Hey Folks, I need some help identifying these (half) coins and determining their worth. Backstory: I had the pleasure of meeting with an 85 year old gentleman who grew up in Germany. It was really interesting chatting with him and really great that we were able to communicate wholly in German. He's been holding onto these coins that he got from his father and is looking to sell them. He contacted me because I am looking to buy silver coins and I'm a little out of my element. I apologize for the photo quality, the lighting in his house was really poor. There are 13 halves and it does look like most of them pair up but I did not have the opportunity to try to pair them up I don't have weights or measurements, but I used a loupe in a photo to help. They were pretty thin and light like aluminum foil. He said they came from Jesus Christ's era and it seems that there are some figures holding curved staffs on them. Please let me know what you think they might be, what you think their value would be.
The correct spelling is "bracteate". This Wikipedia article might get you started: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracteate I have never seen them cut in half before. Genuine uncut specimens can be had for 50 euros. Rare ones are more.
Very interesting! Like Ed, I haven't seen them cut before, but I also have yet to make the effort to learn more about Bracteates. I would have a look at the second catalogue of the De Wit Collection, but these will be tough as they often lack inscriptions. They'll date to the Middle Ages, not the time of Christ.
Here are some lighted videos of the coins http://vid786.photobucket.com/albums/yy143/seattlite2/IMG_8344_zpskfaaojyz.mp4 http://vid786.photobucket.com/albums/yy143/seattlite2/IMG_8345_zpsgc1zgsuo.mp4
I'm still hoping to get an approximate value for these coins. Any suggestions on what someone who collects ancients would generally pay for those?
i really don't know much about these at all, and can't help you with ID much. i have one myself, it doesn't appear to match any of your coins. Bela III - Bela IV of Hungary, 1172-1270 AD, AR Bracteate Head right, reverse incuse of obverse. Unger 122. 16 mm, 0.4 g