This had me going for a bit, not gold.

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I found this about a foot deep, I saw the first half of the date and got pretty excited but turns out it's a commemorative coin from the the 70's. Oh well, it's still kind of neat. Big ol' token.


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The Mint began striking these small bronze medals for collectors back in the 1970s. This particular medal is/was part of the Mint's "Official Mint Medals and Historic Buildings" series and is catalogued as number 751 on the Mint's list.

When a portion of the Old San Francisco Mint was re-opened for public visitation in 1973 as a museum, it featured an old coining press on which visitors could strike their own souvenir medal; the same medals were also available over the counter. My understanding is that the medals struck for sale at the Old Mint carried the "S" mint mark.

The Old San Francisco Mint building design seen on the medal's obverse was created by Sherl J Winter, an engraver at the US Mint in Philadelphia; you can see his initials "SJW" just below the building at the far right.

The Old Mint Museum was closed in 1993. From time to time, the Mint has struck additional copies of the medal in Philadelphia; these medals do not have a mintmark. Similar medals have been struck for each of the Mint facilities over the years.
 

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Cool token recovery! :occasion14:
 

Not gold but nevertheless a cool find...and a good back story! I'm on a quest for gold myself and recently suffered cardiac arrest due to an arcade token that resembled old gold, complete with eagle and stars on the reverse...grrr! Great post, thx ddf.
 

12 inches wow great find though...
 

Cool token! Might not be gold, but it sure beats a rusty nail :icon_thumright:
 

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