Old pendant or medallion? Needs ID

[islandscope]

Posting for a friend who dug this in coastal Massachusetts. Other colonial artifacts in the area date back to early 1600s. Any ID or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[KSDirtfisher77]

Posting for a friend who dug this in coastal Massachusetts. Other colonial artifacts in the area date back to early 1600s. Any ID or suggestions would be appreciated.

Is there anything on the other side of the medallion/medal? Some more pics might help with ID. You might even put a quarter in the pic for a size reference. Congrats on the find.

 

[Mackaydon]

First impression: Not a coin.
As KSD suggested, waiting for pic of reverse side.
Don in SoCal

 

[Digger RJ]

Posting for a friend who dug this in coastal Massachusetts. Other colonial artifacts in the area date back to early 1600s. Any ID or suggestions would be appreciated.

Nice!!! Congrats!!!

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

Cool find - can't help with the ID but it's not a coin - looks like an old Pendant ?

 

[islandscope]

First impression: Not a coin.
As KSD suggested, waiting for pic of reverse side.
Don in SoCal

Thanks for checking it out, I've added a picture of the reverse side-looks the same.

 

[islandscope]

mayan ballcourt marker replica? Not aware of any mayan activity in massachusetts, I'm guessing it's not very old.

 

[scruggs]

Looks like a modern pendant with Aztec figure and symbols on it.

 

[Red-Coat]

Neat, but it’s a vintage tourist piece. It’s a fairly faithful replica of the Mayan ball game marker called the “Colonia La Esperanza Monument”. The original stone carving is 55cm in diameter and 14cm thick and now in the National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City.



The pendant can’t be very old since the first mention of the actual stone carving was in the 1950s, although it didn’t become publicly famous until it went on display at the museum (after restoration). Pictures of the monument stone often say it was found at the Mayan Chinkultic site in Chiapas, Mexico whose existence was not published until the late 19th century; not fully described until 1926; and first archaeologically excavated in 1966. In fact it was found a few miles away at Colonia La Esperanza during the razing of a ruined modern house. The correct provenience was published by Blom & Duby in 1957, citing Xavier Mandujano who was Federal Inspector of monuments at the time.