Expert: Dmitry Livshits - 11/13/2009

Question
QUESTION: Found a coin in a field in Illinois on Nov. 6, 2009. coin is smaller than a dime and has a left facing bust of a man, and on the reverse it has a 1/4. It also shows up as silver on the metal detector. There appears to be a date under the 1/4 mark on the back. I can not make the date out. It appears to be a 184? or a 164?. I have searched the the internet with no results as yet. Thanks for your help.

ANSWER: Hi Kathryn,
Does the coin have the word "franc" below the 1/4 by any chance?
There are several different coin it can be, as well as potentially dozens of non-coin tokens or medallions.
The one that seems to best fit this description would be a 1/4 franc from Belgium, which would most likely be 1844. There is also an 1841 and 1843 date, but these are quite rare.
I have attached a picture of one of these Belgian coins. If this is not what you have, then please post a follow-up question and include a picture. This will allow me to definitively identify the coin.
Thanks for the question! =)

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The coin you show does not look like the one I have. I am sending a scan of the coin. It has been enlarged as the coin itself is quite small.

Answer
Kathryn,
My apologies for the initial mis-identification. I can now say for sure that this is a 1/4 real or reales silver coin from Mexico. I have attached a picture of one with clear details. There are several mints that created these coins, some of which are quite rare. Unfortunately the coin is too worn to be able to read the mint mark. The value in this condition would only be a dollar or two.
Thanks again for the question! =)