Hi All, I came across this interesting coin shaped pill box at a flea market the other day and was unable to find anything like it in my online research. The top is made of what appears to be a faux silver coin with a 3-Dimensional lady liberty breaking through the surface. It is also stamped at the bottom "1800". The "coin" was mounted to a metal pill box with 3 metal clamps. There is a small door on the side that you can slide open to retrieve the pill or snuff or whatever was intended to be placed inside. It's clearly a novelty piece but I am just curious if anyone knows anything about it. Thanks for any info you can provide! :smile
It's called a repousse coin, but the date is fake. Originally with that popout design and size it would have been on a Barber half or quarter, but repousse Barbers like this were made after 1900. Typically you could see the details of the original coin around the popout, but here you cannot, although you can see the reeded edge. See if you can spot any details around the edge of the coin face that is inside the container.
This is the specific bust we've seen used in this fashion - I've seen Kennedys with it too. Judging from the reeding I'm inclined to think this was not a circulating coin to begin with.
It looks to be exactly what you describe, a pill box. As you say the top is a faux "coin" that has been "pushed out" with a repousse die. That die has been around since the early 1890's and it or reproductions of it, are still in use today. There is no way to know when the box was actually made but the workmanship makes me think it is early to mid 20th century and not real recent.
