SO, I bought a lot of Metal Detecting Finds - 30 Coins - for about $10 - And have been able to identify about 18 of them, 11 are too far gone, and I've got ONE that stumps me! It seems a little flattened and stuff, but maybe someone out there can help me! Most of what I've ID'd are late 1500's to early 1700's coins. These seem to be mainly found in France. It is about 25mm in Diameter, Weighs 3.77g, and is Copper: THANK YOU!
BTW... If you wonder about the other Coins I HAVE been able to ID, here's what I've found: 1587A - France - Henri III - Double Tournois (Holed but VF+ Details!) 1592 - France - Henri III - Double Tournois - Lyon, France (? - Minted by the Catholic League after the death of Henri III - Mintage 177,120) 1623-1644 (1636?) - Italian Papal States - Urban VIII - 1 Quattrino 1656D - Louis XIV - France (Neuville Sur Vimy) - 1 Laird 1655-1658 - France (Limoges) - 1 Liard 1652-1654A - France (Dombes) - Gaston (13th Type) - Denier Tournois 1675-1677(?) - Frederic Maurice - France (Orange) - Denier Tournois 1543-1635 - Germany (Nuremberg) - Jeton Token 1643-1715 - France - 1 Laird 1695-1701 - Great Britain - William III - 1 Farthing 1769D (?) - France - 1/2 Sol 1798-1799A (L'an 7) - France - 1 Centime (2) 1797-1799 (L'an 6-8) - France - 1 Centimes 1719-1724 - George I - Great Britain - 1 Farthing (Large Planchet) 1744 - Spain (Segovia) - 2 Maravedis 1790 - George III - "Spade Guinea" - Jeton Token 1788 - (1860's made) - Immitation Spade Guinea - Gaming Token Produced in Birmingham More than happy to share any photos if you want to see one, but many were hard to Identify!!!
The inscription looks to be something like dieu et mond roit, which makes it the coat of arms of the British monarchy. It looks more like a privately made medallet rather than any coin.
It's a jeton. I too thought the legend under that coat of arms looked like DIEU ET MON DROIT, which, as mentioned, makes it a British Royal coat of arms- and it does seem to have the lion and unicorn on there. But since it is a privately made jeton/token (brass, I would assume), that does not necessarily mean it is of British manufacture. A lot of these were made as counters and gaming tokens in imitation of coin designs. It appears to mimic a late-18th century design in style, but might in fact date to as late as the early 19th century.
Aha- look at this. My French is weak at best, but there's one posted on a French metal detecting site, which seems in synch with what you've said about your source. The one in that link has a little bit clearer legends, so it appears this jeton features the portrait of George II of England, who ruled 1727-1760, which goes to confirm my suspicions that this is a late-18th century piece. In fact, looking again at your obverse picture, I can read GEORGIVS in those severely die-fatigued letters. But it might be of continental European manufacture rather than British, despite featuring a British king and crest. A lot of this sort of stuff was made by the Lauer firm in Germany. And it could date a bit later than the reign of George II.
Thank you all VERY much! I believe that you are correct, looking at the French Metal Detecting Site you provide... It is a Jeton Token, but I cannot seem to find the exact one anywhere online to provide any info or date. Your help is greatly appreciated!
Bear in mind... this IS a Metal Detector Find. It took me a while to identify this one, as it is pretty worn, but here are the pics.
Privately made pieces like these are notoriously difficult to catalog or get specific dates/historical info on when there is not an event specified or symbolized (coronation, death, etc). Judging from the size and crudeness of the design, I think game counter is likely.
