Hi, This is a new one to me. Got it in a collection and I'm having an impossible time identifying it. For all I know it's somebody's fantasy coin they made in their garage. It's awfully cool though. Any help would be appreciated, Dave
It is a fantasy that mimicks some of the Egyptian antiquities so it does have sort of a conversational coolness factor though.
Thanks for the quick response. I just found this site which explains a little more: http://users.pullman.com/fjstevens/tokens/tokens/2609.html: hieroglyphics 22x31mm, copperAbout this token: A token like this sold on eBay Sept. 2006 for $0.99 + $1 shipping. Seller knew nothing about it. (unfortunately I did not save an image of this token, so I'm not sure if it was exactly like mine, or just similar) James writes: I have one that is exactly like this that was given to me by my great grandmother in the early 50s. She lived in Franklin, KY and did not know the origin. I think she may have gotten it from my great great grandparents. She used to travel to Nashville, TN to visit relatives and did go to some museums. (James sent a scan, and his appears to be exactly the same as mine; could be a promotional item or souvenir from a museum?)
And here's another one so now there's at least four in the world: http://69.55.175.34/unknown/uni316.jpg
It's a Museum Token I got a reply back from an about.com expert: "This is one of several tokens that were popular during the Egyptian reviaval period of the early 1900's, In fact the Memphis museum of Egyptian artifacts grew in popularity during this time and to get in you had to have a token not unlike these. Several museums had other ones like the Met in NYC, the Museum in Chicago and others that featured Egyptian artifacts. They were souvenirs." Pretty interesting. Very well made souvenir. Now I just need to find out its value and whether or not it has a reference in a book. The search continues.
Your item might be related to these items, Egyptian Magic Coins: The coin shows Egyptian symbols on both sides, one side has a pharoah and various hieroglyphic symbols, the other side has the sphinx and pyramids. They have been around since at least 1905.
Got another response when I sent a followup question as to whether he knew the rarity or worth: "No, but thousands were made. So I don't believe they much value. But they are interesting antiques." Yes, but how many survive? I think it's a cool piece but how many collectors would find it interesting? Do people collect museum tokens? "The Rosicrucians in San Jose California could be another possible source." Interesting. May I ask why you'd think that? Why not the Freemasons or the Knights Templar or dare I say it...the Illuminati? Is your name Scottish Money or is it short for Scottish RITE Money? ; ) Hey, if the story sells the coin...
Here is a link to the Rosicrucian Society: http://www.rosicrucian.org/home.html I visited their "museum" temple etc one time and they had a gift shop where they sold a lot of ephemara similar to the piece you have. I never really figured out what they were or believed and really never cared to. BTW I collect Scottish coins from the Kingdom of Scotland.
I'm 1/8th Scottish so I can say with confidence, if it's not Scottish it's crap. The Rosicrucians, just like everybody else, want to rule the world...obviously. ; ) Thanks for all your input!
I got one of these items recently for a couple of dollars from the usual place: Egyptian Oval Coin Bronze, 22 mm x 31 mm, 5.76 gm Obverse: Oval ring with Egyptian hieroglyph figures, man sitting, turtle or frog. Reverse: Oval ring with two smaller ovals, at top two birds, in center a tree or club Now for the big question: Which side is the obverse and which is the reverse?
