Coin and Paper Money Collecting/question about coin

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Expert: - 2/22/2011


Question

front of coin
my husband found this coin in a river when he was a child, we have ask around yet noone can tell us anything about the coin. we would love to know what you think, sending you a pic of the coin from both front and back, yet the pic dont do justice, has what looks like foreign words and 3 crosses on both sides hopefully you can help!

Answer
Hi Shanta,
This is one of those esoteric items.
I can safely say it's not a coin, but a privately made medallion. Such items are often difficult or impossible to attribute, since many private companies did not keep and/or save records of individual products back in antiquity. I can also tell you that it is most likely of French origin, since the "three crosses" you mention are actually the triple fleur-de-lis of France.
I may be able to give you some more historical information on the piece if you can send clear and close up pictures, though I may not be able to give you an exact value.
If you can take clear and close up pictures, my e-mail is BetweenEarthnSky@yahoo.com
Thanks for the question! =)

Dmitry Livshits

Expertise

My specialty is world coins from the 18th to 20th centuries, primarily non-US foreign coins and related areas such as errors and exonumia (tokens, medals, etc.). I can answer questions relating to identification, grading, selling, preservation and evaluation of such items. In addition to catalog value, I can give you the practical market value and trends for specific types of coins. I will also take questions regarding counterfeits (both modern and antique) and on how to identify them. I am NOT knowledgeable in paper money/banknotes, ancient or "shipwreck" coins. Thank you.

Experience

Collector of world coins since early childhood. Access to a variety of auction records and reference material. You can also find me on Facebook.

Education/Credentials
A.S. in Psychology (2006), B.A. in Forensic Psychology (2008), M.A. in Forensic Psychology (2011).

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