I recently acquired this coin in an auction lot, but I'm unsure what it is. Looks Eastern European and perhaps 11th century ?
Hi Jerome, I would love to help but the pics are too small! I don't think it is British and that is about all I can say. Can you scan so we can see more detail? Paddy
I agree I think it is eastern european, I think it could be Polish or Bulgarian maybe, I do remember reading something about these coins at some point but I have forgotten. Is the coin very thin?
The coin is very thin. I doubt a scan would be any better - the coin is less than a centimetre across, and it's hard taking decent photographs of it because it is so dark. I'll have a go under natural light tomorrow morning.
First impression would be a debased "pfenning", (or similar denomination). Coins such as this were produced in large numbers around Europe around the 12-14th century or so. Debased silver bordering on pure copper in cases, very thin, brittle, and small. Weight will probably be less than a gram. Sorry I cannot help more. These are the "heck I have no idea" kinds of coins that keep me from collecting medieval more.
I think perhaps Hungarian - it looks pretty similar to some of the base issues of Bela II - compare this one (http://www.mcsearch.info/search.htm...=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ol=1&sort=&c=&a=&l=#18), albeit in a rather worse state of preservation. The specific type isn't in any of my catalogues, though (I've got CNH, Huszar and Unger), and I'd rather not posit a new type when it could just be a coin of a different state.
Yeah, I personally cannot stand having a coin or token that I can't attribute. It irks me every time I look at it.
I'd say the pics are pretty big. The coin's about the size of a baseball on my monitor when zoomed in. However, cropping them wouldn't be such a bad idea.
