During a recent family visit, my brother-in-law showed me a coin he has had since he was about 3 years old. That would put it in his possession in 1945. It is a very large coin about 1/4 inch larger in diameter that a U.S. silver dollar and at least as thick. It looks to be silver and in rough shape. You can see considerable text on the reverse and a date in the 1700's. I would think it is a commemorative of some type. Can anyone identify what it is and decipher the text ?? Thank you,.... Greg
Greg: First, not a coin, it is a medal. Second, Sorry, but I cannot read the text. Not clear enough. Perhaps if you type out what you can read someone can translate. Looks like Latin, but, not sure.
I may be able to help you. My niece is a Latin major and could probably translate it. If you can type it out I can get it to her. She is in a different state than me, so this could take a few days, as I need to go through family channels. There are also translation sites on the web. I have not used one, but you may find one in Latin. Another option is to take the coin to a monestary if there is one nearby.
Treashunt/Scrap metal, Thanx for the information. I am going to ask my Brother-In-Law to make a couple of rubbings on different paper to see if that brings out the script any clearer. I'll touch bases with you and the forum when I get them. Greg
Google is your friend I made out a few words on the obv. "Lee Legionis Equit" and bingo, first hit was the good 'ol Wikipedia Read all about it... Don't miss the section titled "Medal" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Paulus_Hook EDIT: More info from Stacks: http://tinyurl.com/4u4tlx Looks like it could have some value... I see the mark from the Rim to the R in 'Praefecto' in your coin. It's too worn to pick up the die crack to the left and through the shoulder of Lee.
pbryan, I think you "nailed" it. I'll bet that is one of the medals... I'm amazed... Thank you for your diligence, Greg :thumb:
Just a quick update,... pbryan was right on the money. I have the Massachusetts Historical Society working on it and they are quite interested at this point. The next step will probably be getting a jeweler to weigh it and confirm whether it's silver or white metal. Stay tuned... Greg
Very cool! I have a replica of this medal as part of a set that was issued by the Bureau of the Mint and the Smithsonian in 1973. Thanks for sharing this with us.
