Last dig of the day and I get a ???

[granthansen]

Went back to my childhood home (my parents still live there). My first time there I found an 1891 Canadian fish scale within 5 minutes. Then a whole lotta junk. After that I've been back a few times but each hunt has been a hurried 20 minutes battling mosquitoes. It's a small property but today I wanted to spend about 2 hours and cherry pick (lots of junk). The house was built in 1880 and the lawn is littered with aluminum siding scrap metal (rings up silver) and many nails.

I found a lot of clad, some yet to be ID'd pieces of metal, a wheatie, and this thing came out of the hole on my last dig. I thought it was a washer at first but then saw that the hole wasn't round or center. Upon closer inspection I can see writing, and I can make out a 1950. Can't tell what's on the left. The backside is pretty toasty. I think it was at one time solid and has eaten away over time. Also included is a photo of size comparison next to the wheatie.

I've got it soaking in mild soapy water and will see if I can get it to reveal some more.

 

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[WildDigger]

That is crazy!!! Nice save.

 

[ticm]

Went back to my childhood home (my parents still live there). My first time there I found an 1891 Canadian fish scale within 5 minutes. Then a whole lotta junk. After that I've been back a few times but each hunt has been a hurried 20 minutes battling mosquitoes. It's a small property but today I wanted to spend about 2 hours and cherry pick (lots of junk). The house was built in 1880 and the lawn is littered with aluminum siding scrap metal (rings up silver) and many nails.

I found a lot of clad, some yet to be ID'd pieces of metal, a wheatie, and this thing came out of the hole on my last dig. I thought it was a washer at first but then saw that the hole wasn't round or center. Upon closer inspection I can see writing, and I can make out a 1950. Can't tell what's on the left. The backside is pretty toasty. I think it was at one time solid and has eaten away over time. Also included is a photo of size comparison next to the wheatie.

I've got it soaking in mild soapy water and will see if I can get it to reveal some more.

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=701886"/>

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=701887"/>

<img src="http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=701888"/>

Does not look like its American.

 

[Jamesbondaka]

Interesting! Maybe foreign coin of some kind.....as you never know what type of metal they might use to produce them.

 

[granthansen]

Here is a side-by-side comparison with the 1891 Canadian fish scale I found about 20 feet away (in May I think). It' just slightly larger. I measured it at exactly 5/8 inch.

While the Canadian certainly is foreign, when we moved into the house we found about 10 million dollars of Russian bearer bonds... in RUPLES! Totally worthless

I agree though, it may be foreign. I'm hoping my soaking helps. Definitely not a noble metal!

 

[Kayleealways]

I think what you have is a tax token. Made from aluminum. People would bore what was a square hole in them to fit a bolt through it. So in other words they made a washer out of it. Have seen many of these like this. Good find.

 

[bill from lachine]

Agree.....probably a makeshift washer from the tax token.....nothing got wasted back in the day....people made do with what they had.

Regards + HH

Bill

I think what you have is a tax token. Made from aluminum. People would bore what was a square hole in them to fit a bolt through it. So in other words they made a washer out of it. Have seen many of these like this. Good find.

 

[Erik in NJ]

I'm not sure if this one was used as a washer or whether the aluminum just disintegrated. Here's a Civil War token I found that I believe someone (unfortunately) did use as a washer!

 

[idahotokens]

AFAIK, no tax tokens were dated as late as 1950. Looks to me like a foreign coin.
John in the Great 208

 

[FoundInNC]

Along the border I feel like i see GEORG in all caps, maybe an A between the date and georg. It is either zinc or aluminum, and may or may not have been made with a hole in the center.

Just a guess, but what if it was a copy of this in zinc or aluminum?

 

[granthansen]

Thanks for all the help guys. I tanked out early last night (having a 7 month old who keeps me up at night often is the cause of that!).

 

[granthansen]

Along the border I feel like i see GEORG in all caps, maybe an A between the date and georg. It is either zinc or aluminum, and may or may not have been made with a hole in the center.

Just a guess, but what if it was a copy of this in zinc or aluminum?

I think we're on the right track with Russian/foreign coin. Previous owners of the house were Russian. However, here's side-by-side with the coin above. It just doesn't line up. I'm hoping my overnight soak will reveal more, but I'm not optimistic. It's pretty corroded!

 

[granthansen]

I'm stoked and surprised. My overnight soak has revealed some more details and letters! See the pics below (reverse not so much yet). It's back soaking and I'll check again tomorrow. I'm still not able to ID it.

 

[FoundInNC]

Wire brush!

 

[granthansen]

Wire brush!

I'm going to try a tooth brush first. Because of the giant hole in it I think it's pretty fragile, so I want to be careful. But if all else fails, I might as well, right?

 

[granthansen]

I'm not sure if this one was used as a washer or whether the aluminum just disintegrated. Here's a Civil War token I found that I believe someone (unfortunately) did use as a washer!

For some reason I'm just seeing this... ug. Well, view it as a rescue from the Island of Misfit Coins. Someone tried to destroy it, lost it, and you recovered it.

 

[ronbo22]

Its an aluminum play coin. I have several with the 1950 date.

 

[granthansen]

Its an aluminum play coin. I have several with the 1950 date.

Do you have a pic you can share? I'd like to see one.