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 Replies: 7 / Views: 22,413 |
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New Member
Canada
5 Posts |
Hi guys, I have this bilingual (English + French) coin I have been curious about for a long time now. Instead of describing it, I'll just provide pictures. Diameter is approximately 1 inch. My grandmother gave it to me, and I do not know how she came into its possession.   This website : http://www.coinsite.com/content/cda...rchive28.asp provides the following information: quote:
Question: I have old coin that says GOLD COB DOUBLOON and under this it says DOUBLON BOUT BARRE D'OR ... other side has a coat of arms in the middle with VIII to one side and OMI other side ... seems unusual to have ENGLISH and FRENCH on same coin ... very irregular around edge ... no date on it ... this coin was found by me in METZ, FRANCE in 1962 ... I found it while digging around a ROMAN archway ... no SPANISH on this coin... what is it and what period does it date from ?
You have a modern manufactured private issue medal that commemorates the irregular shaped coinage of Spain that modern collectors call "cobs".
The original coins were minted in Mints in Spain and in Mints all over "El Peru", what we call Latin America, from 1535 - to c. 1760 . The shape of the coin and its nick name "cob" comes from the method of manufacture (cabo de barra or end of a bar). A piece of hot gold or silver was cut from the end of an ingot, weighed and struck by hand between a set of dies. After the coin cooled, the coin was then weighed again and adjusted as necessary.
The gold coins were minted in gold in 1/2, 1, 2, 4, and 8 escudos The silver in 1/2, 1, 2, 4, 8 reales. For hundreds of years the Spanish 8 reales and 8 escudos were the world standard for money. The United States monetary system was based on this standard (8 reales=US$1) and in fact these Spanish coins were legal tender in the U.S. until 1858.
By the 2nd third of the 18th century, the cob style of coinage gave way to the technological improvement of "milled" coinage. Round coinage with a security edge foiled the practice of clipping small pieces from coins, melting the accumulation and then selling the stolen silver or gold.
There is another version of this medal. See the Coin Doc Archive #4 and search for "Barre" (press Ctrl+F to search the page) to see a similar medal.
There are a few topics about this around the net, but nobody seems to be providing pictures, so I'll be the first. Would anyone know more about its origin and could guess the value of such a coin? Even if it was fake, would it still have some value? Thank you for your time. Edited by Perhonorificus
02/19/2008 8:07 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1666 Posts |
If it were indeed a fake it may have some collector value. This however is not a fake of an existing coin, rather (as the quote above mentions) a separate strike. Basically it is a token and falls under the category of exonumia.
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New Member
 Canada
5 Posts |
Someone else told me, "It is a token or medal and is worth a buck or so. I don't know who made it, but you cuold find things like it at amusement park or museum guft shops." I really hope that isn't true :(
Were Spanish doubloons ever introduced in Canada? Perhaps this would explain the cob's bilingualism. Just a crazy theory, I know.
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Moderator
 Australia
16809 Posts |
It was presumably issued as part of a set of reproduction old coins. Given that it's a reproduction of an old gold coin, it was presumably gilt or gold-plated at some stage. Judging by the above quote, they've been around since at least the early 1960's. And given that they're bilingual English-French, they may even have originated in Canada.
As for value, it's probably worth a couple of dollars.
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
Canada
5 Posts |
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New Member
Canada
1 Posts |
20 years ago, a french guy working in Belgium give me this old coin that says GOLD COB DOUBLOON and under this, DOUBLON BOUT BARRE D'OR with thw same design in its back. The picture that I saw is exactly the same same coin with the same shape - I was very surprised!
When my friend give me that coin, he told me that it was a LIARD, the kind of money used in France in 1500-1700 ! but I am not sure that he was right ?
Any more information would be very interesting!
Richard
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2869 Posts |
A liard was a coin used in that period but this one (pictured above) is a modern promotional piece
Malcolm
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Moderator
Australia
16809 Posts |
Yep. Liards don't have English on them, only Latin and/or French. Liards from the 1700's look like this, earlier ones look more like this. 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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Replies: 7 / Views: 22,413 |
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Posted 02/20/2008 01:04 am
