Anyone ever seen this before

[Digginitdaily]

So I dug this up earlier. I'm not sure if it is silver or aluminum. It is non magnetic. The odd thing is the wording. It doesn't say copy or play money but it does have the word specimen on it. Any opinions

 

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[Ocean7]

A specimen is a sample of something. I would think it is a copy of some Roman or ancient coin.

hey I found it! Worth $20 according to this seller:

Vintage Aluminum Roman Specimen Coin | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage Aluminum Roman Specimen Coin at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[Red-Coat]

Interesting. Haven’t seen one of those before, but it’s loosely copied from a coin of Trajan. There are some blunders in the legend, which is supposed to read:

IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, short for “Imperator, Caesar, Nervae Traiano Augustus, Germanicus, Dacicus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate, Consul Quintum, Pater Patriae” translated as “Supreme commander (Imperator), Caesar, of Nerva Trajan, emperor (Augustus), conqueror of the Germans, conqueror of the Dacians, high priest, holder of tribunician power, consul for the fifth time, father of the nation”.

The reverse has a mourning Dacia seated on pile of arms before a tropaeum (trophy) and the legend S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, short for “Senatus Populusque Romanus Optimo Principi” translated as “The senate and the Roman people to the best of princes” with SC in the exergue for “Senatus Consulto” (indicating that it was an official coin, authorised by the Roman Senate - the original, that is). Similar to this dupondius, struck (in bronze) between AD 108-110:

 

[Blackfoot58]

You are finding some interesting stuff.
Keep it going!

 

[JeffInMass]

While it may be a replica, it's a very cool and interesting find- Congrats!

 

[Trezurehunter]

That's a neat find.

 

[Digginitdaily]

Interesting. Haven’t seen one of those before, but it’s loosely copied from a coin of Trajan. There are some blunders in the legend, which is supposed to read:

IMP CAES NERVAE TRAIANO AVG GER DAC P M TR P COS V P P, short for “Imperator, Caesar, Nervae Traiano Augustus, Germanicus, Dacicus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunicia Potestate, Consul Quintum, Pater Patriae” translated as “Supreme commander (Imperator), Caesar, of Nerva Trajan, emperor (Augustus), conqueror of the Germans, conqueror of the Dacians, high priest, holder of tribunician power, consul for the fifth time, father of the nation”.

The reverse has a mourning Dacia seated on pile of arms before a tropaeum (trophy) and the legend S P Q R OPTIMO PRINCIPI, short for “Senatus Populusque Romanus Optimo Principi” translated as “The senate and the Roman people to the best of princes” with SC in the exergue for “Senatus Consulto” (indicating that it was an official coin, authorised by the Roman Senate - the original, that is). Similar to this dupondius, struck (in bronze) between AD 108-110:

View attachment 2105357

So this is where I'm getting confused. Aside from the possibility of it being counterfeit. The word specimen basically means less minted than proof coins or a trial and error type of thing? With the letters SC does that mean it was actually mint made as a commerative piece?

 

[Digginitdaily]

You are finding some interesting stuff.
Keep it going!

Man I've been blessed with that ability. It can be a curse sometimes as well.

 

[Red-Coat]

So this is where I'm getting confused. Aside from the possibility of it being counterfeit. The word specimen basically means less minted than proof coins or a trial and error type of thing? With the letters SC does that mean it was actually mint made as a commerative piece?

No, It's not good enough to pass as a counterfeit, as well as being the wrong size and the wrong metal. It's just loosely copied from a Roman coin and, as I said, has errors in the legend. The 'SC' letters are commonly found on Roman coins (and have been copied from a genuine example) but have no particular meaning in a modern context.

Quite why it has the word "specimen" on it, I have no idea. On true replicas (which this is not) there's often a legal requirement for such coins to be marked with a word such as "copy", "reproduction" or whatever but I've never seen one marked "specimen".

In the coin world, the word usually denotes something made to a higher standard of finish than usual, or an example produced to showcase what the final version will look like and/or familiarise people with something new. It's difficult to see how that would apply here, although I have seen some bank tokens produced in loose imitation of Roman coins. I don't think that's what you have though, and would assume it's some kind of novelty or souvenir.

 

[Digginitdaily]

No, It's not good enough to pass as a counterfeit, as well as being the wrong size and the wrong metal. It's just loosely copied from a Roman coin and, as I said, has errors in the legend. The 'SC' letters are commonly found on Roman coins (and have been copied from a genuine example) but have no particular meaning in a modern context.

Quite why it has the word "specimen" on it, I have no idea. On true replicas (which this is not) there's often a legal requirement for such coins to be marked with a word such as "copy", "reproduction" or whatever but I've never seen one marked "specimen".

In the coin world, the word usually denotes something made to a higher standard of finish than usual, or an example produced to showcase what the final version will look like and/or familiarise people with something new. It's difficult to see how that would apply here, although I have seen some bank tokens produced in loose imitation of Roman coins. I don't think that's what you have though, and would assume it's some kind of novelty or souvenir.

That makes sense to me now . The souvenir part makes sense being that it was found near an old antique shop.

 

[Red-Coat]

Also posted on your other thread. It makes sense now. 'Numista' says it's a Mardi-Gras token from New Orleans. The kind of thing thrown from the floats, I assume.

Mardi Gras Token - Roman Bust, United States

Detailed information about the coin Mardi Gras Token, Roman Bust (New Orleans, Louisiana), United States, with pictures and collection and swap management: mintage, descriptions, metal, weight, size, value and other numismatic data

en.numista.com

 

[ArfieBoy]

Very cool find, D. And thanks again Red-Coat for sharing your knowledge and for all the information!

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Cool find !

 

[Digger RJ]

So I dug this up earlier. I'm not sure if it is silver or aluminum. It is non magnetic. The odd thing is the wording. It doesn't say copy or play money but it does have the word specimen on it. Any opinions

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[Digginitdaily]

Also posted on your other thread. It makes sense now. 'Numista' says it's a Mardi-Gras token from New Orleans. The kind of thing thrown from the floats, I assume.

View attachment 2105462

Mardi Gras Token - Roman Bust, United States

Detailed information about the coin Mardi Gras Token, Roman Bust (New Orleans, Louisiana), United States, with pictures and collection and swap management: mintage, descriptions, metal, weight, size, value and other numismatic data

en.numista.com

I guess I can save it for next year's celebration!

 

[danielg68]

So I dug this up earlier. I'm not sure if it is silver or aluminum. It is non magnetic. The odd thing is the wording. It doesn't say copy or play money but it does have the word specimen on it. Any opinions

Hi, I dug one of these yesterday. In Norfolk Va. From what I can research, its a New Orleans Mardi Gras Token. The Numista site has it under Exonumia, with a rarity of 90 out of 100. I cannot find many images or examples of it for sale anywhere, so I would say it is quite rare. Good Find1

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Thread moved. "Today's Finds:"are for actual very recent Finds....

 

[Digginitdaily]

Thread moved. "Today's Finds:"are for actual very recent Finds....

Ok ... so are you moving all post or just this one? Because at the date of the actual post it was where it belonged

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

No, my apologies, I did not notice it was a bump of an old thread, thought it was a recent post and saw the date on the pictures being old.

Last 3 posts will disappear.....

 

[TORRERO]

it's some kind of novelty or souvenir.

Definitly this... I dug a LOT of Roman coins in Spain years ago and Romans did NOT make anything like this !!!
Clearly VERY modern in its design and manufacture... although I too have never seen anything like it...
Considering that its probably aluminum, and in the condition that it's in, a very recent production, (within the last 10-20 years)