Box of mystery (Hard to identify world coins)

Discussion in 'World Coins' started by The Eidolon, Apr 17, 2021.

  1. dltsrq

    dltsrq Grumpy Old Man

    Yes, Ottoman Tunis, Mustafa III. The obverse reads "sultan Mustafa khan". On the reverse, "was struck at Tunis 1173".
     
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  3. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Continuing the box of mystery...
    Copper coin, 5.6 g, 23 mm
    The eagle looked like Italian States to me, so a targeted search turned up something pretty quickly: Sardinia, 3 Centesimi, Carlo Felice, 1826 (single year type)
    The wear pattern is a bit weird, with almost nothing readable inside the wreath on the reverse. I think I can make out the "I" of "CENTESIMI". So I'm pretty happy just to have an ID for it.
    ob.jpg rev.jpg
     
  4. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    This one wasn't too bad to try to ID; at least the ruler's name is visible.
    Bavaria, 6 Kreuzer, Maximilian I Joseph, 1806-25, 0.333 Ag, 21 mm, 2.4 g
    ob.jpg rev.jpg
     
  5. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Next: Billon, 1.3 g, 20 mm
    I used to think grey-colored coins like these were copper, but usually if they are sliver-thin, they are billon. They can lose a lot of weight from wear, even when some of the text is still visible. List weight of this is 1.8 g
    Swiss Cantons, Ticino, 1813, 3 Soldi
    Ob: CANTONE TICINO
    Rev: SOLDI TRE 1813
    They only minted these sporadically in 1813, 1835, 1838 and 1841.
    This is the 1813 variety without the star above "SOLDI" on the reverse.
    ob.jpg rev.jpg
     
  6. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Some Dutch coppers:
    L: 1 Cent, 1821, Willem I
    M: 1 Cent, 1827 B, Willem I
    R: 1/2 Cent, 1902, Wilhelmina, Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia)
    ob.jpg rev.jpg
     
  7. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    This one was driving me nuts. I can make out some of the text, but on photos it was almost unreadable. I took a photo at an oblique angle to show the contrast.
    Copper or billon, 18 mm, 0.98 g
    Ob: Crowned shield with faded initials on both sides near top
    Rev: 1/4 Kreuzer, 1816 (I thought it was 1810 at first, but the 6 extends up)
    There were similar coins from Nassau and Baden.
    I think it is Hessen-Darmstadt, 1/4 Kreuzer, 1816, Ludwig I (copper)
    The initials on the obverse are G.H S.M., apparently.
    ob.jpg rev.jpg rev 2.jpg
     
  8. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Another one which should have enough lettering to ID, but which still caused me a little trouble. 17 mm, 1.84 g
    Turns out to be a 0.250 silver 4 Skilling Rigsmønt, Denmark, Frederick VII
    Ob: FREDERICUS VII DG DANIÆ VG REX 1856
    Rev: 4 Skilling R.M.
    ob.jpg rev.jpg
     
  9. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    I think I've found this one. It's a uniface French Colonies 2 Sols.
    ND but ~1779 to 1797.
    I thought it was copper, but it's actually 0.208 silver.
    The crowned C was the only thing stamped on the coin, reverse is blank.
     
  10. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Think I have a guess for this one:
    Copper, 2.05 g, about 17 mm (irregular shape)
    Ob probably says: "PHILIPP IIII"
    If so, it could be a Quattrino of Philippe IV of Milan, 1621-1665 (ND)

    Reverse would be a crown over a snake, but I can't make out a thing.
    ob.jpg rev.jpg
     
  11. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Figured this one out! It had been driving me nuts.
    Naples, Carlos II, 1 Grano, 1677-1683, Copper, 7.8 g, ~25 mm
    Ob: CAROLVS·II·D·G·REX
    All I could make out was "S·II·" over a portrait.
    There's a 2 digit date at the bottom somewhere, no longer readable.
    Rev: ·SICILIÆ·ET·HIERVSA· (Sicily and Jerusalem), Coat of Arms
    All I could make out was the "Æ"
    Mine is substantially underweight and irregular in shape, so it may have been shaved down, even though it's only copper.
    ob.jpg rev.jpg
     
  12. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Last one for today. I think this was from a set of 70 (mostly) Italian States coppers I got last year for about $50 total. 0.86 g, 18 mm, copper or billon
    Ob: A guy?
    Rev: Coat of arms with beaded border?
    Ob.jpg rev.jpg
    Anyway, I think it's a 1 Sesino of the Duchy of Modena, 1737-1780, Francesco III d'Este (Copper). Here's the image on Numista, in case you think I just have an overactive imagination. The coat of arms is actually a pretty close match. None of the other Modena coins have quite the same version, so I'm moderately confident in the attribution, even though the portrait is unrecognizable at this point.
    Modena.jpg
     
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  13. Paul Chouan

    Paul Chouan Member

    I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying this thread! It's a great thing to bring these coins back from the dead, as it were, by attributing them and putting them back into their historical context. Makes me want to haunt the junk-boxes and come back with a selection of 'mystery coins' of my own.
     
