Ancient coin ? (Updated! more pics)

[history hunter]

I found this coin while metal detecting when I was a kid. I thought it was fake until I brought it to a coin show and a dealer said it was not necessarily fake. I was wondering if anyone knew anything about it?

 

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[Dano Sverige]

Re: Ancient coin ?

It's injected at birth in the UK. USA's still in the "testing" stage i believe?

 

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[history hunter]

Re: Ancient coin ?

Here are some more pics in the sun! Also it weighs 10 grams and measures 29mm.

 

[history hunter]

Re: Ancient coin ?

Here are the last two.

 

[Silver Searcher]

Stunning pictures HH

Definitely looks like a Ancient Coin

SS.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Stunning pictures HH

Definitely looks like a Ancient Coin

SS.

Are you serious SS? And how do you come to this conclusion? With all this humor going around I dont know who is joking or who isnt. It looks like a very cool zipper pull.





Thanks for the great pics HH. I only wish the professor's and Farley's links had done the same.

So it appears all three are the same quarter size copies of a half dollar size silver original that nobody has produced a picture of. Sorry I was busy today, I will try to contact the university tommorrow.

I see some corrosion in the pic. It almost looks as if it is not even solid bronze. The corrosion seems to be showing a different base metal.

I like to hear what Crusader has to say.

So far you have been offered $1000 and a new metal detector if its an authentic ancient coin.

 

[Silver Searcher]

Stunning pictures HH

Definitely looks like a Ancient Coin

SS.

Are you serious SS? And how do you come to this conclusion? With all this humor going around I dont know who is joking or who isnt.


Thanks for the great pics HH. I only wish the good professor had the capability to post the same in his links.

The same way outhers that say it's a copy http://www.calgarycoin.com/reference/fakes/fakes.htm

SS.

 

[Silver Searcher]

Stunning pictures HH

Definitely looks like a Ancient Coin

SS.

Are you serious SS? And how do you come to this conclusion? With all this humor going around I dont know who is joking or who isnt.


Thanks for the great pics HH. I only wish the good professor and Shirley had done the same.

So it appears all three are the same quarter size copies of a half dollar size silver original that nobody has produced a picture of. Sorry I was busy today, I will try to contact the university tommorrow.

I see some corrosion in the pic. It almost looks as if it is not even solid bronze.
I like to hear what Crusader and Ironspike have to say.

I would be more interested in what a real coin expert would say.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I would be more interested in what a real coin expert would say.

I just now called the Mount Holyoke College and left a message for Mark McMenamin asking him if he would be kind enough to take a look at this. Hopefully we will soon be hearing from him. http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/misc/profile/mmcmenam.shtml

 

[IronSpike]

Found a copy coin on sale on e-bay with the palm root (not an exact match).

http://cgi.ebay.com/ANCIENT-GREEK-S...9QQcmdZViewItemQQssPageNameZRSS:B:SRCH:US:102

 

[Silver Searcher]

I would be more interested in what a real coin expert would say.

I just now called the university and left a message for Mark McManim asking him if he would be kind enough to take a look at this. Hopefully we will soon be hearing from him. http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/misc/profile/mmcmenam.shtml

SS.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Found a copy coin on sale on e-bay with the palm root (not an exact match).

http://cgi.ebay.com/ANCIENT-GREEK-S...9QQcmdZViewItemQQssPageNameZRSS:B:SRCH:US:102

A known COPY with ROOTS. Great find IronSpike. Its a bit different but getting closer.

 

[Oroblanco]

Thank you History Hunter for posting the excellent pictures!
Oroblanco

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I thought I would contact Gloria Farley but unfortunately she passed away in 2006. I sent an e-mail to Bart Torbert, President, Gloria Farley Publications Incorporated.


http://www.gloriafarley.com/


http://www.heavener.k12.ok.us/community/local_authors/gloria_farley.htm

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Re: Ancient coin ?

Great post and a good view of the 3 coins.

How come no better pics of the Arkansas coin? It was the Alabama coin that was lost.

The Arkansas coin is severely worn.

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

I wonder how often fake coins get worn from being in circulation.

B

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Heres something interesting. http://www.mtholyoke.edu/news/story/5417859



According to McMenamin, markings on Carthaginian gold coins from 350 BCE showed that Phoenician and Carthaginian mariners had discovered the Americas at least 1,300 years before the Vikings might have dropped anchor off North America.

...now McMenamin's idea has appeared in a completely new venue--in the latest novel by one of the nation's leading adventure writers: Clive Cussler.

In their new novel, The Navigator, Cussler and coauthor Paul Kemprecos use McMenamin's theory, with full credit to the Mount Holyoke scholar, to underpin the book's premise: an ancient Phoenician statue will lead those who can understand its secrets to gold aplenty buried in the Americas many centuries ago.

