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Use Google Chrome as your browser at least for foreign sites because it can translate pages on the fly. Click the Chrome menu on the browser toolbar, looks like 3 dashes one above the other. Select Settings. Scroll to the bottom, Click Show advanced settings. In the "Languages" section, use the "Offer to translate pages that aren't in a language I read" checkbox to adjust this feature. If it does not translate a site that has multiple language versions select any language but English, because most automatically select English for you and they normally only translate some items, by forcing it to use a foreign language Google will translate the whole page.

I like the portrait of George on the second one Scott.

This link http://www.coinpeople.com/index.php?/topic/28731-imitation-spade-guineas/?&p=506831&hl=gaming&fromsearch=1&do=findComment&comment=506831 has a lot of info on the later series "There is an extensive series of over 1,000 different Imitation Spade Guineas" Henry Kettle along with James Davies, Charles James, George Simcox & Wilmore & Alston Co were some of the early issuers of contemporary imitation spade guineas as well as some similar commemorative tokens, some of which are listed in D & H & BHM. Some of these are rare & quite in demand, the later imitations spades were produced in such bulk and are not in the same league. I collect Kettle tokens so to me this is a nice addition, I also have some of Wilmore & Aliston Co and Simcox. Brass 20mm dated 1800 and issued at that time. All imitation spade guineas were not created equal, some of the earliest were made contemporary to the spade guineas themselves(no genuine spades were dated 1800) and were well executed, like this 1/2 spade guinea by George Simcox & Timmins(the S & T below bust) of Livery street Birmingham. George Simcox active from 1791, a buckle & toy maker of Birmingham.

Looks like sad faces, should it not be happy faces or at least a mixture of happy/sad?

Obverse: Standing helmeted and togate figure of Fortuna, holding cornucopia and scales. Legend: OMNIA CUM PONDERE NUMERO & MENSURA(All things by weight, number and measure) Exergue: I.W.S. Reverse: Fortuna seated on wheel, holding sail. Dies to right, Playing Cards to left. Legend: FORTUNA VARIABILIS(Fortune is Variable) Mint Place: Clausthal Mint Periond: 1753-1788 Region: Harz (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany) Mint Master: Johann Wilhelm Schlemm (I.W.S.) Denomination: Rechenpfennig (early Reckoning coin) Copper 28mm. I. W. S. Vide JOHANN WILHELM SCHLEMM. Mint-warden, 1745 ; Mint-master, 1753 ; Mint-director, 1780-1788 of the Clausthal Mint.

This is the first token listed in L. B. Fauver's 1982 "Exonumia Symbolism & Classification: A Catalogue of Kettle Pieces....................." he lists it as Geo III 1793-1b (P) 19-20mm (B2070) R-7. b for brass, R-7 for 10-20 in existence. This was the only one of Kettle's imitation spades that Fauver could not illustrate as he was unable to find an example of it. So though it is not the "prettiest piece", to me it is a "beauty". Neilson Counter # 2470. It is an early imitation half spade guinea, actually struck in 1793, by Henry Kettle with the protruding center turning point of the die leaving its mark on the token. Used originally for use in gambling as a substitute for the real gold guineas so as their weight, hence value, was not compromised by wear(every merchant had a coin weight & balance) the later ones were used for advertising and still used for card games etc and were "back-dated".

http://appfinder.lisisoft.com/ipad-iphone-apps/numismatic.html https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-numismatist-hd/id421841846?mt=8 Not tried them myself, as I collect old commemorative medals, might be worth a look.

To me it still looks genuine. I think that it probably was in the soil at sometime, hence its rather sorry state. It obviously has been cleaned in the past. Ancient silver coins, Russian coins, American silver coins fakes are plentiful, this type of exonumia fakes are almost unheard of, their worth compared to the coins I mentioned is minimal. As I previously stated if the other forum knows of fakes of this piece then that would change things. The Russian forum on this site has loads of fakes, the Web has pages of known ancient silver fakes etc but the poor man's jetons and tokens are almost always the real thing. Just not worth someone's effort to fake them. Contemporary to the jetons some copies might have been made if so they would probably be worth as much today as the real ones. I would certainly buy it or sell it as genuine. Perhaps you should let someone who deals with these have a look at it to be sure. Pat

Hi Nick, sorry but WR (or WRL) is for Westair Reproduction limited, which means it is a modern reproduction and has almost no value. http://www.westair-reproductions.com

Very nice.

Try using a free hosting service like Flickr or Photobucket. Then you can post any size pic, so much easier.

This site shows one courtesy of Spinks http://www.coins-of-the-uk.co.uk/pics/5s.html One sold http://www.vancouvercoins.ca/coins/1662-crown-vf20-obv1-rev1.html This one from Castle Coins http://www.castlecoins.com/html/english_crowns.html : 1662 Charles II Silver Crown, Spink / ESC UNLISTED - EDGE LETTERING CAN BE SEEN BOTH RIGHT WAY UP AND UPSIDE DOWN, First Bust, rose below. Ten strings to harp. Edge reads - . DECVS . ET . TVTAMEN . * - CC Ref # EMCR-167,

These are just 2 christian religious buildings still standing, one free standing & now converted to a mosque, one carved directly into the rock & now surrounded by a town. Many of them have collapsed or the materials been used for other buildings.

