Need Help Identifying A Coin (Id: Likely Mcgarragh Belfast Token)

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Author	Replies: 7 / Views: 1,459
Gozoman New Member United Kingdom 2 Posts	Posted 06/24/2023 1:21 pm I found a coin the other day on a field in N. Ireland with a lot of history. The coin is roughly 2cm in diameter and copper and very worn. On the obverse I can just make out a lion rampant as shown in image one and on the reverse is writing in horizontal rows about 4 or 5 rows but very hard to make out as shown in image 2. I was sent the third image by a friend on a detecting forum which appears to correspond to the reverse in image two but this coin is a Thaler and I thought all Thalers were silver. Am I wrong in that assumption? Report this Post to the Staff

John1 Moderator United States 56855 Posts	Posted 06/24/2023 1:37 pm Report this Post to the Staff
Spence Moderator United States 34397 Posts	Posted 06/24/2023 2:17 pm @goz, first welcome to CCF. Second, putting aside that third image as I don't think that it is relevant, I wonder if you have some sort of token there rather than a coin. Here is a link to one Halfpenny. I know that it is a ways from London to Northern Ireland, but the lion rampant and multiple horizontal lines of text are somewhat similar. https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces365318.html Please get us an accurate weight and diameter for this piece as that information can be helpful in discerning what you've got. Thx. "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 Report this Post to the Staff
Gozoman New Member United Kingdom 2 Posts	Posted 06/24/2023 3:03 pm Thanks for the reply. No sorry, nothing like that. The lion rampant takes up practically the full height of the coin and there are more lines of text than appear on this. I included the third image because when looked at from a certain angle I can just make out the letters ARG in the same place as they appear on the third image. The coin is 20mm in diameter and weighs 4 grams. Report this Post to the Staff
Brummagem Valued Member United States 128 Posts	Posted 06/25/2023 01:25 am I think the token idea is a good one. This example is from much closer to you in Belfast and I believe it may be a match - or it is very close. Neat find! http://www.irish-tokens.co.uk/split...en/entry.htm Report this Post to the Staff
publius Pillar of the Community United States 807 Posts	Posted 06/25/2023 02:02 am Am I the only one who sees a crown over the head of the lion-or-whatever? Quote: I can just make out the letters ARG in the same place as they appear on the third image. "ARG" in the inscription of the piece pictured in the third image is an abbreviation of the Latin word for "silver". If the piece you found is copper (which I can't tell right off, considering the condition of the surface), then for it to be marked in such a way, it would have to be a counterfeit, presumably plated originally. Of course, there were some "silver" coins of the 17th and 18th centuries which had relatively little silver in them. We often call those "billon". In the 20th century there are coins of 10% silver which actually look like silver, at least when new, thanks to the use of "quatenary" copper-nickel-zinc-silver alloys, but old billon coins are often scarcely distinguishable from copper. Edited by publius 06/25/2023 02:04 am Report this Post to the Staff
tdziemia Pillar of the Community United States 7936 Posts	Posted 06/25/2023 10:32 am ...and the images from your friend are not of a thaler, but a trojak of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth struck in Riga in the reign of Sigismund III. These are about 2 grams and 20 mm. Yes, those are always silver. Report this Post to the Staff
jbuck Moderator United States 188105 Posts	Posted 06/26/2023 11:44 am to the Community! Coin Collector Since 1978 Avatar Old Avatar 7070 Eisenhower Australia Canada World CCF Members on eBay CCF eBay Search Engine Report this Post to the Staff
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