Unidentified Coin

November 8, 2010 10:06 AM

While hiking with friends my daughter found a small box lodged in a hole in a cave wall... Inside the box there was a small coin that looks quite old. I took a picture of it with my phone but the quality is pretty bad... I'm hoping that somewhere in the hive collective - there are some Coin Collectors or Numismatics that could identify it. Attached is the link to the picture

Coin

Thanks!
posted by strongdad to Grab Bag (12 answers total)

We need some more information, probably. Where are you located? What is on the other side of the coin?
posted by barnacles at 10:09 AM on November 8, 2010

If you can take a picture in full sunlight, it should be able to focus better. As it is, it doesn't look to have any denomination or text, just a large pattern, almost like a button. Can you also take a picture of the back side?
posted by filthy light thief at 10:10 AM on November 8, 2010

If you squint your eyes, you could imagine it looking similar to an old Spanish gold doubloon.
posted by barnacles at 10:12 AM on November 8, 2010

A bit more context is necessary, and a better picture. It looks like more like a button than a coin to me, just the way the front is designed at least.

Also, could you post a picture of the box it came in, to satisfy those of us who are curious?
posted by Think_Long at 10:13 AM on November 8, 2010

More examples of doubloons. Note that those are replicas.
posted by barnacles at 10:13 AM on November 8, 2010

Perhaps your daughter stumbled across a geocache. If so, you may be able to figure out its provenance later if you note the coordinates now.
posted by carmicha at 10:17 AM on November 8, 2010 [2 favorites]

Sounds like it could be a geocache (but then it'd probably have a logbook in the box too) — might look up the area just in case.
posted by dreamyshade at 10:18 AM on November 8, 2010 [5 favorites]

I'm also thinking button, maybe an old button that was meant to look like a doubloon, but I agree that better pictures of front and back would help, taken in good light with a better camera, preferably.
posted by Gator at 10:19 AM on November 8, 2010

less on the provenance of the coin and some advice on taking pictures. Use the macro function (probably a little flower icon) on your camera and that will allow you to get up close and focus.
posted by jlunar at 12:37 PM on November 8, 2010

It would help if you had a ruler next to it for scale.
posted by Justinian at 1:00 PM on November 8, 2010

I agree that it's a toy doubloon, like these (Board Game Geek, self-link). Here's a few more. Any of them match?
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 5:15 PM on November 8, 2010

(Toy, but still metal, I should've said.)
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 5:16 PM on November 8, 2010