going through my father-in-laws coins, we found some very old ones. what are these and what may they be worth? i thing the copper one is a half penny (1735) but i know nothing about the other one. thanks in advance
Well it was the color difference that was making me wonder I would agree that the first coin is British half penny. Its value would be about $5. As for the other coin, I can be of no help I'm afraid.
It could be a farthing. If it is those are worth a bit more than the half's. Is it the size of a penny or half dollar? The second one reminds me of one of them ancient Jewish shekel coins but I'm just guessing there.
It's not a farthing. The size of the coin is one way to tell, but there is another. The farthings of the period had a much smaller bust on the obverse than the half penny. The bust on the half penny nearly touches the rim at the top of the coin. On the farthing there is quite a bit of space between the rim and the bust.
The bottom coin... Right (obverse) reads: Sheqel Israel - Sheqel from [the land of] Israel Left (reverse) reads: Yerushalayim Hakedusha - Jerusalem the Holy Sheqel tokens were issued by many individuals or institutions, during the ages. A diaspora Jewish community might raise funds by issuing these tokens, they may have been minted to sell as amulets to pilgrims, Jewish or Christian, etc. This one resembles a Goerlitz sheqel or a Meysel sheqel, pilgrims' amulets. Interesting reading: http://amerisrael.com/article_false_shekels_2.html http://users.iconz.co.nz/translate/shekel.htm Enjoy your pilgrimage to the world of Holy Land numismatics!
