Help with some...coins? Ok group, I hope this is a challenge for you. I just got a nice batch of coins yesterday and these are beyond me. They might not even be coins at all, especially the wooden rectangular one (probably a charm?). There were also about a dozen tokens and other such items - really a very nice mixed bag of fun. 410 items in all. Any help? -Daniel
I'm going to take a big ol' stab in the dark here, since I don't have any books here with me, but I think a couple may be Japanese (including the rectangular one) and a couple appear to be Indian. More news later... Pics of the other side would be helpful in identification too!
The bottom character on the rectangular coin does appear to be a Chinese/Japanese character, but there is nothing remotely similar in the Japanese Numismatic Dealers Assn. catalog. Both the Chinese and Japanese spade and knife coins were metallic, not wood, so it's probably a charm or token rather than a coin. None of the others look the least bit Japanese, and all but the large round one with a palm tree are probably Indian princely state coins/charms/tokens. I'm pretty sure I've seen something like that tree on a North African/Arabian country's coinage, but a look at the other side of that one is essential to IDing it.
Well, the other side of most of these has been worn out. I would like to provide sizes at least (I have no scale for weights), but that will have to wait until I get home. I have a good friend who is Chinese and she tells me that she does not recognize the character on the rectangular piece. I imagine it was probably a charm of some sort, based on it being holed. (but then, why did this dealer include it in this lot? oh well...)
Hey, I got a reply from one of my other lists. They said that it is bamboo money. Never heard of it before, but I googled it. Ya' learn something new every day! -Daniel
It is usually referred to as a "bamboo token". Bamboo tokens were used in China, mainly in the area around Shanghai, and primarily during the first several decades of the 20th Century. They were a form of token money issued by businesses. The very bottom Chinese character on this token is dian which means "store" or "shop". The characters above are too obliterated for me to make out but I am sure they would be the name of the store where the token was issued. Gary
Well, here is more info that I have gotten back on these. First of all, I measured them. The tree coin/token is 16mm and the smallest coin is 10mm. Here is a photo of the flip side, not that it tells us much more about most of them. And I was told that the "E" coin in the upper left corner is a Byzantine Pentanummium. -Daniel
I dont think it is a charm cos the word below 店 mean 'shop', i suspect it might be some key chain holder.
I think that it is a bamboo token or bamboo money. See http://www.anythinganywhere.com/commerce/exo/bamboo.htm I still need help with the other ones, though... Thanks, -Daniel
