500 year old, hammered British coin.

dirtdigginfool

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Short and sweet, my mind is going a thousand miles a minute..,, pulled this from a spot we’ve dug two Spanish silvers.... but thinking it was Spanish, i could not identify it. I googled “posvi coin”, and these early, hammered, British coins appeared. “Groat?!”... I DO NOT KNOW... all you early British numismatics please jump in. Not going to flatten it out, can’t see a date as of yet.. Thank you... Ddf.
 

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Upvote 39
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dirtdigginfool

dirtdigginfool

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Congratulations! Makes the hair on my neck stand up. Can't imagine how you felt.
Might need pro help with heat to flatten it. Check with your local university or even a smith.

Thx Gene.... really didn’t sink in until this morning... hammered silver... in Ohio, go figure. I always try to imagine how/why a relic was dropped, how it got there, it’s travels. This is certainly a mystery. My friend Randy exclaimed it looked British when I dug it and he was right. Just didn’t realize until later just how old it was. Thx for looking, Ddf.
 

CRUSADER

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Cru, I cannot (safely) see what is after DI GRA REX... at least for now. But the exact diameter was hard to zero in on, but is 19.75-19.85 mm. Thanks very much for the assistance. Ddf.

OK, so assuming it's a Henry VII, it's size would indicate that it's denomination is a Halfgroat.

If you can get more pictures of the inside of the taco, I can confirm my ID. At present, I'm 80% confident.
 

CRUSADER

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Congratulations! Makes the hair on my neck stand up. Can't imagine how you felt.
Might need pro help with heat to flatten it. Check with your local university or even a smith.
I've had coins straighten & I would not advice this one with the positioning of the cracks.
 

CRUSADER

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Once we have established its true attribution, I recommend that you either ask the MODs to change the title or start a new thread along the lines of it's attribution & find-spot combined. It should then get the attention it deserves.
I'm not here to explain it's loss, but I do know how to spot a fake post on here, & this is not one of them.
Coins from any period of history can be lost at any future period of history after it's minting. Therefore, only a coin found in a sealed dateable context can date their true period of loss, so on this one, it's pure speculation 'when' it was lost.
But all that matters is you dug it.
 

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dirtdigginfool

dirtdigginfool

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Once we have established its true attribution, I recommend that you either ask the MODs to change the title or start a new thread along the lines of it's attribution & find-spot combined. It should then get the attention it deserves.
I'm not here to explain it's loss, but I do know how to spot a fake post on here, & this is not one of them.
Coins from any period of history can be lost at any future period of history after it's minting. Therefore, only a coin found in a sealed dateable context can date their true period of loss, so on this one, it's pure speculation 'when' it was lost.
But all that matters is you dug it.
Crusader, thank you very much for the help and support. I honestly did not realize the true significance of this find, and I threw up a quick post to try to get a positive i.d. I mean... hammered British silver... in Ohio?! But great advice, I will work on getting some better information from the inside of the fold. Thanks again. Cheers, Ddf.
 

CRUSADER

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Crusader, thank you very much for the help and support. I honestly did not realize the true significance of this find, and I threw up a quick post to try to get a positive i.d. I mean... hammered British silver... in Ohio?! But great advice, I will work on getting some better information from the inside of the fold. Thanks again. Cheers, Ddf.
All we need to see for a Positive ID is a 'C' or 'I' before the 'DI'. Either will confirm it's a Henry VII Halfgroat.
 

JamieD

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All we need to see for a Positive ID is a 'C' or 'I' before the 'DI'. Either will confirm it's a Henry VII Halfgroat.

It’s hard to make out but isn’t that 2 Is before the DI on the part of the coin separated off with a crack either side? They have the ‘dog bone’ kind of shape you’d expect. I think the left hand crack goes through the middle of where the V was.
 

Blak bart

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Amazing.....ill vote banner too....and found in Ohio!! Geez thats cool !!
 

ARC

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Looks like a Holy Groat ! ! ! and in Ohio ? ? ?

:/

Gotta love TreasureNet... What i see equals...

BANNER !
 

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brianc053

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Congrats on the find DDF! That's gotta be a banner find! (Though I hope Jeff In PA or one of the other moderators can help you change the title of the post...I didn't look at it initially due to the title.)
- Brian
 

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dirtdigginfool

dirtdigginfool

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unlike A2coins, I think it's pretty Cool , Even in that "Hammered" Condition ! Congrats ! :coffee2:

a2_ just messin ! because imo sick is one of the worst words in the english language for that Meaning to be used.
personally I'd like to slap whoever sent that in to urban Dictionary & Slap them for printing it :laughing7:

I imagine if I tell them Car means Door they will print it.

Jeff in Pa, thanks for looking. It has all sunk in now, it appears this is a 500 year old, hammered British coin. Could you please help me change the title of my post to indicate this? Rather than “silver taco”?... I thank you in advance for your assistance. Respectfully, Ddf Scott.
 

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dirtdigginfool

dirtdigginfool

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Amazing.....ill vote banner too....and found in Ohio!! Geez thats cool !!

Thanks, Blak Bart...I very much appreciate the nod... yep, found in a very unassuming cornfield in Ohio. The next day I pulled a beauty of an 1834 Capped Bust half dime, approximately 150 yards from where I pulled this hammered. It shouldn’t have been there, no noise, no iron... whisper quiet. Was simply walking back to the truck as we’re investigating every part of this permission. I’ve stopped trying to figure out how/why/when this hammered coin from England arrived in my cornfield, like Crusader says, just be happy that I found it. Thx for looking, Ddf. P.S., luv that fish, btw.
 

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dirtdigginfool

dirtdigginfool

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Congrats on the find DDF! That's gotta be a banner find! (Though I hope Jeff In PA or one of the other moderators can help you change the title of the post...I didn't look at it initially due to the title.)
- Brian

Thank Brian, I do very much appreciate the kind words. I’ve reached out, we’ll see how it works out. At the time I posted this coin, I had not realized it’s significance until Crusader stepped in. Wow... for someone who’s not found a coin from the 1700’s... I blew right past that. Thanks again, Ddf.
 

ARC

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post edited... corrected from goat. :P
 

CRUSADER

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Thanks, Blak Bart...I very much appreciate the nod... yep, found in a very unassuming cornfield in Ohio. The next day I pulled a beauty of an 1834 Capped Bust half dime, approximately 150 yards from where I pulled this hammered. It shouldn’t have been there, no noise, no iron... whisper quiet. Was simply walking back to the truck as we’re investigating every part of this permission. I’ve stopped trying to figure out how/why/when this hammered coin from England arrived in my cornfield, like Crusader says, just be happy that I found it. Thx for looking, Ddf. P.S., luv that fish, btw.

I have 1 theory. It's not that worn, so it wasn't in circulation for much more than 50 years.
So it's unlikely to have stayed in circulation until it was brought over to the States.
Which suggests to me it was either put away for a long time or maybe more likely it was lost 50 years after minting. Found by a detectorist & brought over to the US or purchased from a detectorist or old coin collection.
 

ARC

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This is the coin I always pictured retrieving from a CoinStar machine return tray one day.

For... i thought this was the only real chance of finding one here. heh
 

pepperj

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Congrats on the hammered silver, it's just one of those :icon_scratch: finds where so many queries come up on how it rested in a field in your parts. The main thing is it's all yours now-big congrats.
I've seen some pretty bent/cracked/torn silvers and golds (before/after pictures) that have been annealed, straightened, amazing what a good jeweller can do-that knows what they're doing.
 

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