Expert: Dmitry Livshits - 2/19/2011

Question
QUESTION: Hi Dmitri and thanx in advance.I have a medallion that is large 3 cm diameter, gold colour and from the one side says:IOHANNES XXIII PONTIFEX MAXIMVS and the other side says:CONCILIVM VATICANVM SECVNDVM 1962.I want to know what is the price of that please.

ANSWER: Hi Bill,
This appears to be a privately made gold medallion. There was an official gold medallion made that year as well, with a similar design on this side.
I saw this coin listed on eBay and the other side which is stamped .900 at the bottom. There appears to be a darker color where there is wear on the higher points, like the forehead. It may be the result of camera flash and the angle it was photographed from, but it has the appearance of gold gilding. Solid gold would not have a color change when it becomes worn.
Also, 5 grams seem s too light for a gold coin that is 3cm, unless it is unusually thin.
Because it is a privately made item, it may not be possible to find an exact attribution. Especially if the piece is falsely stamped gold and made of brass, then the maker would not want to leave any historical evidence.
If it is genuine, the value would really be in the gold weight. There are not too many Vatican collectors that would pay much of a premium beyond the gold value. Although it can sell in a coin shop for more, it would take a long time to sell.
Thanks for the question! =)

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

QUESTION: Dmitri thanx for the answer,my medallion is 18 gramms not 5gramms.It is gold because i test it with acid.Anyway you are very kind and you informed perfectly,thank you very much!!!

Answer
Oh ok, I was referring to the one with the same picture that was on eBay, which was described as 5 grams.
You would be much better off with such a piece if you had it graded by NGC. A lot of collectors will not trust buying a gold item that they cannot reference.
Thanks again! =)