more like...what might have this been?

finderskeepers

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Jul 26, 2012
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Hi and thanks for taking a minute to look. This piece is pretty toasted, but curiosity just won't loosen it's grip. I dug this from a homesite that best guess says saw activity between 1640-1780. Not much in the way off visual clues though my brain keeps swearing it sees a head and bust(profile) facing right in pics 1,2,3. Just not sure if I'm really seeing it or just really want to see it? Shots #4 & #5 have been turned 180 degrees from 1,2 &3. I've looked with 30x microscope, and see mostly toast LOL...but as above sometimes I swear I'm seeing 2 different series of 3 raised dots appearing to be part of a larger circle?

Any possible guesses based on this info...

it appears to be copper
diameter is 1 1/16" or 27mm...also appears ever so slightly irregular, but uniformly so, if that makes any sense.
thickness is .8mm for the first 1/8" all around the outside and increases to 1.1mm at the interior (approx 1" diameter)
it weighs 6 grams on my not so precision kitchen scale

shot # 1.jpg
shot#1
shot # 2.jpg
shot#2
shot # 3.jpg
shot#3
shot # 4.jpg
shot#4
shot # 5.jpg
 

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I think this might be an Upper Canada Half Penny. :icon_scratch: These coins were produced in England for the Provinces of Upper & Lower Canada between 1851 - 1858.

Here are a couple of examples that I've found here in Ontario.
Dave
 

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Could be a Us Large Cent. The one I found came out of the ground in just as bad shape! Just slightly bigger than a quarter. IMG_20130528_104506.jpgIMG_20130530_164905.jpg1798rev.jpg
 

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wOotiez...hmmm. I can't be sure it's not wishful thinking,but man the front side looks very much like what I see with your coin! Is this about the thickness of a dime?
 

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I think this might be an Upper Canada Half Penny. :icon_scratch: These coins were produced in England for the Provinces of Upper & Lower Canada between 1851 - 1858.

Here are a couple of examples that I've found here in Ontario.
Dave

I replied to your post and it seems to have disappeared??

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I'm not so sure...not that any of this is conclusive. Hard to tell with no scale reference but your coins seem larger, my site is 100 years younger than production dates and located in New England. Just going on pics and brief description, WOotiez's post above seems like a potential match.
 

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If you slightly wet the coin(?) (if that is what it is) and then view it using a 5x loupe, usually some details can be made out. Higher power loupes are great for viewing intricate details on coins in Good to better condition but make it almost impossible to see details on such corroded coins! Placing the coin(?) in a Ultrasonic Cleaner on a low setting for several days might remove some of the corrosion and bring some details into view. In the meantime, check out the Early American Coins at the links below, to see if you can match anything you see.

Good luck!

Colonial Coin - Copper Coin - Silver Coin - Gold Coin - World Coin

Colonial Coins - Copper Coins - Silver Coins - Gold Coins - World Coins


Frank
 

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Thank you for the tips Huntsman. My eyes need to close right now. I'll let you know how I make out tomorrow.
 

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Too many possibilities to guess on size alone. Without some detail you'll never know.
 

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Too many possibilities to guess on size alone. Without some detail you'll never know.

This is the response I was expecting...but I had to try. I'm gonna try to get my hands on an ultrasonic cleaner anyway and see if that helps.
 

Upvote 0
If you slightly wet the coin(?) (if that is what it is) and then view it using a 5x loupe, usually some details can be made out. Higher power loupes are great for viewing intricate details on coins in Good to better condition but make it almost impossible to see details on such corroded coins! Placing the coin(?) in a Ultrasonic Cleaner on a low setting for several days might remove some of the corrosion and bring some details into view. In the meantime, check out the Early American Coins at the links below, to see if you can match anything you see.

Good luck!

Colonial Coin - Copper Coin - Silver Coin - Gold Coin - World Coin

Colonial Coins - Copper Coins - Silver Coins - Gold Coins - World Coins


Frank

Thanks again for the tips. I'm actually gonna soak in olive oil for a week or so. I picked it up yesterday to have a peek and the glistening oil made the the bust stand out much more so. I'm not so optimistic about revealing any significant amount more detail, but we'll see.
 

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