Hello everyone....a new member here and out of a sense of desperation I'm hoping to find an expert to help me out. I found a coin which is approximately the size of a nickel. It clearly has written in a straight line across the bottom of the coin "2 CENTS" Above this wording is a very worn shape that to me looks like a lion with its head turned toward the rear portion of its body.

The other side appears to have a crown at the top with a ribbon desending from both sides around a center logo. The center logo is quite worn but has the appearance of a large "C".

I'm preparing a drawing of the coin and would certainly love to share it with anyone who might have some leads. The leading contenders for what this coin are a confederate coin or a colonial coin. I have checked all the coin books I own with zero success. It's the very clear "2 CENTS" that has be guessing its American vice British origin.

On a side note, in the immediate area I found this coin my wife found a large cent but due to its poor condition - I think it was from the 1816 - 1839 period (can't remember for sure).

Feel free to e-mail me for my drawing of the coin but no comments about my lack of drawing skills! e-mail is: ed@goodrow.us

Many thanks to all!
Ed

We gave you the answers here, Mr. Ed.

http://coinpeople.com/index.php?showtopic=2716

In short no.

The British have never had any coin denominated in cents. There are a few rare patterns here and there that were made in the 1960s as a plan to decimalise, including a 2 cent piece. But these were never released, never gained legal tender status and are not considered proper coins. Most Brit collectors don't even know about them.

Unless we count the colonies of course

They were in the 1982 Krause catalog though, and a couple of them were priced in the hundreds of dollars. I avidly looked for an example when I collected British coins.

< Unless we count the colonies of course >
I don't think they ever did either, at least not the ones that became the USA. OUR early colonial pieces were denominated in pence. By the time they started using cents they weren't colonies anymore.

I never count the colonies, they get too complex. Best to sweep them under the carpet and ignore them.

Especially the Isle of Man.

The Straits Settlement used cents. Most others had peculiar denominations, case in point being the Indian ones.

But to be fair out of all of the remaining colony coins (Isle Of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, Gibraltar & Falkland Islands - Have I Missed any?) The Isle of Man has the most interesting but most bizzare collection of the decimal coins

However there was a "square" coin for Ceylon (5 Cents) which I have upstairs

I have a Maltese 2 cents 1972 coin. Beautiful! In 1972 Malta wasn't yet British colony?

I had one of those Ceylon coins.

You'll note that the Isle of Man produces nothing but drivel aimed at the collector's market.

Mircea,Malta became an independent Dominion within the British Commonwealth in
1964,& became a Republic within the British Commonwealth in December 1974.
Malta was a British colony from 1814 to 1964,but it was under British protection from 1800 to 1814.

Aidan.