Has anyone ever seen anything like this before? It is an encased 1894 Italian 20 Centesimi. The encasement is plain, and I'm unsure of its composition. I also can't say that the encasement is contemporary, but based on the patina I assume that it has been on there a long time. Does anyone have any idea why this might have been done? Did it serve some purpose or was someone just bored in "shop class"?
Thanks to everyone that has replied thus far, but I welcome any and all opinions so please keep them coming. I posted this here and on another forum. So far, no one has seen anything like it. I assume it is a "novelty piece", with nominal value, however, the uniqueness of something this old is what intrigues me.
What's the outer metal composition? Weight? Maybe something to balance out a scale. Resembles a casino chip.
Maybe the outer ring was meant to be engraved but never was. It may have been meant for a love token, some type of award, or just a memento of an event. Bruce
I just ran across this German trial strike on Instagram. Yours is interesting that it's two sided, but the KB mint mark on yours from what I can tell is Berlin. Maybe a trial piece?
I don't know the metal composition, and don't have an easy way to test it. I can get it out and weigh it though.
You can check with a magnet. I first thought that the ring wasn't an encasement, and left it to you as you had it in hand.
The 1907 baden death 4 mark looks thicker almost like a paperweight. I wouldn't think I would be in steel? Looks like a lead encasement on a silver coin. These being one year only coins, Maybe someone is using the encasement to copy or make a reverse casting.
It's been a long week, but I finally had time to dig this out and examine it some more. I'm still not sure what I have or why it was made, but I do believe that it is an encasement not a trial strike, etc. based on the metal overlap seen on the reverse. The coin itself is supposed to weigh 4.0 grams (at least in unc. condition) with a diameter of 21 mm. The coin and encasement weigh 14.43 grams with a diameter of 36 mm. I am still not sure of the metal composition, but it is not magnetic.
In this pic it does look like more of an encasement. A trial strike would have smoother edges. Interesting piece. Bruce
I think we can all agree it wasn't a trial strike. The production coin is copper - nickel and 75,000,000 mintage. https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/world/italy-20-centesimi-km-28.1-1894-cuid-1124150-duid-1472864 I thought maybe the outer encasement was something like a metal washer and the coin glued in. Could be someone's pocket piece? Someone trying to made a larger denomination coin? size and weight of like a dollar. It's too ruff around the coin edge to be a mold for counterfeiting? With the blackened look I was thinking someone maybe used it as an ink stamp? OR stamp for hot wax letter sealing? Something along those lines... Lots of possibilities.
