The History Channel Wanted My Egyptian Magic Coin Picture For Their Program

In 2015 and 2016 I received emails from Community Films, a Minnesota-base television program producer. They stated that they had seen and liked my "The Mysterious Egyptian Magic Coin" website and requested permission to use an image for a television program entitled "Found" which they were producing for The History Channel. The program was to be about a panel of experts who identify objects which people have found.

Egyptian Magic Coins are exonumia tokens with Egyptian symbols on them. They were manufactured as watch fobs and good luck coins starting around 1900.


Egyptian Magic Coin
Bronze, 32mm, 8.35gm
Obverse: Pharaoh seated on throne surrounded by hieroglyphs
Reverse: Sphinx with pyramids and sunburst behind

This is the image that they wished to use, a variety of the Egyptian Magic Coin with an image of Cleopatra with a bird:


Egyptian Magic Coin - Cleopatra-Bird variety
White metal, 32mm, 10.32gm
Obverse: Cleopatra facing right wearing bird headdress, small bird facing right.
Reverse: Standard Egyptian Magic Coin sphinx, pyramids, and sunburst design.

I gave Community Films permission to use the image by email.

I heard nothing more from Community Films, but on Sunday, September 3, 2017, I was switching channels and saw a coin similar to the one in the illustration.

I checked the TV log and found it was the History Channel program "Found", the episode was number 10 and was entitled "The Importance of Being Urn-est" as another segment was about an urn. The coin was in the first segment.

This was the first showing of the episode and it appeared on The History Channel website for viewing on September 5, 2017.

The episode was about a one-sided coin which had a similar Cleopatra image but no reverse image.


Program segment description

"My mother found a strange little thing over a hundred years ago. I don't think its American, but what is it?"

The program did not mention my website or show the picture from it. They apparently did not need my image.

The program did show a watch fob with an Egyptian Magic Coin:


Watch Fob with Egyptian Magic Coin

I did watch all ten episodes of "Found" and found it to be an interesting show.

Well, so it goes with my brief adventure in television programming.



*** Moved by Staff to a more appropriate forum. ***