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 Replies: 10 / Views: 2,058 |
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New Member
United States
5 Posts |
Hello! We have had a coin for quite sometime, my Grandpa found it a couple of years ago, but we forgot about it. He just had it put away. Well, today we decided to have some fun and find out how old it is, and the value. We CAN NOT find it anywhere! I'm putting up a picture in hopes someone with coin knowledge can get back to us. It has REX JOHN inscribed around what looks like a cross with hammers at the end. on one side of the coin it has the cross and four dots on each side of cross, if that makes sense. on the other side of the coin, it has the cross, and what looks like an outline of the first dots on each side, as if someone just drew a line around the first circles and used that for this side. it doesn't have a date, my grandpa thinks its a lead coin, because its so soft. we have found many SIMILAR, nothing else like it. but the coins we find have a face on the front and this doesn't, or 2 or 3 circles instead of one. so if you can help we'd appreciate it. Thank you.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
564 Posts |
Maybe the location it was found might help ID it. I have never seen anything like it before.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2224 Posts |
Where's Sap? He'll know what this is....
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Valued Member
United States
364 Posts |
Okay, well just a casual perspective, but REX JOHN = King John, for starters. When I dug this up via a google search, I found several coins that look like this. Apparently King John had them issued in Ireland, etc. I'd be willing to wager somewhere on image search you'll come across a match.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
645 Posts |
I don't believe this is a real coin. My guess is it's an SCA( http://www.sca.org/) 'coin' or a tourist souvenir. Font/design doesn't look right for the time when this type would have been used. |
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Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
2838 Posts |
Id agree with the above - John Lackland or King John (1199-1216), probably a penny. The Irish thing is probable but as 'needtoknowthis' has already said I cant seem to find an exact match either  It seems low on details / design when compared to pennies from around the same time. I did find a very similar Richard (Johns brother) coin on a site though. I also found some regional issues of pennies from some rulers though not sure why or when he may have seen the need to issue one of these. Edit: I also agree with DCH - When you say your Grandpa found it do you mean in the states? Edited by bobbyhelmet
10/12/2010 10:14 pm
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New Member
 United States
5 Posts |
THANK you everyone for the feedback! Well, we have found it here in the states. He's a rock hounder and found it in the ground. So, I don't know. I cant find it anywhere. By the way, IF it was in fact a "replica" or a fake, then I wish you could feel it for yourself. We already figured rex john would be king john, so we tried there too. We just can't find anything on it. Its hard for us to fathom it being fake, not for what the value is, but because it seems like such a real artifact. It's neat. I really appreciate the help you all have been on your search! Thank you so much
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New Member
United States
5 Posts |
someone find Sap please lol
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New Member
United Kingdom
4 Posts |
English King John short cross pennies were all inscribed "HENRICUS REX" and all had a portrait on the reverse. Dublin minted king John pennies were inscribed IOHANNES REX. I don't think JOHN was ever written this way in medieval literature it looks like a fake.
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
1040 Posts |
Sap is on holiday and will be back soon, so check back regularly. He will be the one to figure it out.
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Moderator
 Australia
16817 Posts |
Sap is here, and I have to agree with DCH and others - I believe it's a modern fantasy. "JOHN REX" is impossible on a genuine mediaeval coin - "rex" is Latin, and ancient/mediaeval Latin doesn't have the letter "J" - that letter wasn't invented until the renaissance, long after coins of this design were obsolete. The Latin form of "John" is "Iohannes", sometimes abbreviated "IOHAN".
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: 10 / Views: 2,058 |
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Posted 10/12/2010 8:57 pm
