Coin Community Family of Web Sites Join Thousands of Coin, Bullion, & Money Collectors
Specializing in Modern Numismatics Vancouvers #1 Coin and Paper Money Dealer Join Thousands of Coin, Bullion, & Money Collectors Coin, Banknote and Medal Collectors's Online Mall 300,000 items to help build your collection! Royal Canadian Mint products, Canadian, Polish, American, and world coins and banknotes. Shop for APMEX Bullion on eBay!








Username:
Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?


This page may contain links that result in small commissions to keep this free site up and running.

Welcome Guest! Registering and/or logging in will remove the anchor (bottom) ads. It's Free!

Please Help Identify Coin/Token? Found In Atacama Desert Peru

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.
Author Previous TopicReplies: 8 / Views: 1,318Next Topic  
New Member

Canada
4 Posts
 Posted 01/12/2019  2:11 pm Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add jsuaves to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
Please-Help-Identify-Coin/Token?-Found-In-Atacama-Desert-Peru
Please-Help-Identify-Coin/Token?-Found-In-Atacama-Desert-Peru

This object was unearthed by metal detector in southern Peru along an old road. It appears to have no date and the figure is very crudely done, almost cartoonish. I hope someone can help identify it.

*** Moved by Staff moved to a more appropriate forum. ***
Moderator
Learn More...
Spence's Avatar
United States
34398 Posts
 Posted 01/12/2019  5:26 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Spence to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
@jsuaves, first welcome to CCF. Second, that is a really interesting piece that you have there. On the first pic, I see "R : PE", which could be short for Republica de Peru. I also see "EL SIG * LAU__", with that unfortunate bite out of the coin obscuring the last one or two letters of the inscription. On the other side, I see a few letters, perhaps "__EH US II"--a better picture that is in focus would definitely help.

Sorry that I can't be more helpful--hopefully someone else here will weigh in with more certainty.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb

"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
New Member
Canada
4 Posts
 Posted 01/12/2019  5:46 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jsuaves to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Thank you @Spence. Here are some (hopefully) better pictures with a U.S. penny for scale. As you can see, it's very small. It has a greenish tint to it so may be copper.

Please-Help-Identify-Coin/Token?-Found-In-Atacama-Desert-Peru
Please-Help-Identify-Coin/Token?-Found-In-Atacama-Desert-Peru
Pillar of the Community
alganbagerap's Avatar
United Kingdom
2490 Posts
 Posted 01/12/2019  6:35 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add alganbagerap to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I was looking at it and thinking it looks a lot like a Nuremberg jeton and then I realised that in exergue, R : PF stands for Rechenpfennig. It is a Nuremberg counter, a long way from home.
New Member
Canada
4 Posts
 Posted 01/12/2019  6:58 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jsuaves to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Thanks @alganbagerap, any thoughts on who might be depicted on it and/or possible age? Bizarre that it wound up out in the desert!
Edited by jsuaves
01/12/2019 7:34 pm
Moderator
Learn More...
Spence's Avatar
United States
34398 Posts
 Posted 01/12/2019  7:43 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Spence to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Ok yes RPF makes good sense and is now clear--sorry about misreading the inscription. While not an exact match, your token is similar to this one from Joseph II: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces150512.html I do note that the engraver (Lauer) would have included his name on the token.

"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb

"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
New Member
Canada
4 Posts
 Posted 01/12/2019  8:02 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add jsuaves to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
That is quite similar and the LAU makes sense. It deepens the mystery though if it's of a similar age to the one depicted. The old road where it was found was thought to have been used by the Spanish in the late 1500s - early 1600s. It's great to get some answers though, I have always wondered about it! Edited for aha moment: E.L.Sig.Lau must stand for Ernst Ludwig Sigmund Lauer!
Edited by jsuaves
01/12/2019 9:13 pm
Moderator
Learn More...
Spence's Avatar
United States
34398 Posts
 Posted 01/12/2019  9:58 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Spence to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply

Quote:
E.L.Sig.Lau must stand for Ernst Ludwig Sigmund Lauer!


Exactly! I'd probably list the inscription as EL SIG LAU[ER] on the 2x2 as the spacing suggests that the design would have included his full last name engraved on the die.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb

"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
Moderator
Learn More...
jbuck's Avatar
United States
188171 Posts
  Previous TopicReplies: 8 / Views: 1,318Next Topic  

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.



    




Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited.
Contact Us  |  Advertise Here  |  Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

Coin Community Forum © 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Forums
It took 0.34 seconds to rattle this change. Forums