I'm new here and i'll appreciate if someone could help me with the below coin which i purchased on the flea market…
Paid only 1 $ for it as somehow was looking old and legit(nice patina); diameter is ~66 mm ; weight 74-75 gr.(digital scale was oscillating between these numbers..); more than 3 mm thick..
all i managed to figure out is that has the symbols of the currency tong bao but the rest and the reverse of it is a mystery for me.
Welcome to numista, did you try to search by image?
I've read the policy before posting of course; i missed something? if yes pls. let me know.-thx in advance!
I searched all database by image and couldn't find it unfortunately…
You did everything possible, so let's hope somebody will be able to help you further.
hope so.. after i bought it i went to local Chinese store for help to translate it.. the guy looked at it and had a phone conv. in chinese , of course i didn't understood nothing, in the end he didn't told me anything but when i was leaving he want to offer me 40$ …this made me looking further into it ….:)
and found nothing! I'm a bit worried about the side “floral” of the coin, since it's really out of style for a cash coin. Maybe it's a token of some kind?
@gros-I'll check the patina as i finish work and revert- thx. for the tip!
@Sjoelund - i know as the floral(or dragons can't see it exactly) was suspicious for me also; however charms usually don't have the currency symbols on it as i know but maybe i'm wrong…
Agree with Gros, more like a charm and definitely not a coin. The patina does look suspicious and taking into account the price you paid I think you have a fake charm.
So made the test with boiling and no oil appeared ; seems the patina is real not faked
the fact i bought it cheap is irrelevant as the seller has no clue what is selling; the goods come from emptied houses from Sweden/Denmark and everything in that properties is sold bulk to them; they bring all here and sell all on flea market..; when i bought this coin i also purchased an old game from Nepal (Bagh Chal) for 2 $ …is worth over 100…seems to me like previous owner traveled in that area…
It is an amulet/charm of some kind, probably not ancient, likely made in the 20th century. I would take the $40 offer personally, as these usually don't sell for more than $10 on ebay.
It is not a coin but a charm with obverse “Guangxu Tongbao” (penultimate emperor of China).
Reverse shows a common depiction of a fenghuang -a sort of phoenix- (on left) and a dragon (on right). It is basically a blessing for a balanced relation between a wife and a husband. Kind of yin/yang balance.
Sapientiae plerumque stultitia est comes.
Si c'est un grand plaisir d'être reconnu par ses amis, c'est peut-être encore plus flatteur d'être reconnu par ses adversaires.
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.