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  14. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Thank you! It's always good to get positive feedback. I've certainly enjoyed trying to ID these, and learned a bit in the process. I'm surprised as to how many worn junk "coppers" turn out to be billon.

    For today: 20.5 mm, 2.12 g copper or billon
    Rev: Eagle in circle with edge text "DVX.SAB" as part (maybe)
    Ob: Unreadable. Probably a portrait
    rev.jpg ob.jpg

    Fortunately, the edge text is enough to get some likely candidates when I do a search with reasonable range for the size and weight. Looks closest to this 2.6 Soldi from Savoy. Double checking under Savoy, I see 2 types with similar lettering and various rulers: Carlo Emanuele III (1755-58), Vittorio Amadeo III (1781-85).
    Ones Vittorio Emanuele I and Carlo Emanuele IV have a similar eagle, but slightly different edge lettering. Of the two with the possible text match, the Vittorio Amadeo III is listed at 21.2 mm and the Carlo Emanuele III at 20 mm. Mine is just over 20 mm, and has probably undergone some shrinkage from wear, so the best candidate match is:

    Duchy of Savoy, 2.6 Soldi, Vittorio Amadeo III (1781-85)
    Ob: Portrait, "CAR·EM·D·G·REX·SAR·CYP·ET·IER·" (Not readable on mine)
    Rev: "DVX·SAB·ET·MONTISF·PRINC·PED·SOL·2·6·"
     
  15. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Another one from last year's Italian States lot.
    Rev: Blocky cross, surrounded by a circle.
    Ob: Initials with dots, possibly "·I·C·", Crown above, all in circle.
    Edge lettering present, but not readable.
    1.49 g, ~19 mm
    rev.jpg

    ob.jpg

    I had several false starts on this one, as there many similar Naples coppers, but I think I finally have it: 1 Sestino, Juana I, 1516-19, copper, 2.1 g, 20 mm
    Some alternate candidates I found first: Fernando II, Filippo III
    Once I have the orientation on the obverse, I can clearly see a circular dot to the left of the first initial, which could plausibly be the I for Juana. The C is almost gone, but a little of the lover half is visible as a curve. All I can see of the crown is a horizontal line. Surrounding circle is visible. Here's the Numista for Juana I for comparison:
    Screen Shot 2021-04-25 at 3.44.07 PM.png
     
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  16. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    France, Copper Double Tournois, early 1600s, Henri IV or Louis XIII
    1.54 g, 20+ mm

    From the obverse I can clearly make out the "NA" of Navarre. There are many different lettering variants on these. Portrait is too far gone to help ID.
    Reverse has 3 Fleur-de-Lys in a circle and "RNOIS 16[xx]" and a cross.
    Probably part of "+ DOVBLE.TOVRNOIS.16[xx]"

    Unfortunately, there are so many near-identical coins of this type, and so many variants of the lettering to make it impossible to fully identify in this condition.
    Here is a list of the many candidates.
    ob.jpg rev.jpg
     
  17. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    This one's not from the Italian States, for once.
    Mexico, State of Durango, 1/8 Real, 1851-54 (date not clear)
    There's a similar type from 1845-47, but that says "DEPARTMENTO DE DURANGO" instead of "ESTADO DE DURANGO" around the reverse. I'm pretty sure the last two letters are "DO" (around 11:00 position). Center says "8° *DE REAL*". Obverse is not readable. I had trouble getting the camera to even focus on the surface.
    rev.jpg ob.jpg
     
  18. The Eidolon

    The Eidolon Well-Known Member

    Not sure if this one really qualifies as "mysterious," but it was in the box.
    Maybe I was just too lazy to ID it at the time.
    I had a little trouble making out the 3rd digit of the date, but I think it is:
    Sweden, 1/6 Skilling Banco, Oscar I, 1851
    These were issued under Oscar I from 1844-1855, so it must be 1851 by process of elimination if I am reading all the other digits correctly.

    ob.jpg rev.jpg
     
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