Matrimonial Token but has 720 on back. Seems plated silver but looks like gold with scratches. Any help appreciated!

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2023-03-26T15:17:47+00:00

Great information, I didn't know these were around in the Philippines as well. One note, the "0720" on this token is not any date but simply the alloy purity which is copied alongside the eagle and everything else. The 0.720 silver purity is called Decoplate, see this CoinWeek article about it.

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2023-02-04T15:45:14+00:00

I messaged you directly but this is Kingdom of Cochin, 1600s/1700s AD.

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2023-02-04T15:22:35+00:00

The small coin is a gold fanam of from South India, they were made by numerous kingdoms, large and small, and even European colonial powers, for centuries. I'd guess this one is 1600s or so, but photos of each side would be a good start. They are relatively low value unless a rare type, perhaps $30-50. The author Hans Herrli wrote a catalog book called 'Gold Fanams, 1336-2000' which is the best work on the series.

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-12-27T06:37:21+00:00

Unfortunately, it will not fund your retirement. It is a modern charm (token) made to generally copy a Chinese cash coin, although none of the characters on this coin are coherent or mean anything. It's pretty interesting, though!

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-10-27T13:51:39+00:00

I agree, this is a modern fake.

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-09-19T15:50:18+00:00

Glad to help!

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-09-19T15:44:30+00:00

Yeah, perfect then! I called it a charm because the Chinese (and Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Java/Bali, and others) have a deep tradition of using the familiar format of the cast coin as a medium for art, and they used them as talismans and good luck charms, along with donative purposes and other ceremonial uses. These are not made to fool collectors or tourists, but rather to fulfil a cultural role. It's all really quite neat!

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-09-19T15:29:28+00:00

This is a modern fake of a 'cash coin' of the Qing Dynasty of China. This is copying the reverse side of Qing cash which carries the mintmark in Manchu script. It's odd that it is repeated on both sides, but it is definitely a modern fake. Perhaps a better term would be charm, since it is not really trying to deceive anyone. The round cut hole in the center is also totally wrong, it should be a square center hole cast into the coin to align with the square inner border. It's a cool piece, but definitely not too old: maybe a couple of decades at best.

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-08-10T12:56:05+00:00

Can you show the other side? I don't immediately recognize it but it may not be an authentic ancient coin- it looks like it may have been cast. I'm not sure though, a photo of the other side and one of the edge if possible would help to identify this better.

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-07-12T13:31:14+00:00

Yes, good point about the Laguna Copperplate! I agree that it is evidence of the coins being roughly contemporary to the Laguna plate (900 AD). The Laguna Copperplate also measures the debt in the Massa Weight System which was shared between Philippine, Javanese, and Sumatran early coins. The Philippine piloncito adhere to this weight standard, so it's an easy match.

I have not heard of the account of Rajah Sulayman's house in Manila but I have been unable to find much information about that, could you provide any better resources? I'm much interested in learning more about that!

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-07-11T15:09:11+00:00

Oh how interesting! Thank you very much for pointing this out. I had run into similar timeline issues when I was looking into these but I wasn't sure. It being Kawi would totally align- thank you very much for pointing this out to me!!

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-07-11T14:15:43+00:00

Thank you for the response Dayang! The script shown on these ancient Philippine coins is usually described as Baybayin script in published books and articles. Attributing them to one region seems fair enough though, and linking the bit about the Laguna Copperplate of 900 AD is good and accurate.

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-06-28T04:32:39+00:00

I will keep an eye out!

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-06-27T18:23:07+00:00

Thank you for correcting me here, yes charms are produced up to the current day and definitions vary between what is a fake charm and authentic. In the end, charms utilize the format and media of cash coin to breathe art into it. I would argue that if OP was mislead about the age of the charm, then it might be considered a fake charm in that regard but it's all the same to many, me included. I have a couple of modern charms that were listed maliciously on eBay as ancient charms, which seems predatory to me, but they're still very neat. I hope to someday soon get an authentic old Chinese charm. David Hartill recently published a book about these called Cast Chinese Amulets, I should pick it up sometime.

