I recently bought this coin, but I've had no luck IDing it. It's 15mm across, the obverse shows a bust with an inscription (looks like DIW KKP). The reverse shows palm trees with LAK below. It looks pre-1800 and the reverse is similar to modern Iraqi coins, but the lettering isn't Arabic. I wondered if it might be a rechenpfennig, but I can't find one that matches this coin. Any help would be most appreciated!
I put this coin under a stereo microscope hoping to see more detail in the letters. I'm pretty sure the obverse legend reads, EDW KKP. The font of the letters reminds me of coins dating to the 1700s. Plus, it's thin (.08mm) like many coins of that time period. I kept thinking that it may be some kind of colonial coin, but I can't find anything like it.
Interesting piece. Are there encrustations on the surface or is that all just porosity? It looks like copper or bronze, so I'm wondering if a soak in VerdiCare might be beneficial?
The style on the tree is all wrong, and OP's coin clearly seems to have an outline of a bust on it that wouldn't be on a Judean prutah. You might be on to something, though, as I am also wondering if this coin is ancient.
I've looked at Judea Capta coins, which feature a palm tree, but they are much cruder than my coin. The Greeks also made a few coins with palm tree designs, most notably Phoenicia, Carthage, and Ionia but they are all cruder and thicker than this coin. I still think the type of lettering is more like 1600s-1700s. It's a very interesting coin, but a real stumper!
It may be, it reminds me of German jetons, but I can't find any matching type. So if it is a token, what is it?
