Expert: Dmitry Livshits - 9/26/2009

Question
I just acquired what I think is a trading token.  It is copper, just over 33mm in diameter, and weighs almost exactly one ounce within a tenth of a gram or so.  It is about 3.3mm thick and has knurling, not milling, around the edge.  It has the date 1760 at the bottom of one side, there is a period after the date.  There are two arrows forming a cross on this side with the feathered ends at the bottom on either side of the date.  The arrows cross as 90 degrees to each other but both are rotated 45 degrees.  There is a crown between the pointed ends of the arrows at the top of the side.  From left to right in the middle of this side are the characters 2.ÖR which are located to the left of the crossed arrows and S.M. which are located to the right of the crossed arrows.  The periods I have written between the characters are actually not periods as in the previous sentence, they are dots located in the middle of the character height.  On the other side of the token in the middle is a coat of arms with what appears to be a lion on its hind legs facing to the left.  The coat of arms includes a large crown at the top of this side.  There are three other smaller crowns located at 3, 6, and 9 o'clock.  The characters A and F are at 10 o'clock and 11 o'clock respectively.  S and G are at 1 o'clock and 2 o'clock respectively.  V is at 4:30 and R is at 7:30.

Can you tell me anything about this token?

Answer
Hi Owen,
Rather than a token, you have an early 2 ore coin from Sweden ("ore" is the Scandinavian equivalent of our cent). This series is popular with collectors due to many of the dates having a low mintage. The 1760 date also has a low mintage of 558,000 coins. Many of these are found in the ground and have significant surface corrosion or other environmental damage. Such examples can usually be found for $5-$10. A decent example with an original smooth surface goes up to the $20-$30 range. If you have a more scarce high grade example, the value increases to $30-$50+ and tops out at around $75.
Thanks for the question! =)