texascello Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 Hey everyone, I'm new here to CoinPeople so please bear with my noob-ism. I recently came across this coin while doing some cleaning in an attic and no one seems to know where it came from or anything about its origin. In fact, I'm not even sure if it is indeed a coin-- it's larger/thicker than normal coins so it might be something along the lines of a medallion or a commemorative coin. Also, it's written in a language I'm not familiar with or anything that I've seen thus far-- I wasn't able to find it anywhere! I've put links to the two photos (a front and a back) of the coin and was wondering if anyone might know its origin, its significance and maybe even a translation (or even just be able to confirm what language it is.) Thank you everybody in advance! Hope you can help. http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/25898...host=good-times http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/20748...host=good-times Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabbs Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 Sorry, cannot read that either. My first guess would be SE Asia, so Cambodia, Laos or Thailand maybe, but I don't think it is a coin. Hope somebody else can help you better ... Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lithuania Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 yes, language is SE Asian and it is not a coin. Some kind of a medal.. Never seen anything like this before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grivna1726 Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 Hey everyone, I'm new here to CoinPeople so please bear with my noob-ism. I recently came across this coin while doing some cleaning in an attic and no one seems to know where it came from or anything about its origin. In fact, I'm not even sure if it is indeed a coin-- it's larger/thicker than normal coins so it might be something along the lines of a medallion or a commemorative coin. Also, it's written in a language I'm not familiar with or anything that I've seen thus far-- I wasn't able to find it anywhere! I've put links to the two photos (a front and a back) of the coin and was wondering if anyone might know its origin, its significance and maybe even a translation (or even just be able to confirm what language it is.) Thank you everybody in advance! Hope you can help. http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/25898...host=good-times http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/20748...host=good-times I have no idea, never saw one before. Agree that it looks like a medal, not a coin. Someone at charm.ru might be able to help... Edit: Whoops! Make that ZENO.RU - I need to update my links. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drusus Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 I have seen these before but cant find this exact one...I think its a Buddhist Monk Medal that is common in Thailand...they come in a wide variety of shapes and styles, this one being much rougher than many I have seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gxseries Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 It does not look like Thai, perhaps from Bhutan but definately not a coin from the looks of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porthos Posted July 9, 2008 Report Share Posted July 9, 2008 This is a medallion from Myanmar (the language is Burmese). I am sorry that I can't read the language, but could identify it from some coins I have from Myanmar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texascello Posted July 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 Thank you to everyone who helped me out! Hopefully I'm nearing the end of this long journey of identifying this medallion. In response to porthos' reply, I don't think it's Burmese. I looked it up and the text doesn't quite match. I did, however, find this link and this link showing that the Khmer language is a pretty close match to the text on the medallion, yet still not quite a definite match. Maybe this new bit of information will help someone else along to identify it for sure. I appreciate your continued support and advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noongsaao Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 I agree. It really looks like it's Khmer. I can pretty much guarantee after having lived in SE Asia for a little over 3 years that it's not Thai or Burmese. Nice find though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texascello Posted July 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 I agree. It really looks like it's Khmer. I can pretty much guarantee after having lived in SE Asia for a little over 3 years that it's not Thai or Burmese. Nice find though. You wouldn't happen to be able translate it, would you? Or know where to go to get a translation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noongsaao Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 I'm working on trying to get a translation right now. I never learned Khmer, but after living there, I learned a few tricks for figuring things like this out. I can tell you what year it is though. That's the easy part. If you look at the back of the piece (no face), there are 4 characters at the very bottom, right below the little crossed sticks. Those are the numbers 2463. Now, as far as I can tell, Cambodia operates off of the Buddhist calender. It is currently the year 2551 there, meaning that 2463 would have been 1920. Really good condition on that piece. Will let you know if I get anywhere on that translation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texascello Posted July 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 I'm working on trying to get a translation right now. I never learned Khmer, but after living there, I learned a few tricks for figuring things like this out. I can tell you what year it is though. That's the easy part. If you look at the back of the piece (no face), there are 4 characters at the very bottom, right below the little crossed sticks. Those are the numbers 2463. Now, as far as I can tell, Cambodia operates off of the Buddhist calender. It is currently the year 2551 there, meaning that 2463 would have been 1920. Really good condition on that piece. Will let you know if I get anywhere on that translation. Thanks so much for doing this! I bet you have the "insider knowledge" since you lived there-- you're just the person I need to help me translate this. Just keep me updated if you find anything out. Good luck, and thanks again!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noongsaao Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Ok. So I was able to download a Khmer font program, converted the text on the piece to regular Khmer (yours is highly stylized), typed it all in, and then inserted that, as Roman script, into a few different online translators. None of them are coming up with anything, but I might have gotten one of the characters wrong. The problem is that what I found may not be the entire alphabet, as these SE Asian languages have a horrible tendency of having obsolete characters in the alphabet. However, this piece was made almost 90 years ago so they may not have been obsolete then. Also, They tend to use the obsolete characters on special pieces and for events as the letters look more decorative. I am in process of asking around and seeing if any of my friends know Khmer. After that, I can't think of anything else to do to help you. Sorry. There are however, some online services that will translate anything from Khmer to English for a small price. Just do a search for Khmer-English translation and you should see several come up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texascello Posted July 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2008 Any luck with the translation yet, my friend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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