ancient medalion and ring

[fathead]

Hello to all,

I am very new to this, so if this item is common, I apologize. I also apologize for no pictures. I am a bit behind the curve in most things.

I went out detecting in a local stream today because my state (MD) is still under a foot of snow. After pulling a bunch of nails, I got a strong signal that danced from iron to $1 and back again. It was very large so I began to move the stones and silt with my foot. After digging some more with my toe, I saw an exhilarating site. A large perfectly round medallion. Needless to say, I almost dove in after it. Not bright at 26 degrees. Once I secured it, I reswept the hole and got another hit solidly in the pull tab zone. You guys say to dig everything so I did. Imagine my excitement when I pulled up a ring that seemed to match the medallion perfectly. I was hoping someone out there could help me figure out what they are and where they came from.

The medallion- round, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter, with a raised edge. It has a neatly cut inverted teardrop space missing at the top (perhaps for a chain?) There is some writing on it, but I think it is Latin. The letters P A B S T have been punched into the metal.

The ring- seems to be the missing inverted teardrop from the medallion. It has been cold riveted onto a rolled and flattened ring. The teardrop has been curled up but almost assuredly fits the medallion. It isn't silver (white gold or platinum?) Please help.

 

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[Mackaydon]

Strangely, the Pabst Brewery in Pabst, Georgia issued a medallion of that same diamenter. You can view it at 'www.worthpoint.com' and look up 'dedication medallion 1971 Pabst Georgia'. Or put all that in Google and it should appear.

 

[allan]

Ok I will bite, w/o a pic a good guess may be a lid from a cheap beer brand can.if you can get a pic of the ring its quite possible we could nail down the date within a few years . sometimes these relics are found with a metalic scroll possibly in a tublar welded form . I would say that you prolly have a blue ribbon find! by the way I was from the Mount Joy region just north of you

 

[allan]

Since you are fairly close to york there is a meeting on the Sesquehanna river and its relevance to the battle of Gettysburg http://ydr.inyork.com/ci_14057290?source=rss

 

[fathead]

Thanks for the info. I like the blue ribbon find comment. I was getting frustrated by digging junk in freezing water for the last two days. I actually got excited by the PBR can top for a second. I felt a little foolish standing in a river with my pulse racing over a beer can top and pull tab. Thanks for letting me waste your time. I will pull this post in an hour.


-Taylor

 

[trikikiwi]

Thanks for the info. I like the blue ribbon find comment. I was getting frustrated by digging junk in freezing water for the last two days. I actually got excited by the PBR can top for a second. I felt a little foolish standing in a river with my pulse racing over a beer can top and pull tab. Thanks for letting me waste your time. I will pull this post in an hour.


-Taylor

You're not going to pull the post without a decent Welcome to TreasureNet
WELCOME TO T'NET

Cheers, Mike

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Hello to all,

I am very new to this, so if this item is common, I apologize. I also apologize for no pictures. I am a bit behind the curve in most things.

I went out detecting in a local stream today because my state (MD) is still under a foot of snow. After pulling a bunch of nails, I got a strong signal that danced from iron to $1 and back again. It was very large so I began to move the stones and silt with my foot. After digging some more with my toe, I saw an exhilarating site. A large perfectly round medallion. Needless to say, I almost dove in after it. Not bright at 26 degrees. Once I secured it, I reswept the hole and got another hit solidly in the pull tab zone. You guys say to dig everything so I did. Imagine my excitement when I pulled up a ring that seemed to match the medallion perfectly. I was hoping someone out there could help me figure out what they are and where they came from.

The medallion- round, about 2 1/2 inches in diameter, with a raised edge. It has a neatly cut inverted teardrop space missing at the top (perhaps for a chain?) There is some writing on it, but I think it is Latin. The letters P A B S T have been punched into the metal.

The ring- seems to be the missing inverted teardrop from the medallion. It has been cold riveted onto a rolled and flattened ring. The teardrop has been curled up but almost assuredly fits the medallion. It isn't silver (white gold or platinum?) Please help.

Please dont remove this thread. I enjoyed your satire. This is better than the Frankendeer. Welcome to TreasureNet.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Am I the only person that finds this funny?

Heres a pic of an ancient medallion that I found at an old river crossing, however mine seems to lack the Latin inscription. Its possibly of British origin and possibly hammered. But it may also be French because I see the word dispose'. Mine is also 2-1/2 inch in diameter with a raised lip, unfortunately its a little bent, which is common with dug artifacts. What makes mine unique is that you can clearly see the flattened ring still in place cold riveted to the inverted teardrop looking part...Truly a work of art. My research reveals these are usually found detached and often in a curled state. This should make my medallion more valuable. I agree its not silver. Its a very light metal, so I would rule out white gold or platinum. Heres my pic and I hope you enjoy.

 

[Mackaydon]

BCH:
Nice find!!
I think it's Roman. It you rotate the image 180 degrees for proper alignment, you can make out at least an L (50) and an M (1000) inside the ring. It must be part of the date of this artifact.
Don.....

 

[allan]

I found it quite humorous, also this quote here "Its possibly of British origin and possibly hammered." I believe that since the ancient seal is intact that nobody got" hammered" lol

 

[SkyPirate]

Wow! You are very new to this. How old are you? Never saw a beer can before?

 

[SkyPirate]

I bet you it's aluminum!

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I bet you it's aluminum!

Some of the old Pabst beer cans were steel with an aluminum top so it appears the can itself rusted away leaving the "medallion."

 

[fathead]

Wow! Thanks for the great response. There definitely seems to be two camps on this find. I appreciate all of my supporters. My wife seems to agree with the others who doubt my intelligence levels. Because we as a treasure hunting community could not agree...

As a follow up, I took my ring and medallion to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. I came in the front door with a briefcase handcuffed to my wrist and demanded to see the curator. Needless to say, this got everyone's attention. I immediately found myself surrounded by security guards with their guns drawn! (Their training needs some work though as many of their weapons were trained on me.)

Once they cleared the building, they allowed me to open my case. They quickly (and forcibly) removed me from the property. I then realized that they only dealt in Americana. Clearly, they didn't have anyone who could read Latin. I felt embarrassed (for them) and went home.

I am looking for some affordable airfare to Rome. I think that maybe an Italian scholar could settle this matter once and for all.

Thanks again for your continued support and advice. -Taylor



PS- I am totally jealous of the in tact medallion and ring set.