My Grandmother gave me these coins when i was about 8, she has no idea what they are or where they came from. They have a man headed bull on one side and it looks like a chariot on the other with something above the horses can't make it out and below the horses it says copy above the bull on the otherside says ceaar i think can't really make out the last letter. If there is any one that could help me figure it out or refer a site where they would have pictures please let me know. Thanks in advance.
Hi, and welcome to the forum. I'm afraid the news isn't very good. The only thing certain about your piece is that it was made sometime after February 6, 1975, when the Federal Trade Commission regulations implementing the Hobby Protection Act went into effect. That's why it says "COPY". The presence of "cesar" is consistent with a replica Roman coin, but the Minotour brings to mind the Greek island of Crete. Here is an example of a coin with a Minotaur on the obverse: It's from Knossos, the capital city of Crete, and dates to about 500 BCE. (Notice how unclear the 1/2-man, 1/2 bull symbolism is to the modern eye.) Sad to say, whatever yours is intended to replicate, it has no numismatic value, and only a nominal value as a souvenir.
Thanks for the info my family was just wondering what they were cause we had them for a long time we thought since they said copy they were just some form of souviner from when her grandsons travels in the army thanks again
Man-headed bulls of Magna Graecia and Sicily The man-headed bull has been identified most often as some kind of "river god" image. Typical is this one from Gela, a Greek town in Sicily. The same image is known from Greek towns all over southern Italy, including "Neapolis" modern Naples. http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sg/sg0797-r.jpg This particular coin has a rider and horse obverse: http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sg/sg0797-o.jpg However, it is a LITRA, a silver coin, about 8 mm in diameter, pretty small. This coin, also from Gela, is about the size of a U.S. quarter and two or three times as thick. It has the chariot referred to: http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/sg/sg0785.html
