's prayer. I would say that yours is worth around $25. Great find!  |
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Moderator
 United States
6563 Posts |
Very nice!!
Looks like a hand made die that someone used to strike the coin. I'd say $20-$25 and maybe more
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
That particular engraving is done by hand, not with a die strike. It is a variation of the once popular "love tokens" from the 1800s and early 1900s. Love tokens were created by removing one surface of a coin(usually the reverse) and engraving ornate script initials on it. Sometimes a hole was drilled in the coin and it was suspended on a necklace. A few months ago, I found one engraved with my wife's initials so I gave it to her and passed on the love token tradition.
It is amazing that someone would engrave the entire Lord's Prayer on a dime- that is quite the feat of sharp eyes, steady hands and lots of time. Generally, the more ornate the design, the higher the value. Most basic intialed tokens are $5-10 but this obviously is not "basic" so I would say $25+ is not out of the question.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1984 Posts |
That is a wonderful example of homespun craftsmanship and along with the condition of the obverse of the coin, makes quite a nice piece. I'm envious and I think that $25 is a low end estimate, as I know that I would expect to pay something more than that for it if I saw it at auction. I wouldn't expect to get that much from a dealer, however.
Remember not to clean it.
How's it stored?
What else you got?
Welcome!
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
1106 Posts |
The way I look at it is....."How much would it cost you to have someone do this ornate engraving by hand today. I would suspect that $25.00 might get you an estimate on the cost of the work
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New Member
 United States
2 Posts |
I want to thank everyone for their information. I appreciate your comments.
PS: Halfabust, I have a few other coins, but they are common and not worth much.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
14454 Posts |
quote:
A few months ago, I found one engraved with my wife's initials so I gave it to her and passed on the love token tradition.
I am glad you said that because I have always wondered if the person received the love token with their own initials or they received a love token with their loved ones initials on it. I bought one with my initials on it and gave it to my wife and I got one with her initials on it so I guess if it goes the way you are saying we did ours backwards from tradition |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12437 Posts |
LOL Bryan, I have actually pondered your question before and I am not sure of the exact way it used to be done. It is quite possible that it was done both ways- some had the initals of the giver while others had the initials of the receiver.
What I meant by "passing on the tradition" was just the giving of an engraved coin to a loved one regardless of what was engraved on it.
In fact, I actually like your method better. Unfortunately, I have not found one with my intials yet.
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Replies: 8 / Views: 1,851 |
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Posted 05/22/2007 10:22 am
