Please, can anyone help me in identification of this bronze medal, 39 mm x 33 mm, weight 23 gr, thick 3 mm on edge. It looks like something medieval to me. Thanks.
This is Jesus and Maria - no, could be a female saint, a nun - in a stylistically 17th century depiction, but naturally the medal might be later. It looks worn, possibly it was worn because of the hole. At the left picture I read 'SANCT-US', the male form of 'holy', and at the right picture 'BR' and some more letters, can you read them yourself?
Front: St. Joseph holding Christ Back: The assumption of Virgin Mary? (Mary being taken to heaven by angels)
to gogili1977. Looks like a male holding up Jesus, probably Joseph. Your bronze medal is, very likely, Roman Catholic, possibly linked to a Church or Holy Order. Could you tell us the circumstances you came across this medal(lion) ? Is there an aura around each of the 3 main figures ?
This medal is offered to me by one digger with a metal detector. It was found in Serbia. I do not know how much it is worth and what price would be acceptable. For now, he sent me only pictures of found object and its dimensions. Since I do not know this area very badly, I wanted to ask for little help. Is it perhaps not from the time of the Crusades?
It is certainly not from the time of the crusades. Judging by the style it's no earlier than the 18th century. Often times these kinds of medallions were bought or given to pilgrims at holy sites. I don't know anything about yours specifically, but given its condition I would be very surprised if it was worth much. I found a similar one auctioned a few years ago that was attributed to the carmelite order (where is went unsold for 80 eur). That might be a place to start. There's an identical one to that for sale currently on e-bay, though I'd trust neither the price nor the attribution of it. In terms of price--and again, this is just a gut feeling, nothing more-- I would pay a maximum of about 20 euro.
Serbia is, mainly, traditionally (Orthodox) Christian, since Christianization of Serbs by Eastern Orthodox missionaries in 9th century. Also there are religious minorities, such as Muslims. The medallion may well have been dug up. It's value is probably negligible, my guess is about a dollar or a pound. But it still has a certain religious and historical interest. Is the text English (for tourists) or Latin ? - BTW, it isn't many years ago since Serbs were waging war against local Muslims - which didn't reflect well on the country's Christianization.
