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 Replies: 12 / Views: 7,031 |
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New Member
United States
4 Posts |
In landscaping an area of the back of my property, I uncovered what appears to be a dump from the old farm that used to be where my community is now. Lots of bottles and scrap metal, but a little metal detecting uncovered. I came across this and couldn't decide if it was a coin or not, but an "antique" friend of mine insists that it is. It is obviously copper and is about half as think as a penny. It has what appears to be a large C covering a lot of the surface and what appears to be a rounded number. Maybe the bottom of a 3, 5, 6, 8, or 0. If this is a coin, based on the position of this "number", I feel like a 5 would be a most likely fit (it is slightly below center, so the belief is that the number would be centered with the rounded portion below center) Also, I feel like I could rule out a coin that ends in 3, 6, or 8... I'm not sure when the farm was active, but we did find a souvenir silver spoon from 1913 that we believe to be from a touring theater company. Hopefully this helps for dating the "coin". When looking at it up close, it is hard to see the "C" or the "number", I thought when blowing it up on my computer screen, it would be more clear, but it just became a mess of green and brown. *I know nothing about coins, so my observations below are uneducated guesses...  |
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Moderator
 United States
56855 Posts |
 to CCF. John1  |
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New Member
 United States
4 Posts |
I accidentally uploaded two of the same image. Here is the image with lines showing where I am "seeing" things...  |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
94367 Posts |
Can't help, but glad to have you on the forum! to the CCF! |
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Moderator
United States
34410 Posts |
@fof, that is an interesting find. To help us, can you please add a couple items to this thread? Specifically the weight, diameter, and an image of the other side of this coin could be helpful.
It might be a token rather than a coin. Focusing in on the white splotches, I can vaguely see a house with a person wearing a hat. Or not...this one is going to be tough I think, but we have some great searchers here.
"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
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Moderator
United States
188594 Posts |
to the Community! |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1962 Posts |
Just enough of the face present (nose and mouth) to point to this being an Ireland halfpenny of the 1775-1782 period (or a contemporary counterfeit thereof, which was common):  |
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New Member
United States
4 Posts |
I do see what you are saying about the look of a 1/2 penny, but from what I just googled, it would seem that this is a lot smaller... It is about the size of a dime (see the pic). However, is extremely light. My scale says 1g (it is a cheap scale, so it could be off a bit).   |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
7941 Posts |
I agree with @reales that the look of a nose and chin make it look like a bust. So the trick is to find a small copper coin. I am thinking there are small Louis XIV French coppers with a bareheaded bust of the young king, but unlikely something that old would show up in New Joisey?
More likely a small modern coin affected in extremis by corrosion?
Edited by tdziemia
04/20/2020 9:44 pm
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New Member
United States
4 Posts |
In my primary hobby (rock collecting), we will often soak a specimen in Iron Out for a day or so to remove iron staining and it is great for removing other dirt and grime. My buddy says I should give this the same treatment. Any thoughts on whether that is a good idea?
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Valued Member
United States
172 Posts |
Because of its poor condition, it's of no value to a collector, so you can't damage its value. I wouldn't etch it though.
There's so little of the design left, I'd be worried about losing some of that. If you have pure acetone handy, that wouldn't hurt the coin and it would probably knock some gunk off. For what it's worth, I agree with previous posters that the first side appears to be a bust that is pretty similar to George III.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7941 Posts |
Iron out appears to contain a chemical that is a mild reducing agent designed specifically for iron. Not sure what it would do to corroded bronze. Here is another approach you might try which worked on a coin of more similar composition to yours: http://goccf.com/t/370597&SearchTerms=tomatoEdited by tdziemia
04/25/2020 08:36 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1962 Posts |
Yeah, obviously way too small for a halfpenny.
At that size, being that thin... COULD perhaps be an undersized, underweight George III 1770s contemporary counterfeit farthing (but would have to be the British version as there were no George III Irish farthings of that general style). While the genuine version was roughly 5g, some of the counterfeits are very small (diameter-wise) and thin to where the as-made weight was in the 1._ gram range. Not many ctft farthings really made it here, however (as opposed to the plentiful halfpence).
That's the most logical guess... IF it's actually a coin. No other coin makes much sense being that small/thin... except maybe a French "sou marque"?
Just not enough there to discern without some effective cleaning.
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Replies: 12 / Views: 7,031 |
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Posted 04/20/2020 1:37 pm
