heh, another coin, another minute. This coin I didn't do much research on because I didn't think it was a REAL coin because the backside of the coin is strange and the weight of this thing, it's extremely light. I suppose it's apparent where it is from, Rome and I could of looked up Ceres and there's a date 1948-1973, not too sure why the double date. Any help would be great. Thanks.
Sorry Lightning...I was on a roll but you stumped me with that one. Good luck, I'm sure someone will come along and be of further assistance.
Ceres was the Roman goddess of the grain. CERES is also the acronym for Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies.
Not everything from Rome is Catholic, nor is everything Catholic from Rome. The coin is a little light on iconography to be an official issue of the Vatican City-State. Michael
It is probably aluminum or an aluminum alloy. FAO stands for Food and Agriculture Organization, a UN effort. In the 1970s, there were several series of coins honoring FAO. Most were made by small countries and sold to collectors. The profits were supposed to go to FAO. The coinage exploded beyond the interest of collectors and pretty much disappeared. 1949-1973 would be the 25th anniversary of the organization. Ceres was the goddess of agriculture, as has been noted. Michael "Could HAVE looked it up, too, but did not."
What I found odd about this medal is the inscription below the woman's head. Once you decipher it ;-) the solution, so to say, is easier: The person depicted is Olave Baden-Powell, wife of Robert B.P. (yep, the scouts guy) ... And according to this web site http://home.planet.nl/~koop0296/GeschiedenisScoutingNed/Geschiedenis.html Lady Baden-Powell was awarded the "Woman of The Year" title, and the Ceres Medal, by the UN's FAO program in 1973. "Lady Baden-Powell werd door de Verenigde Naties (FAO) uitgeroepen tot de vrouw van het jaar. Zij ontving daarvoor de Ceresmedaille.") While this piece is not _the_ Ceres Medal, I suppose, it commemorates that event. Christian
A-ha ... "Since 1971 the Ceres Medal, named after the Roman goddess of agriculture, has been awarded to distinguished women who have contributed to the fight against hunger." http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/news/2003/26745-en.html And here we have somebody who apparently collects such medals: http://a-440.net/fao-4.html#Medal-1 Click on the name "Olave Baden Powell" above the picture to learn more about your medal, who designed it and where it was made ... Christian
