Coin and Paper Money Collecting/3 Old coins

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Expert: Brad Swain - 12/5/2009


Question

3 Old coins
Hi,

I was at an auction and I picked up this lot of old world coins. Most of it is just junk with some old silver but there are 3 that I am not sure what to make of them. ( 4 but I think it is roman and I will include that in another question ). They are all fairly large. The biggest is on the right of the picture and is about the size of a Morgan Silver dollar however it is also about twice as thick. Starting from the left it is a little bigger then a US Kennedy Half dollar. I don't know what to make of this coin. It has what looks like a counter stamp on one side  possibly an "ABB". The other side has something that looks like a 3 with a diamond. The middle one is pretty thick and slightly uneven with a loaf like look around the edge (rounded on the front and more of a straight look to the back, and about the size of a US Half Dollar with a man facing to the right and a woman with a pillar or possibly another person with a crown on the reverse. No numbers or letters that I can decipher. The 3rd on the right is very big. About the size of a Morgan Silver Dollar and 2x as thick. It has what looks like a Bird standing on possibly an arrow and what looks like Greek lettering. I don't know what to say about the front. It may be an orgy of people or a hunt or battle. I don't know. I hope the scan helps. If you need a better scan I can do up to 4800 DPI.

Any help on identifying and value for these would be great.

Thanks.

Answer
Hi Alex, the two on the right appear to be ancient Roman.
You might try your question on those here: http://forums.collectors.com/categories.cfm?catid=6 .
The one on the left is a copper Turkish 40 para dated 1255 with regnal year 20 (1859). There were 14 million minted that year and it may be worth about $1 to $2 with that amount of wear. The interesting thing is the round 10 millimeters counterstamp. It may have been applied and used in eastern Aden, south of Saudi Arabia along the Indian Ocean coast (now Yemen and Oman).
The PCGS forum mentioned above may also be able to provide more details or you might also try your question on the South Asia Coin Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/southasia-coins/ .
You might also try a library for a copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins for pictures, values and lots more interesting info.
Brad

Brad Swain

Expertise

I have been a World Coin and Paper Money collector since about 1965. I will be glad to answer any questions you may have on World coins or currency, tokens, unusual or unknown pieces and attempt to give you estimates of value and historical information about them in a polite and prompt manner.

Experience

45 years collecting coins and paper money.

Education/Credentials
BA History, BA Geography - Virginia Tech

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