Small Bronze - Angel Spearing Dragon

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Author	Replies: 7 / Views: 1,438
Finn235 Pillar of the Community United States 6130 Posts	Posted 02/23/2016 2:39 pm Got this in a lot of miscellaneous Roman coins, but it just doesn't fit the bill. Thinking maybe early 18th century? Size is a bit smaller than a US dime; about AE4 size. (Apologies for the pictures, this one was tough to photograph) Obverse: Crown with initials V . S . VID. Maybe some sort of mint or privy mark beneath; can't make it out Reverse: Winged figure (Angel? Victory?) spearing serpent-like dragon. Reminds me very much of the story of St. George Report this Post to the Staff

scopru Pillar of the Community United States 5029 Posts	Posted 02/23/2016 3:48 pm I think that is Michael fighting a serpent. You should weigh it also. It is similar to some early 1600's coins. However, I would take that as a start point to research and not as a verified identification. Report this Post to the Staff
andyg Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 1323 Posts	Posted 02/23/2016 3:58 pm I think it's a weight - this similar, http://coinweights.blogspot.co.uk/2...gold_02.html Report this Post to the Staff
january1may Pillar of the Community Russian Federation 5176 Posts	Posted 02/23/2016 4:29 pm Definitely weight. The "V S VI D" part stands for 5 shillings 6 pence (or 5s6d for short). Very nice, if real. I don't know enough about British denominations to say which period actually had a 5s6d coin, but it must have been fairly early. Report this Post to the Staff
scopru Pillar of the Community United States 5029 Posts	Posted 02/23/2016 4:37 pm Well that is pretty cool. Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16849 Posts	Posted 02/23/2016 6:08 pm The good news is, we can actually date this particular weight rather narrowly. According to Wikipedia, between 1612 and 1619, the gold angel was officially valued at 11 shillings. Half of this would be 5 shillings 6 pence. Therefore, this object is a weight for a gold half-angel coin and dates from 1612-1619. 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
Finn235 Pillar of the Community United States 6130 Posts	Posted 02/23/2016 6:19 pm Good call! This is a weight for a gold "half angel", which was worth 5s6d between 1612-19 under James I. No clue about how common these are, but I found several separate metal detecting forum reports of these being found, so they cannot be too rare. I'll dig out my scale sometime and see if it is still up to the weight standard for the coin. E: took too long to respond haha Edited by Finn235 02/23/2016 6:20 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16849 Posts	Posted 02/23/2016 6:37 pm It may not necessarily weigh exactly the same as the original half-angel coin. Gold is very dense; making coin weights exactly the same weight as a gold coin out of brass or lead means the weight has to be unreasonably thick and/or unreasonably large. As a result, the manufacturers of coin balance kits often rigged them asymmetrically, so that a much smaller weight at the end of a long lever could counterweigh a gold coin placed on the short end. Example on eBay. 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
	Replies: 7 / Views: 1,438

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