I know its a pendant but what are the markings

txkickergirl

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My brother found it and it was in really nasty shape, so I took it home and cleaned it up a bit and was surprised to find how detailed it really was. I don't think its ancient, it could be modern but it also could be mid 1800's to early 1900's. It is mexican as it states around the cross states united mexico, the cross is a caravaca cross, which the symbol dates back to the moores, and these style crosses were carried over to mexico when the padres came. Note the angles and the skull at the bottom. The design of the angels tell me that it was made no earlier than the victorian age.

Now the opposite side has me stumped, I really thought it was an anchor when it was all cruddy looking, I still think it might be, but it is so detailed and I have never seen markings like it. I was thinking it might have something to do with Mexican Aztec but not sure. Have any of you seen anything like it before?
 

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Looks like it was crafted from a silver coin. I'll take a shot at the symbolism. Some are obvious. The hand is likely El Mano Ponderosa, the Hand of Power, the powerful hand of God. There are prayers to go with it. Somewhat occult, but popular.

"O Powerful Hand of God! I place my Christian soul before you, and in my despair and anguish, beseech you to aid me with your almighty power. At your feet I place the devotion of my sorrowful heart that I might be delivered from my suffering. May the loving kindness of your power help me and give me strength and wisdom to live in peace and happiness. (Here present your petitions). Amen."

If you look closely, you may find that the hand is wounded but not bleeding. Are there letters on the lower crossbar of the cross?
 

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Is that a skull and crossbones on the bottom of cross? Where did you find this?
 

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I thought the hand might represent the right hand of God. So that goes along with my thinking. Yes the words on the cross bar is Cara Vaca.
thanks for the insight, I was also thinking it looked more like a coin but dang that was some serious work on it if so. I do believe it to be silver or atleast contain silver.
 

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Then it is a Caravaca Cross. The cross commemorates the miracle at Caravaca de la Cruz (Spain) and was widely disseminated by the Franciscans who were, of course, very active in Mexico. Really nice work. Might be made from an old Uno Peso (I think you can see the UNO).

While I still suspect the hand is the powerful hand of God, the severed hand appears in more than one context in Mexico, most of them related in one way or another. Sometimes in more frank depictions associated with an ancient death cult, it appears with bare arm bones with the hand intact. It all probably rolls together as an enduring image.
 

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This was found along the banks of a brackish river when the water was down.
 

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thanks my brother thought it was junk, but I knew it was something interesting and snagged it for cleaning.

any thoughts on the bird, also about halfway down on the right it looks to me like a ship wheel
 

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The cross of Caravaca is a double-cross-barred crucifx on which the figure of Jesus is flanked by two winged angels who kneel in postures of prayer. The arms of the saviour are nailed to the upper cross-bar, and the supplementary cross-bar projects widely to the sides. The original of this cross appeared miraculously in the Spanish town of Caravaca during the 14th century. It is said to contain a fragment of the True Cross upon which Jesus was crucified. Caravaca is known to archaeologists as the site of one of the oldest settlements in Spain, to occultists as a former stronghold of the mysterious Knights Templar, and to historians as a military fortress occupied during the struggle to oust the Moors and re-establish Christiantity in Spain.

In Mexico, the cross of Caravaca has been a popular religious amulet since colonial times. Some say that a copy of the original was the first Christian cross brought to Mexico, others tell me that the copy was brought to Mexico by Fr. Junipero Serra and carried by him as he travelled through Mexico and California. In either case, the cross of Caravaca is a major element in Mexican and Mexican-American religious folklore, where it is widely believed to have special powers to grant wishes and prayers.

Source: http://www.luckymojo.com/caravaca.html
 

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txkickergirl said:
thanks my brother thought it was junk, but I knew it was something interesting and snagged it for cleaning.

any thoughts on the bird, also about halfway down on the right it looks to me like a ship wheel

The bird could be a swallow. Do some research on the Swallow as a Christian symbol.

DCMatt
 

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For what it may be worth:
Cara means 'face' and vaca means 'cow'. IMO, as shown in the top pic, I see the image of an entire cow, facing and walking left--located under the upside down "V" of the eagle's legs. The head of the cow is immediately below the base of that upside down "V".
 

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Interesting but I just don't see a cow in the pic, but I will take another long look at it when I get home today.
 

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txkickergirl said:
Interesting but I just don't see a cow in the pic, but I will take another long look at it when I get home today.

Caravaca is the name of the town in Spain where the miracle occured. The strict translation does not refer directly to the cross but to the town.

As indicated earlier, this is sometimes called a "Wishing Cross" - a good luck charm of sorts.

DCMatt
 

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yeah here in south texas the culture believes strongly in that kind of stuff. They burn candles, and do something with eggs and the evil eye, and wear or carry good luck pieces.
 

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Tony in SC said:
That is COOL :o :o. We don't find stuff like that in Carolina ;D. Tony

We don't find the old old coins or relics in our part of the world like you do. Even though certain parts of Texas were populated not our neck of woods, even when it belonged to mexico our area was remote and desolote then add the canibal indians we had and you can see why settlers just skirtted this area and moved elsewhere. We honestly do really good to find a silver rosie down here and perhaps a few mercs but thats it.
 

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Yeah, but you've got some terrific old places down there. If only we had the magical gift of recreating the 16th and 17th century beds and crossing on the Rio Grande and the Pecos. But the old Spanish traveling back and forth weren't sure where they were and kept mixing things like river names all the way across Texas back in the time they were desperately trying to find out where La Salle's evil French had set up shop. Not that La Salle had any better idea where he was himself.
 

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