Expert: Dmitry Livshits - 2/23/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
I have 3 spoon coins (small spoons made of coins) on one side of the coin are symbols and lines of which I found to match a turkish coin , however on the reverse there is I think arabic writting or similar and what I thought was the date 1771, however on a closer look the date looks more like 17Y1- of course the Y on the coin is pretty crude but looks more like a Y that a 7..my questions is this a date at all?  These coins are not silver but silver toned and measure 3/4" at the middle of coin.  Are these collectible and any idea of their worth?

Thank you

ANSWER: Hi Gerilynn,
I love a good puzzle.
Ottoman coins of this period always had the Hejira date (Islamic year vs. our Gregorian calendar).
In Arabic symbols, 17Y1 would translate to 1671. However, this year has not yet happened as the current Islamic year is only up to 1431.
Genuine coins from this period would have a backwards 7 for the second character, which is the number 2 in Arabic. If the coin was year 1271, it would make perfect sense since that would put it right in the mid to late 1800's.
Also, Ottoman empire coins look very similar for various countries that were part of it (for example, Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia). The Turkish coins always had an ascension date of the current ruler and a second date which would be the year of their rule. With that in mind, there would be no 1271 date on the coin, but rather a date of 1255, 1277 or 1293 (for this period) with a secondary year (1 to 30-ish) that determines the exact year.
I think these may be Egyptian coins, which had very very similar designs to Turkish coins in that period.
Also, for spoons, it may be likely that they used novelty made counterfeit coins for them, rather than waste a genuine coin. That would explain a 7 instead of a backwards 7 for an Arabic 2. These items were often made in Europe by individuals who were not super knowledgeable about the coins they were copying. The result is simple mistakes like this.
If you would like to post a follow-up question with a picture of the coin-spoon, I can probably give you more info.
Thanks for the question! =)

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

QUESTION: Here is a photo of the front of the coin( this is the picture I saw that was almost the same - that is what made me think they were turkish..

Answer
Hi again Gerilynn,
I can say for sure these are not actual coins, but rather specifically made (by a non-Arabic speaking crafts-person). The design is much too crude for an actual coin. It's based on the design of Ottoman period Turkish and Egyptian coins, but the maker took some creative license with thye design.
The good news is that it does not affect the value of the spoons. Even if it were a real coin, being bent and soldered would negate any collectible value that the coin may have had.
I am going to paste this into the other follow-up as well.
Thanks again for the questions! =)