Any idea what area this coin is from? It is about 23mm & 5.0g. Any help very much appreciated Thank you!
It appears to me to be most likely a medal and not a coin, as I do not see any denomination markings.
Thank you That's a good point. Or maybe some sort of token. I think I will post it over at the Forvm group too and see if anyone there recognizes it.
Thanks Paddy I don't know much about Byzantine coins but I also thought it might be associated. I've been looking there and some other more central Asian areas. Nothing yet. I also would think there are a lot of members here and on the Forvm board who are very knowledgeable of the Byzantine issues but I haven't received any confident replies yet.
As for Byzantine, the only similarities would be on the obverse to very late Byzantine coins like John VIII. However, those coins had legends and I do not see legends here. Also, I do not recognize that reverse at all. Plus, they were nearly all silver. The obverse was a fairly common style in the medieval world in the 14th and 15th century. That would be my guess as to timeframe, but I am unsure who issued this. Btw, denominations and dates were not commonly on coins like this. What IS missing would be some sort of a legend, which would be much more common. Chris
BTW, you have got a picture of a John VIII silver coin through my avatar The copper you propose has indeed a byzantine flavour but i don't recognize a Byz coin. Taking into account the commonality of the artistic trends in southern europe at this moment, it could be kind of Venezian token ( just my 0.02 , hoping it helps ) We need the help of some token Expert here in CT Philippe
Thanks very much for the replies I'm not giving up on this one! I did find this Byzantine coin that made me think possibly it could be the right area... no legends. An anonymous issue. http://www.beastcoins.com/Collections/Midwest-Christianity/Midwest-Christian.htm Anonymous (attributed to Nicephorus III), AE Follis, Class I, 1078-1081 IC | XC across fields Bust of Christ facing, wearing nimbus cruciger, pallium and colobium, raising right hand in benediction, book of Gospels in left hand, all inside linear border (No legend) Latin cross with X at center, globule and two pellets at each extremity, floral ornament in either side of lower fields, crescents in either side of upper fields 23mm x 25mm, 5.12g
No, not even close I am afraid. I own all of the anonymous bronzes from Class A1 through Class M. None of them look like your obverse, and none have your reverse. If yours is a coin and not a token, I would search around the mediterranean area for 14th and 15th century coins. That is when that type of reductionist art protrayal was in fashion. That is all I could recommend. Btw, not a terrible Class I you posted. I like those, since there are tons of varieties of reverses that almost no one collects. I have about 6 different styles, and I haven't really even tried very hard to chase others down.
