The link at the end of my reply to Bob fell into the ether. It is:
https://secretvisitors.wordpress.com/2011/01/26/ptolemy-iv-coin-found-in-queensland-part-1/
Denis
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Denis Gojak
PO Box 457Newtown NSW 2042Australia
e [log in to unmask] 0400 474 405
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----- Original Message -----
From: "HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY"
To:
Cc:
Sent:Tue, 13 Dec 2016 09:26:20 +1100
Subject:Re: please help identify this coin-pendant? Canaanite? Celtic?
Fake?
Hi Bob
I vote MODERN based on :
* No matches for any combination of coin / medal / cow / bull
search
terms on Google Images. This should have reasonable capture as coin
motifs are carefully described. I also tried the image
match feature, but all I got was everything that looked like a
brown circle. So, no readily apparent ancient analogues, but your
student could learn a lot from going to a good well-illustrated
ancient coin website and just scanning through the candidates for a
few hours. Consider it character-building.
* As you noted, surprisingly well-centred if it was a die-struck
coin. It looks very much as if cast, rather than struck. This
doesn't exclude it but ups the odds of an ancient / recent / modern
crappy replica.
* Lack of wear. The profile view shows the central elements to be
proud of the rim. There is no sign of rounding or general wear on
the rim or any elevated parts of the design. Again, not a
deal-breaker, but makes you think cynical thoughts.
* Reverse face looks very characteristic of a cast piece. Apart
from the well-formed central circle - possibly struck later - the
'writing' seems to lack consistent size or shapes and may be an
artefact of casting. You could get a better sense by doing a
rubbing
or a pull using plasticene.
* I think you are right about the tiny marks on the rim that
superficially resemble milling.
There is a surprisingly large literature on Old World coins
discovered
in the Americas. Unfortunately most of it is uncritical
pre-columbian migration junk. I'd start with the article by Jerome
Epstein on pre-Columbian coins in Current Anthropology [1980] and
follow through with whoever has cited that. You could also try as
a guide for things to consider when this sort of stuff turns up
announced.
cheers
Denis
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Denis Gojak
PO Box 457Newtown NSW 2042Australia
e [log in to unmask] 0400 474 405
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
----- Original Message -----
From: "HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY"
To:
Cc:
Sent:Mon, 12 Dec 2016 14:36:54 -0600
Subject:please help identify this coin-pendant? Canaanite? Celtic?
Fake?
Folks,
The provenance of this item is little-known (belongs to an aspiring
anthropology student who asked my help to identify it; his only
information is that it was LIKELY "unearthed" along the Rio Grande in
Texas several decades ago). I am hopeful that SOMEONE will recognize
this, or be able to at least provide a clue to its possible origin
(and/or authenticity).
My guessing (so far ... and let me say I have absolutely NO expertise
in
numismatics, and especially not even a smidgeon in the coinage of the
Old World):
The main elements on the obverse (the "gamboling" young bullock, the
seven circles or rings which MAY possibly be interpreted as "eyes,"
and
the upthrust phallus-shaped tail of the bullock) may all be symbols
alluding to the Canaanite god Baal (as in the one referred to in the
Bible as a "golden calf"). If this is a genuine ancient bronze
"hammered" coin, it is amazingly [almost unbelievably so] "centered."
It
has had a suspension-loop attached (soldered on) at a later date
(perhaps by a modern jeweler), which may also account for the tooling
marks seen on a small portion of the edge (that at first glance
appear
possibly to be the machined "reeding" of modern coins, but since it
is
not continuous, may also be simply the marks made by the jaws of a
vice
that gripped the item securely whilst the loop was attached) ... as
well
as the gilding (which is mostly worn-off)?
In any case, the /verso/ is not as well-preserved, but appears to
have
some type of inscription in an alphabet that I do not recognize. Do
you
recognize this as script?
In your opinion, is this pendant made of a genuine ancient coin, or
is
it a modern fake?
Image here:
http://skiles.net/golden-calf-coin-pendant.jpg
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