ID a little medal

[ALEX LOPEZ]

Hi I'm From Mexico , I found this little medal somebody help me to ID ?

[PBK]

Welcome, Alex!

Your find is a medal of St. Benedict. Here's a link to more info:

http://www.osb.org/gen/medal.html

[Iron Patch]

Very nice, some age to that one too.

[ALEX LOPEZ]

thanks PBK .

It will be very old? year 1700, 1800, 1900 ?

have a very nice patina

[PBK]

I agree with Iron Patch that it's definitely an older medal. Based on other medals I've seen, I believe that it could easily date from the 1700's. There is a bit of information about dating these medals in the following Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Benedict_Medal

[mile-ender]

I agree with Iron Patch that it's definitely an older medal. Based on other medals I've seen, I believe that it could easily date from the 1700's. There is a bit of information about dating these medals in the following Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Benedict_Medal

How do you figure the age of medals? I've gotten a number of them (not necessarily St. Benedict) and I've always wondered on how to date 'em.

[Iron Patch]

I agree with Iron Patch that it's definitely an older medal. Based on other medals I've seen, I believe that it could easily date from the 1700's. There is a bit of information about dating these medals in the following Wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Benedict_Medal

I've always thought of that particular type as late 1600s to maybe mid. 1700s. I don't find em, and have never looked into them, so I guess that was just what I decided for myself years ago. I think someone should be able to supply a very accurate answer.

[PBK]

How do you figure the age of medals? I've gotten a number of them (not necessarily St. Benedict) and I've always wondered on how to date 'em.

Although patina is usually an indicator of age, it may not be reliable, depending upon the type of metal and the matrix in which it was found.

Medals sometimes bear dates, but those are generally commemorative rather than the actual year of striking. For example, even if it was made last week, the Medal of Immaculate Conception, or Miraculous Medal, will have the date 1830, the year when the Virgin Mary is said to have given the design of the medal to Saint Catherine Labouré.

Style drift in designs and lettering can be of some help, too, but some designs have remained unchanged for centuries.

In the case of Alex's medal, the stemmed suspension loop at the top is characteristic of older medals— say, early 1800's back to the 1600's. On later ones, the loop sits close to the edge, or the medal is simply holed near the edge for suspension.

Finally, there's the type of metal itself. If a medal is made of aluminum, it's likely post-1880's, although there are rare exceptions. (Prior to that time, aluminum was hard to refine and considered a precious metal.) Plating and bimetallic construction point to a later date, too.

Check out a few websites showing religious medals recovered from Spanish shipwrecks and Southwest mission trails, and you can easily see the difference between these and modern medals.

[Bigcypresshunter]

Welcome to TN. Hoping to see some more of your finds.

[ALEX LOPEZ]

I will post more finds , thats for sure.

THANK YOU AMIGOS