sjvalleyhunter
Silver Member
- May 5, 2014
- 3,716
- 2,173
- Detector(s) used
- Minelab E-Trac and Whites MXT
- Primary Interest:
- Metal Detecting
Today while at the grocery store I glanced at the Coinstar and to my surprise a silver coin was there waiting for me. I scooped it up and found that it was a 1937 French Indochinese 10 cent coin. This is a nice 68% silver coin, but surprisingly they are not uncommon here in central California and I’ve actually found these in the past.
In this area of the state we have a very large Hmong and southeast Asian population. In fact, Fresno has the largest annual Hmong-American gathering for a new years celebration week that draws around 120,000 people from across the county. Well during this celebration, the traditional Hmong attire that’s worn include these coins that are tied on to the shirts, hats and dresses. Frankly I don’t know what the symbolism is for wearing the coins, but the former French Indo China is Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia today.
During this celebration week many of the folks go to our local parks to take pictures. A coin or two will inevitably fall off and are later found by detectorists. The particular coin I found today has a hole in it so I know that it was at one time used to adorn someone’s clothing. Regardless, silver is always a good find and I’ll take it!
In this area of the state we have a very large Hmong and southeast Asian population. In fact, Fresno has the largest annual Hmong-American gathering for a new years celebration week that draws around 120,000 people from across the county. Well during this celebration, the traditional Hmong attire that’s worn include these coins that are tied on to the shirts, hats and dresses. Frankly I don’t know what the symbolism is for wearing the coins, but the former French Indo China is Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia today.
During this celebration week many of the folks go to our local parks to take pictures. A coin or two will inevitably fall off and are later found by detectorists. The particular coin I found today has a hole in it so I know that it was at one time used to adorn someone’s clothing. Regardless, silver is always a good find and I’ll take it!
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