The landscape portrayed appears to be in Cappadocia which has a rather unique feature, Fairy Chimneys. “Fairy chimneys" were formed when lava covering the tuff (consolidated volcanic ash) gave way along preexisting cracks of sloping areas and became isolated pinnacles. They can attain a height of up to forty meters, have conical shapes and consist of caps of harder rock resting on pillars of softer rock" I am not sure if the person depicted is male or female(more likely) but seeing the church/monastery/nunnery etc he/she must be involved with religion. The eye & nose(elongated) are very large in comparision with the tiny chin & lips, giving an orthodox icon impression. Why there is no inscription, especially with the empty space on the reverse is puzzling but perhaps who ever had it made expected the person to be known. What I hoped would help in identification, the small heraldic shield, alas has not given up any clues, just more mystery. The triple mound on the reverse could reflect the landscape and strangely a frame saw is either just behind or is cutting through the hills/fairy chimney! Churches, houses etc were commonly carved into the mountain sides & fairy chimneys in Cappadocia but I can not find the one shown on this medal, that is if it is carved into the hillside & not 'free standing'. Somethings are meant to remain a mystery, someone said "an unidentified medal is just a piece of metal" but I am still glad I own this one. Maybe one day someone will post the answer as to what this is............

I think it is Spain-Castile and Leon, John I, 1379-1390 similar to this, you can make out CAS on yours. Sorry I have no more info. Here is the link http://munzeo.com/coin/very-old-hammered-coin-castile-22488631

Are you sure that it is cast? The copper in use normally had lots of impurities and having hundreds of years wear and chemical reaction if exposed to harsh conditions can give an appearance of being cast. Having the piece in hand is a help but even then it can be hard to tell. Mind if the other forum know of cast copies then they are probably right, if not don't write it off too soon.

Great sleuthing Frank. Most of the French ones use IHS not XPS, so perhaps the Venetian connection is correct. Nice, when an uncommon piece surfaces and gives us something to research.

I can find no listing for it. The obverse shows the Virgin Mary & St. John by Christ on the cross with the Sun & Moon by his out stretched arms. The Latin translates as "Mother see your Son".. This was a common depiction of the crucifixion in medieval times. The reverse is more of a puzzle but the XPS stands for Christ and seems to say "Christ has made for us our bed" meaning Christ has prepared a place of rest for us in Heaven(by sacrificing himself on the cross) the instruments of the Passion are depicted, crown of thorns, chalice, torch, lantern, pillar of flagellation, cockerel, ladder, 30 pieces of silver etc. I would guess that it is circa 16/17th century, a fabulous find.

I do enjoy the research but to receive such praise from you Ian is especially rewarding! My pleasure to have been, indirectly, of help to you Tom. Thanks for letting me know, many people post an item seeking info on it & when you provide it they never even bother to post a reply of thanks.

Here is the real deal http://numismatics.org/collection/1944.94.2 with the weight etc, IMHO yours looks to be a modern copy

Now that's what I call a cauliflower ear!!!

I took the first part of the story re the unifaced reverse as accurate but studying the images in D & H the reverse is also a modern die(not an exact copy of any of the 1790 Vulcans), all the 1790 Vulcans have a small 7 & a large 9 in the date, this reverse, has them the same size. The Osborne Coinage Company had a minting machine for producing transit tokens from sheets of metal(not blanks), the sheets would be struck and the tokens punched/stamped from the sheet, leaving the reverse of the token square edged & the obverse with a rounded edge. This Vulcan has a square edge on the reverse and a rounded obverse edge as if it has been stamped from a sheet, not being struck using a blank in a collar. One up on Ebay now http://www.ebay.com/...=item3a807cf8db The rounded obverse edge & the squared reverse edge plus the date number sizes are easy to spot. Looks like I do have a 'genuine USA fake' at least it is not a Chinese fake

Hi Ian, I am fortunate in having a copy of D & H and this is definitely not listed. I am also baffled as to why this was produced. The unifaced reverse first made from a genuine Vulcan owned by the Masons is strange enough but to design and engrave an original obverse die seems doubly strange. I have had this token for a few years & knew it was unlisted but knew nothing about it being a modern USA fake. I only found the article yesterday, quite a surprise I must say. The Wilkinsons were not circulated in the US.

Lead in the 17th century was alloyed with up to 20% tin plus included about 3% of other impurities which could not be removed at that time. So I think my medal is most likely tinned, not silvered. Taken from an article on lead organ pipes: "Pig lead available on the market is generally so pure as to be dead soft and must therefore be doctored. By adding some of the impurities that come naturally in the old “pure” lead of the 17th century, the metal can be made sturdy enough to stand for many years. Antimony (0.75%), copper (0.06%), bismuth (0.05%) and tin (1.0%) when added all together will produce the desired stiffening"

This article leads me to believe that the lead used was an alloy, not pure lead hence its hardness. A MULTIVARLITE ANALYSIS OF RENAISSANCE PORTRAIT MEDALS: AN EXPANDED NOMENCLATURE FOR DEFINING ALLOY COMPOSITION L. A. GLINSMAN1, L. C. HAYEK2 ITALIAN;RENAISSANCE;PORTRAIT MEDAL;X-RAY FLUORESCENCE;DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS;ALLOY COMPOSITION;NOMENCLATURE This study gathered and reported compositional and descriptive analyses of over 200 Italian Renaissance portrait medals in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington A statistical model was developed for allocation of these medals into meaningful assemblages, using the surface alloy composition, and an expanded nomenclature was formulated. Copper, zinc, tin and lead were the primary elements found to combine to form a wide range of alloys, Common impurities were discovered to be significantly lower in the sixteenth-century medals when compared with those in the fifteenth-century medals. Renaissance medallists had an extensive knowledge of metallurgy and could produce a variety of alloys without the use of modern technology.