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1660's Charles II Gold Touch Piece!

garren

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Minelab Manticore
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This was one of those signals you get when the day is done and your doing the fast walk/swing back to the truck. I got a 27 on the Manticore and made a u-turn thinking I might get lucky with a thin hammered. It took two scoops and when it slid out of the second scoop I thought it was modern junk because it was so shiny. After I picked it up I was certain I had found my first gold coin. I had never seen one like this so I looked it up. Turns out it's technically not a coin so I'm still not a member of the gold coin club. In this case I can live with that! 😄 Maybe we call this one a token? Either way I'm stoked about this find and feel like it's as good, if not better than a gold coin. For those that haven't heard of a touch piece (this is a new one for me too) I'm posting this little blurb from an article on Google.

"At the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Charles II reintroduced to England the ceremony of 'Touching for the King’s Evil' – an ancient practice carried out in the belief that the monarch possessed a Christ-like ability to cure victims of scrofula (a disease of the lymph nodes) by laying his hand upon them.
At the ceremony, sufferers were given a coin known as a 'healing piece' or 'touchpiece' to wear on a ribbon around the neck, which showed that the patient had been healed by the monarch. By the time of Charles II a gold coin called an angel, worth as much as 11s., was given as a touchpiece. The obverse shows St Michael slaying Satan, depicted as a Dragon; the reverse a sailing-ship. Initially it seems that Charles handed out angels from the previous three reigns as touchpieces, but in February 1665 a new form of the angel was minted for use as a touchpiece, not valid as currency.
From Charles II's return to England in May 1660 until his death in 1685, it is reckoned that he touched over 105,000 people to cure them from scrofula."

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Upvote 64
So this piece of gold belonged to someone who had been suffering, met with King Charles II himself, was touched by him and shortly thereafter was cured - henceforth wearing this piece of gold as a symbol of the king's healing touch. That's one of the most interesting and historical pieces of gold I have ever seen posted to Treasurenet. Banner Vote 😎👍
 
This was one of those signals you get when the day is done and your doing the fast walk/swing back to the truck. I got a 27 on the Manticore and made a u-turn thinking I might get lucky with a thin hammered. It took two scoops and when it slid out of the second scoop I thought it was modern junk because it was so shiny. After I picked it up I was certain I had found my first gold coin. I had never seen one like this so I looked it up. Turns out it's technically not a coin so I'm still not a member of the gold coin club. In this case I can live with that! 😄 Maybe we call this one a token? Either way I'm stoked about this find and feel like it's as good, if not better than a gold coin. For those that haven't heard of a touch piece (this is a new one for me too) I'm posting this little blurb from an article on Google.

"At the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Charles II reintroduced to England the ceremony of 'Touching for the King’s Evil' – an ancient practice carried out in the belief that the monarch possessed a Christ-like ability to cure victims of scrofula (a disease of the lymph nodes) by laying his hand upon them.
At the ceremony, sufferers were given a coin known as a 'healing piece' or 'touchpiece' to wear on a ribbon around the neck, which showed that the patient had been healed by the monarch. By the time of Charles II a gold coin called an angel, worth as much as 11s., was given as a touchpiece. The obverse shows St Michael slaying Satan, depicted as a Dragon; the reverse a sailing-ship. Initially it seems that Charles handed out angels from the previous three reigns as touchpieces, but in February 1665 a new form of the angel was minted for use as a touchpiece, not valid as currency.
From Charles II's return to England in May 1660 until his death in 1685, it is reckoned that he touched over 105,000 people to cure them from scrofula."

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Congratulations on your beautiful rare gold recovery. I'd put you in the gold coin hall of fame even though it's a token.
Certainly hope it gets its place on the banner as well.
 
That’s an awesome piece of history. Definitely banner worthy. Pretty strange tradition though — I’d be more afraid of catching something than being cured if I touched a royal person.
 
Haven’t been around here in awhile but its finds like this that bring me back. Shiny, rare and a history lesson wrapped in one. Something I could potentially but probably never find too
 
WOW !!!!!!!! what a great historical find !!!!! Congrats !!!! Is that something you have to turn over to the museum ?
 
WOW !!!!!!!! what a great historical find !!!!! Congrats !!!! Is that something you have to turn over to the museum ?
Thanks! Yes. I'll probably never see it again but at least I have the memories, photos and knowing I held a piece of history that had potentially been touched by King Charles himself and most likely immune from scrofula now 😄
 
Thanks! Yes. I'll probably never see it again but at least I have the memories, photos and knowing I held a piece of history that had potentially been touched by King Charles himself and most likely immune from scrofula now 😄
The museums are strapped for funds. So you'll probably get to keep it.
 
Fascinating find, congrats!! What state/country?
 
Thanks! Yes. I'll probably never see it again but at least I have the memories, photos and knowing I held a piece of history that had potentially been touched by King Charles himself and most likely immune from scrofula now 😄

I didn't see it mentioned but I assume this was found in the United Kingdom?
 

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