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