I bought what were described as '2 old Roman coins' in an auction. I doubt if one of them IS a coin, but the other is fascinating and possibly important. On one side is a crude sailing ship on water; the other has 'BI' in large letters with a coarse dot above and another below. It is brass - hints of this show on the high points and in high relief both sides. 29mm/ just over an inch in diameter. Very early Caribbean seems a possibility. I have attached photos with this form. Years ago I had a token with IB on one side, similar to one which Jacques Schulmann in 1966 auctioned as attrubuted to Barbados - 'Islas Barbados' (subsequently attributed to Canada). As this token/coin has a ship design, which occurs on early Barbados coins, and with the possibility of BI = Barbados Islas, I wondered if this is what it is. email: frmnmich@aol.com
