Another day out in France... Beyond expectations !!

[Restoring Your Finds]

Hi all,

I went back out and had some very nice surprises !!

Here is the view from the field :



Let's start with the "common finds". From top left to bottom right : three 20th century lead seals, a couple 18th (?) century buttons, a small lead ingot (what was it for?? making musket balls? I like the shape anyway), a "Liard de France, Louis XIV, 1698", a big disc (probably part ornament for a horse bridal?) and a small roman coin with a standing soldier.



Here is the big disc, front and back. (There is some silver remaining on the front)



Then, three amazing finds. I mean, had I found only one of those, I would have had a fantastic day ! But I found the 3 of them the very same day !!

Let's start with this Celtic brooch, from a period called "La Tène II" (260 BC to 150 BC)



Then... well... then a "Dupondius de Nimes". This is a "colonial" roman coin. Nimes is a city in Southern France.
The emperor Augustus had this coin made in 27/28 BC. Obverse shows emperor Augustus and his friend and son-in-law Agrippa. Augustus is wearing a laurel wreath and Agrippa is wearing a rostral wreath/crown which is usually dedicated to people who won battles at sea. Below (barely readable on mine) there is "DIVI F" which means "Son of the Divine". (in reference to Cesar, Augustus being his adoptive son. Cesar was his great uncle, on his mother's side.) Reverse shows a crocodile, chained to a palm. It also bears the letters COL NEM (Barely readable on mine) which stand for "Colony of Nimes". This symbolizes Egypt submission to Rome. Therefore, both sides of the coin symbolize the naval victory of Actium won by Octave (Augustus's other name) and Agrippa over Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 31 BC. Pretty cool, isn't it...? That coin circulated within the whole empire for about 60 years, from 27 BC to 30 AD. After that, all those coins were stamped. (Mine is not... YES !)
Some pictures, before and after cleaning:




Last but not least... (I really couldn't believe the day I was having !!!) Another silver obol, but this time a "Massilia Obol", which is an obol from the city of Marseille. Marseille is the oldest city of France. It was created by Greek settlers and merchants in 600 BC. They also introduced the first coins in Gaul. (Old name for France, inhabited by Celtic tribes at the time)
Among the first coins produced was this silver obol, which dates back to 350 BC to 220 BC... Yes... I am ecstatic !

Some pictures. As you can see... it is pretty tiny ! The "MA" on the back stands for "Massalia", the old Greek name for the city of Marseille.




Happy Hunting to all !