Interesting First Find in Etzenricht, Germany

[ODA 226]

Since it's only 300 meters from my house, I'll be there every weekend and then some!

[del]

the medallion looks very very close to "Jesuit trade medals" some are found here at Native American villiage site and early trading posts . they were used by early missionaries or priests to built friendships with Natives and also to help converting them to Christianity . try googling "Jesuit trade medal pictures" you should see some very close examples.

Dan

[ODA 226]

I will! Thanks Del!

[ODA 226]

the medallion looks very very close to "Jesuit trade medals" some are found here at Native American villiage site and early trading posts . they were used by early missionaries or priests to built friendships with Natives and also to help converting them to Christianity . try googling "Jesuit trade medal pictures" you should see some very close examples.

Dan

The halo and style look very similar to mine!

[ODA 226]

UPDATE: Yesterday, I received my cleaning chemicals from my new best buddy Mayadigger AKA Kevin from Noble Roman Coins! Evidently the USPS and US Customs intercepted my first package that Kevin sent me and they completely DESTROYED everything in the package! It was cut open, the #1 bag of chemicals was EMPTY, the rest were cut open also and the contents mixed together in the main envelope and on top of that, my tin of wax was stolen! (I can only hope that the lye in the #3 pack burnt the bastards!)

Kevin had already sent a replacement and I got it on the same day! I can't sing enough praise for Kevin's customer service! Thanks Kevin!

Anyway, I soaked this medallion in the #2 for 12 hours and it did a great job of cleaning this item!

Now here's the question: This item is not metallic and has a bright silverish color. However, the encrustation is cleaning off BROWN, like rust. Does anyone have an idea what type of metal this could be?

[giant056]

Fantastic finds you got there for your first hunt

[coinnut]

Now here's the question: This item is not metallic and has a bright silverish color. However, the encrustation is cleaning off BROWN, like rust. Does anyone have an idea what type of metal this could be?

Are you saying the medallion is not metal or not iron? Can we see a picture? If the medallion is metal and silverfish, then can it be silver or silver plated? Also it could be the same material which we call Tombac (like the buttons) and is a type of brass with mostly copper and either tin, zinc., lead or arsenic to give it that silver color. So a picture would help. As for the rust color, it could be a produced from the dirt it removes, reactions from the cleaning agent or from the surface oxidized metals that are removed. I've seen some buffalo nickels that are red and brown and they are made from 75% copper and 25% nickel. Just some thoughts.

[ODA 226]

Sorry. I was typing fast. I meant to say non-MAGNETIC. Here's the best pics I can take tonight. It's definitely not lead. Any clues?

[coinnut]

My first guess would be silver or a silver mix. Unless your soil is extremely mild then maybe plated, but probably not. Just guesses though.

[ODA 226]

I found a very similar one on Yahoo from around 1700!





I'll be finished cleaning mine tonight and I'll post some new pics tomorrow.

[KCFindIt]

I love this hobby. Very engaging. You learn so much from the most helpful group of guys (and gals). What a neat find, a cool hunting ground and great dialogue as we seek some answers!

[ODA 226]

Here it is cleaned: