An Unidentified Coin With A Bishop (?)

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Author	Replies: 5 / Views: 1,808
Murazor Valued Member Poland 114 Posts	Posted 04/13/2011 08:14 am Here is a coin I have. I've found it about 30 years ago in a drawer full of strange things that were owned by my great-grandmother RIP. I have no idea what could it be. I have shown it to people in two neighboring numismatic shops but they were also unable to help me. Heads depicts probably a bishop the guy has appropriate attributes. What's on tails? I guess a kind of a building. The diameter of this coin is about 15mm. Any guesses? Report this Post to the Staff

sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21786 Posts	Posted 04/13/2011 08:37 am It looks like it comes from the Balkan area to me, or Sicily perhaps, around the 13th century. The reverse seems to have an Arabic inscription, making it bilingual. Report this Post to the Staff
Bacchus2 Pillar of the Community United Kingdom 2872 Posts	Posted 04/13/2011 10:35 am My first thought was that it was an English "boy bishop" token - usually they are in lead. My Papal States coin collection: https://diadumenian.com/Papal%20Sta...0States.html Medieval coins collection: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...0Europe.html Indian Rupee Collection: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...0Rupees.html Minor world Silver: https://diadumenian.com/Congressofp...20coins.html Report this Post to the Staff
Murazor Valued Member Poland 114 Posts	Posted 04/13/2011 12:52 pm > sel_69l It would be very strange that a coin with a bishop image had Arabic texts on its tails. But in fact those signs don't resemble Latin letters while on heads one can clearly read "EPISC". > Bacchus2 Interesting! This coin is of lead indeed. But most "boy bishop" tokens featured a cross on the reverse. Report this Post to the Staff
Sap Moderator Australia 16817 Posts	Posted 04/13/2011 6:52 pm If it's lead, it's not a coin; it looks too thick to be a mediaeval base-silver coin, too. There's no holes or damage around the sides so I assume it's not a seal; a token of some sort is most likely. My best guess at reading the bishop's name is SIFRICVS. Sifric or Sithric is a name of Norse/Viking derivation. I can't make much sense of the reverse, but I'm pretty sure it's Latin and not Arabic. 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 Report this Post to the Staff
Murazor Valued Member Poland 114 Posts	Posted 04/14/2011 03:32 am Norse/Viking? That is quite probable. My great-grandmother was living in Oliwa by the Baltic sea for 20 years or so. Report this Post to the Staff
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