I have a Shakespeare coin dated 1864, it has a pierced hole so I'm imagining it was made into a medallion at some point?
Why wouldn't it be? I'm sure it's some form of token, I have seen others similar, in silver. I've also got a similar medallion commemorating Queen Victoria's reign, its authentic. I wonder if this one was of mass production or smaller scale.
Oh I'm sorry, how rude of me => "welcome" ... it's always great having new coiners!! Sadly, this is not my area of expertice (many would argue that I do not have an area!!) ... I love happy endings, so I really hope that you have an awesome coin in-hand and I hope that you decide to keep it, for if it is authentic, then it is very cool!! Good luck, my new coin friend!! (cheers)
I would say this is a commemorative medallion, rather than a coin or token. At this stage it was illegal to make tokens for use in lieu of money, although some advertising tokens were unofficially used in this way. This has no advert, and so is unlikely to be one of those. From about 1788 to 1820 it was legal for companies to produce token money, and in the 1790s there were certainly some made with Shakepeare on - these were mostly from Middlesex I believe, and were valid for Half a penny. By 1820 companies had taken to paying their staff in token coinage, and then allowing them to spend it only at the company store - much to their detriment! In 1820 the trucking act was passed to ban this practice, and the token money came to an end.
This is very interesting! I am very grateful for your advice and expertise, I have a larger medallion commerating Queen Victoria's reign. I seem to have quite a few medallions in my collection!
I think commemorative medallions are a great diversion from coins - many have great designs, and they are often a lot cheaper to acquire than coins of the same period. Particularly in the 19th century they were struck for almost any reason from Royal events to local exhibitions. So too are the tokens mentioned in the previous email - the late 18th century early 19th century ones tend to be large and very well made in Copper, sometimes Silver, and track the burgeoning Industrial revolution in Great Britain. There is another interesting period for British tokens in the mid 17th century when much smaller enterprises and parish councils produced small base metal coins - mostly farthings and halfpennies. Often these can be linked to individual shop owners in small towns and villages giving a fascinating insight into life at the time. I sold one once online - a Warwickshire 17th century issued by a lady undertaker - to a direct descendent of the lady in question!
I too am interested, I think they are a lot more personal than coins and I find them truly fascinating! My Queen Victoria medallion is here, it is in good condition, my Grandmother bought it in a 'junk shop' in the 60's!
Nice medal - obviously for Victoria's diamond Jubilee in 1897. Looks very well designed and struck. What is it's diameter? Does it have anything inscribed around the edge? Difficult to see from the picture if it is well tarnished silver or copper?
Diameter is 2.8cm with nothing inscribed on around the edge. I have to wondered if it is silver or copper, how do I check?
At 2.8cm it is definitely just a commemorative type medallion - I wanted to check as the style is reminiscent of some of the officially issued medals as opposed to medallions, but they would be more like 4cm and probably inscribed around the edge. As to the metal - if it is not obvious in the hand it is tricky! You could scratch the edge somewhere to see if it shows red or silver underneath, but that would damage it, which would be a pity. I guess you could check density? Or surprisingly, taste it? (Copper has an obvious and unpleasant bitter taste, while silver is pretty much tasteless.) Other white metals would also be tasteless, but by its style and quality I would not expect it to be cupro-nickel or any other alloy. Not a particularly valuable item in either case - probably under £10 even on a good day!
Value isn't overly important to me oddly, the historical story is more my cup of tea! I am pretty it's copper, I just love the detail! I am currently buying a lot of roman coins which are one of my other passions.