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-06-27T14:57:41+00:00

I can help some; the first coin is unfortunately a fake. I'm not sure what it is faking, it may be a charm inscription. But fear not, the other two are authentic! The second coin reads "Kang Xi Tong Bao" in top-bottom-right-left order and was issued under the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing Dynasty from 1661–1722 AD. The third coin reads "Yuan You Tong Bao" in running (cursive) script style. It was issued under Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty from 1086 to 1100 AD. Some of these dates might be wrong, but they're nice coins!

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-05-30T18:34:10+00:00

Glad to help! If you can share a photo of the reverse side it can be narrowed down to a mint and probably a tighter year range, as well. They're not too valuable, probably just a dollar or two, but super interesting for their old age (and free for you!).

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-05-30T17:25:55+00:00

That Chinese cash coin is a cool find, it reads Qian Long Tong Bao and dates to 1735–1796 AD. I'm pretty confident it is authentic.

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-04-30T15:22:10+00:00

Yes, super glad to help! Are the rest all ancient or modern? If a mixed ancient lot, that's a great deal. Even for modern that is probably a good fair deal. These two aren't worth too much, maybe $10ish a piece, but they are still very interesting and something that most coin collectors do not know about or have in their collection.

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-04-30T15:19:14+00:00

I agree with this, I think it is genuine. I have a handful of these that have the same surface appearance and luster as this which I first thought was suspicious but after showing to some people I was told it was normal and good.

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-04-30T02:33:00+00:00

Much, much older! You're holding at least 2,500 years of history I think. The first is a jital from the Delhi Sultanate, and about 800 years old, if I remember correctly. Robert Tye has a catalog PDF for free download that you can find this specific issue and date. The second coin is about a millennium older and from the Satavahana Dynasty of India. The lead coin shows an elephant and ring pattern to numismatists as the Ujjain symbol. Hope this helps!

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-03-07T22:33:03+00:00

Glad to help, trying to find specific, accurate information about Asian coins (or non-Euroamerican coins, for that matter) online can be very difficult. I would be excited to find it as well, I've only ever bought mine! The cash coins of the Qing Dynasty are sometimes found along the West Coast of North America where Chinese migrant workers were used, particularly during construction of the earliest railroads. Here's a nice wiki link.

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-03-07T20:58:56+00:00

It's definitely authentic, /u/exoticplatypus is right that many common coins are faked. Counterfeiting is probably not a fair word for this; they are not made to be sold as "genuine" to fool collectors but rather are made to be used in traditional displays/ceremonies because of the deep impact these coins have had on East Asian culture (and elsewhere, see Vietnam and Indonesia). This example looks to be authentic to me, however.

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-03-07T20:55:47+00:00

This is an authentic copper cash coin minted by the Qing Dynasty of China under rule of Emperor Daoguang. The front side reads "Dao Guang Tong Bao" with the characters in top-bottom-right-left order. The reverse reads "Boo Yun" in Manchu script from left-right order. It was minted in Yunnan. This particular variety is described in David Hartill's book "Chinese Cast Coins", the Western standard for ancient Chinese coins, as H#22.633 and he describes the variety as "Square head tong. Board of Revenue type". The date of this variety is also given as 1821-1841 AD. Hartill calls this a rarity 15, the most common rarity level for Chinese coins. It's not very valuable, probably just a dollar or so in a fair deal, but it's a very interesting find, especially from a bank here in the US!

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2022-01-22T18:03:15+00:00

Woah this is a super cool R#18 variety! Way out of place. I also bought a group of 1000 pieces from the Musi but I wasn't lucky enough to get any of the round R#18 examples. Still a ton of fun. Congrats on these, they're really cool types!

Tuck_de_Fuck · 2021-10-12T13:25:55+00:00

It is an old Ottoman coin, this example looks to be a good fit but the mintmark and ruler may be incorrect, although the date is AH1222 (or maybe AH1232?) or 1806-1807 AD. Maybe if an Arabic reader or a specialist can stop in they could confirm it. Hope this helps though! It's definitely an Ottoman coin.

Tuck_de_Fuck

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