Found on Florida Beach circa 2004 Baffled me since

[apdp]

Trying to downsize as age is no longer creeping up. Anyway ran across this copper coin that I found metal detecting near Indialantic. I gave it the electrolysis treatment back then. It seems the images have became somewhat clearer than back when. Any ideas? Interesting find anyway on a FL beack.

 

[TORRERO]

Trying to downsize as age is no longer creeping up. Anyway ran across this copper coin that I found metal detecting near Indialantic. I gave it the electrolysis treatment back then. It seems the images have became somewhat clearer than back when. Any ideas? Interesting find anyway on a FL beack.

Honestly it looks Roman...

 

[BigWaveDave]

Yeah Torrero, agree… as worn as it is, it’s still pretty thick. I’d think that if was a copper from 17-1800s it’d be thinner.

 

[TORRERO]

Yeah Torrero, agree… as worn as it is, it’s still pretty thick. I’d think that if was a copper from 17-1800s it’d be thinner.

I’ve dug a lot of Roman coins and just the way the profiles look seems like Roman to me. There’s a guy on here from SoCal that knows his stuff about Roman coins…. He might can help

 

[potsherd_creek]

5-6 years ago there was a headline, maybe a Tampa news station, where some thought to be Roman coins were found by a detectorist on a Fl beach. Last night I was looking at this post and thought Roman. Possible a Diva Favstina Pia or one of the Favstina Roman coins. Hopefully someone will ID this and would be very interesting to know the century struck.

 

[TORRERO]

5-6 years ago there was a headline, maybe a Tampa news station, where some thought to be Roman coins were found by a detectorist on a Fl beach. Last night I was looking at this post and thought Roman. Possible a Diva Favstina Pia or one of the Favstina Roman coins. Hopefully someone will ID this and would be very interesting to know the century struck.

Clearly a woman, but the wear makes it almost impossible to ID.
I heard somewhere once ( I don't know how true it is) that its believed that when ships scooped up ballast stones in the rivers in Europe, before they made their journeys across the Atlantic, they would sometimes scoop up Roman Coins along with the dirt and sand and rocks used for Ballast.. (unknowingly of course) and its believed that at least some of the Roman coins found here were brought here in that way...

 

[apdp]

Clearly a woman, but the wear makes it almost impossible to ID.
I heard somewhere once ( I don't know how true it is) that its believed that when ships scooped up ballast stones in the rivers in Europe, before they made their journeys across the Atlantic, they would sometimes scoop up Roman Coins along with the dirt and sand and rocks used for Ballast.. (unknowingly of course) and its believed that at least some of the Roman coins found here were brought here in that way...

That could explain it. In the area I found a few 1715 Fleet coins and of course south of there, you have documented wrecks. The coin is thick as stated.

The theory some detectorists had was the coins possibly arrived on the beach via bodies or other debris washing northward of the wrecks. When the word got out that coins were found in the area, the Indialantic beaches and to a lessor extent IHB beaches were hit hard.

Thank you for all the great replies.

 

[TORRERO]

The coin is thick as stated

Roman coins were made this way, not sure why or how, but they were very thick bronze slabs...

 

[LawrencetheMDer]

Looks like a British colonial 1/2 penny...

 

[Mackaydon]

My WAG: Assuming it's Roman, the lady's hairdo is sometimes described as 'mantled, waved hair'; associated with Fausta, the wife of Constantine the Great. Her 'cocked' right arm is another clue.
I 'wouldn't bet the farm' on this ID, but it's a start.
Don in SoCal

https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/lucernae/90/product/fausta_augusta_324326_ad_bronze_follis_constantinople__salvs_reipvblicae__a_salus_with_two_children_in_her_arms/1805357/Default.aspx

 

[TORRERO]

My WAG: Assuming it's Roman, the lady's hairdo is sometimes described as 'mantled, waved hair'; associated with Fausta, the wife of Constantine the Great. Her 'cocked' right arm is another clue.
I 'wouldn't bet the farm' on this ID, but it's a start.
Don in SoCal

https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/lucernae/90/product/fausta_augusta_324326_ad_bronze_follis_constantinople__salvs_reipvblicae__a_salus_with_two_children_in_her_arms/1805357/Default.aspx

I knew you would come through

 

[UnderMiner]

I read recently that as late as the mid 19th century roman coins were found in great numbers in Europe in fields after plowing, so great a number where they found that they were documented to have entered circulation in some parts of France. A worn roman coin, especially one of copper, could easily have entered circulation alongside the many large copper coins of the modern era and ended up in the US. It's a long shot, but I wouldn't be that suprised.

 

[TORRERO]

I read recently that as late as the mid 19th century roman coins were found in great numbers in Europe in fields after plowing, so great a number where they found that they were documented to have entered circulation in some parts of France. A worn roman coin, especially one of copper, could easily have entered circulation alongside the many large copper coins of the modern era and ended up in the US. It's a long shot, but I wouldn't be that surprised.

I have heard that aristocrats from the 1600-1700-1800 used to collect Roman coins as a hobby, it wouldn't surprise me if people "mined" for Roman coins to sell to some of these people..
I do have a story that although doesn't directly prove that theory it does lend credence to it..
Back when I lived in Spain we would hunt the countryside for Roman and early Spanish coins, some sites held one type, some held the other, and some held both...
But this particular day we were hunting just a Roman site, pieces of lead and junk metal and a few Roman coins.. nothing else in the plowed field, until out of nowhere I dig a 1753 2 Silver Spanish Real, and a few feet further I got another similar Spanish Silver coin..
I knew this was just a Roman site because early Spanish sites produced Buttons, and Buckles and bells, and thimbles and other stuff from that time period, but here we found nothing at all of any early Spanish settlement.... Why ? Why would you find these 2 silver Spanish coins and nothing else ?
Because they didn't actually live there...
So why the two early Spanish Reals, why Silver ? when most early Spanish sites produce copper Maravedis.. ?
It's only a theory of course but my guise is that in the 1600s and 1700s and maybe early 1800s this place still had remnants of Roman Ruins, and the Spanish Aristocrats visited this site to see the ruins, and maybe collect artifacts that they could find..
It's the only logical explanation I have ever been able to come up with for those two lone silver coins...
Anyway it makes for a very good story..