I came across this in a junk bin and am trying to figure out what it might be (and what it might be worth). It's about half-dollar sized and uniface. It also has a hole crudely punched in the middle (perhaps a cancellation mark?). The text at the bottom appears to read "10 Riyals" which would likely make this Iranian? The inscription on it is very shallow and hard to get a photo of in high relief. Below are several of my attempts (click on them for much larger versions):
Riyals used many places in the Middle East: Iranian script is much different from Arabic; you should be able to confirm or deny the language in two minutes. I'm leaning toward Hejaz but have no proof. From Wikipedia: Iranian rial, the currency of Iran Omani rial, the currency of Oman Yemeni rial, the currency of Yemen Moroccan rial, a former currency of Morocco Tunisian rial, a former currency of Tunisia The Hejaz riyal The Qatari riyal The Saudi riyal A popular nickname for the 20-piastres Egyptian coin
A Farsi speaker told me that this appears to read "Dasturan" which is a village in Dastouran Rural District, in the Central District of Joghatai County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. The Dastur Dasturan is also a title for the supreme leader of the Zoroastrian faith - is it possible that this is a temple offering token?
The reverse is blank, but it seems that Zoroastrian coinage in that region often used the fire altar in its imagery (especially as Islamic influences frowned upon the depiction of human beings). An interesting and somewhat related read: http://www.forumancientcoins.com/moonmoth/firealtar_coins.html
