Expert: Dmitry Livshits - 8/14/2011

Question
Hello, Dmitry. I have a coin that I have been studying for a while now and while studying I found that you have answered some ones question about a coin much similar. This coin is has S.GEORGIVS.EQVITVM.PATRONVS on one side with of course St. George killing the dragon with a spear underneath the horse he is riding. On the other side it reads "IN TEMPERSTATE SECVRIVAS" (Security from the storm) With the fishing boat that fisherman and Jesus is on. But this particular coin is much smaller than the 42mm coin that I saw you answer for. This coin is about 20-22mm (not including the bit of metal that I assume used to be a tab or ring on the top). The casting is fairly low quality (the coin has uneven thickness). I think that the outside (plating) is silver, but I cannot determine the base metal (inside). This coin has no yellowing of the outside metal, yet the details of the coin (face of george, detailing of the dragon, faces of sailors and jesus, etc.) are all low quality or non-existent compared to the 42mm one you studied. But these low-qualities are not because of ware (I see no visible scratches or tarnishing of the coin, it still has nice luster) I was also wondering if the older coins had the ring on the top of them (because mine looks like just in imperfection of the casting process). Thank You very much and I am very sorry that I do not have a picture to give to you! I tried my best to describe exactly what I see in front of me!
-Ian

Answer
Hi Ian,
The 42mm example was actually a bit unusual, as most them them are in the 20mm range such as yours.
The crude examples are usually the older types and often had a loop or hook so it can be worn. Later types may not have such a loop because they are meant as collectible items, but in early times sailors actually would wear them.
As far as dating the coin - that's always a challenge. They were often done by individual smithys and teh casting methods and amterials were the same for examples from the 1600's and 1700's. Later examples are pretty easy to tell apart from earlier ones, but narrowing the range may not be possible to do with any real accuracy.
As I mentioned in the other question, value on these types of items is not significant unless you have one that is both early and crafted in high quality.
Thanks for the question! =)