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 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Denis Gojak PO Box 457Newtown NSW 2042Australia e [log in to unmask] 0400 474 405 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----- 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