"Cussler and Kemprecos took elements of the Corvo statue account, the mysterious Farley coins, and my map-coin theory to weave a thrilling tale. Further testing of map-coin theory is now in order to help us determine the true extent of Phoenician navigation. I predict that more surprises are in store."

Corvo statue? Farley coins?

"The Farley coins (named for Gloria Farley, who was first to publish an extensive account) are a mysterious series of bronze medals with Phoenician imagery (such as an uprooted palm tree) that have been reported from find sites across North America from Massachusetts to Nebraska."

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Here is something interesting that McMeniman discovered on a Carthagenian gold coin.

​

This detail of a gold coin shows what McMenamin believes is a map of the Mediterranean area, surrounded by Europe, Britain, Africa, and (at left) the Americas. The image appears on coins minted in Carthage between 350 and 320 BC

 

[Oroblanco]

That coin found by Prof McMenamin sure is strange, and if it is a map, it is one of the oldest in existence. What bothers me about it is that Carthage made some attempts to keep America a secret from the other civilizations, not totally successful or we could not have those passages in Diodorus, Plutrach and Aristotle, but considering that their attempted colony was ordered removed, wouldn't it be odd for them to then portray a correct map to the place they were making such profits? I know McMenamin thought perhaps the government did not approve of the "map on a coin" and ordered it stopped as soon as they caught it, thus explaining why so few examples have been found. On the other hand, we just don't have a great many Punic coins period, so it is likely there could have been more.

It will be interesting to follow this one, whether it is a modern reproduction or an ancient "limes" type coin made in imitation of Punic coins struck (on the model of Syracusan coins as mentioned eariler) it is a MOST unusual thing to find in America, even if a handful of similar ones have been found. If it were my own, I would send it to David Sear and spend the few bucks to have an official verdict.

A study done on ancient coins found in America by Dr Epstein some years ago, which concluded that ALL ancient coins found in America were lost in modern times; however Dr. Epstein did not examine a single one of the Punic coins found nor address their origins. The coins listed by Gloria Farley are not the only Punic coins found in America, there are reports of gold and silver coins having been found in Tennessee and Georgia, and Numidian bronze coins in Ohio and Idaho; Numidia was a part of the Carthaginian empire for many years.

That book by Cussler sounds like it would be a good read, may have to hunt up a copy, thank you!
Oroblanco

 

[Dano Sverige]

Heres something interesting. http://www.mtholyoke.edu/news/story/5417859



According to McMenamin, markings on Carthaginian gold coins from 350 BCE showed that Phoenician and Carthaginian mariners had discovered the Americas at least 1,300 years before the Vikings might have dropped anchor off North America.

...now McMenamin's idea has appeared in a completely new venue--in the latest novel by one of the nation's leading adventure writers: Clive Cussler.

In their new novel, The Navigator, Cussler and coauthor Paul Kemprecos use McMenamin's theory, with full credit to the Mount Holyoke scholar, to underpin the book's premise: an ancient Phoenician statue will lead those who can understand its secrets to gold aplenty buried in the Americas many centuries ago.

"Cussler and Kemprecos took elements of the Corvo statue account, the mysterious Farley coins, and my map-coin theory to weave a thrilling tale. Further testing of map-coin theory is now in order to help us determine the true extent of Phoenician navigation. I predict that more surprises are in store."

Corvo statue? Farley coins?

"The Farley coins (named for Gloria Farley, who was first to publish an extensive account) are a mysterious series of bronze medals with Phoenician imagery (such as an uprooted palm tree) that have been reported from find sites across North America from Massachusetts to Nebraska."

Lol,funny how things turn out. I'll admit when i first found this thread and read what it was about,i'd just finished reading "the navigator",and this influenced my "closed minded americans" outbust! (Facinates me,coincidences like that.)
As with all Cusslers books,the first chapter is the "historical" part which lays the groundwork for the story,in fact it's 2 chapters this time,the second deals with Thomas Jefferson.All fiction i know,but as seen above,based on known historical facts.
It is very interesting.

 

[IronSpike]

Great post and a good view of the 3 coins.

How come no better pics of the Arkansas coin? It was the Alabama coin that was lost.

The Arkansas coin is severely worn.

Severely worn? The Arkansas coin was given to the author. How come no better pics in the age of internet?

I thought I would contact Gloria Farley but unfortunately she passed away in 2006. I sent an e-mail to Bart Torbert, President, Gloria Farley Publications Incorporated.


http://www.gloriafarley.com/


http://www.heavener.k12.ok.us/community/local_authors/gloria_farley.htm

Look forward to the feedback from Bart Torbert

History Hunter this is an awesome find I voted Banner in my 3rd reply (real or fake), but can only vote once