melted coin or large button?

Bharpring

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Dec 29, 2016
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Savannah, GA
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I dug this today in Savannah, GA and suspect it is either an old melted copper coin or large brass button. Maybe someone can ID it?

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Hmm looks more like a button are there ridges in the edge or flat
 

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Hmm looks more like a button are there ridges in the edge or flat

The edges are flat, no reeds. Its very large. I will post some better pics in the morning.
 

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This looks amazingly similar to our 1844 Lower Canada Half Penny, I dig a couple of these every year. :thumbsup:
These were typically used in Eastern Canada, specifically in Quebec and Eastern Ontario

Seeing as you likely found it in Georgia... I'm probably seeing things. :laughing7:

Here's what they look like,
Dave
 

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What is its diameter at the widest point and how thick is it?
 

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I'm thinking its a button. Here are some more pictures.

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What is its diameter at the widest point and how thick is it?

Its about 36mm diameter and thinner than a US wheat cent. I just posted some more pictures in the comments.
 

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Wow. Toasty. Is it bronze?

Based on type and amount of deterioration, I say not a coin.

It seems too big to be a button. Token of some sort? :dontknow:

I see a 'crown in wreath' pattern.

J5Y259.jpg
 

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Great ID! I have a few in my collection, and love how big and thin they are. I wonder what that coin was doing in GA! Really cool find, and great that you were able to find an ID!

Yes, Bramblefind's ID is amazing in and of itself! Only about 20% of the coin (and only on one side) was identifiable. I found this at an old homesite in the downtown area of Savannah where there is very little real estate. The house is only 1930s, but the area goes way back. I can only imagine that someone from Brazil was visiting Savannah and dropped the coin?
 

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Yes, Bramblefind's ID is amazing in and of itself! Only about 20% of the coin (and only on one side) was identifiable. I found this at an old homesite in the downtown area of Savannah where there is very little real estate. The house is only 1930s, but the area goes way back. I can only imagine that someone from Brazil was visiting Savannah and dropped the coin?

I actually have a theory that some of these coppers from Brazil circulated with the coinage in the US. Particularly during the Hard Times era and pre-Civil War. At a port city like Savannah there were probably a number of different types of coins that could pass. Also during the Civil War any coin was scarce - especially in the South.

Many of the 1830s Brazilian Reis coins were actually minted in Belleville, New Jersey.

Its a neat find - I'll remember it in case I ever decide to write a paper about my theory!
 

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I actually have a theory that some of these coppers from Brazil circulated with the coinage in the US. Particularly during the Hard Times era and pre-Civil War. At a port city like Savannah there were probably a number of different types of coins that could pass. Also during the Civil War any coin was scarce - especially in the South.

Many of the 1830s Brazilian Reis coins were actually minted in Belleville, New Jersey.

Its a neat find - I'll remember it in case I ever decide to write a paper about my theory!

Interesting info!

All manner of foreign coins were legal tender in the United States until 1857. Many of them stayed in circulation for decades afterward.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinage_Act_of_1857
 

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