I'm hoping to get an identification of this coin. Found today in a colonial archaeological dig site in New England - the site is dated 1640 to 1720 by the State Archaeologist.
The coin appears to be hammered silver, about 1/2 inch in diameter and paper thin - we were afraid it would blow away in the wind. The lines on the graph paper in the pictures are 1/10 inch for reference.
Thanks in advance, any help is greatly appreciated!
It is not surprising. Sailors have been circling the world for centuries, putting coins in their pockets from every port. By 1720, a British sailor, merchant or Navy, in his career could have seen Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Gibraltar, ports around the African coast, many carribean islands, as well as the American colonies. By 1720 the transatlantic shipping trade was robust. Also, Basque and French fishing fleets had seasonal camps and worked the New England and Canadian coastal waters already a century or more before the first Englishman stepped foot on North America.
Furthermore, there was no standard coinage in colonial America, at all. English sterling coin when they could be had, were immediately sent back to England to purchase needed supplies, so circulating coin was anything and everything that could pass. if it was made of silver, it could be spent.
Jamais l'or n'a perdu la plus petite occasion de se montrer stupide. -Balzac
