I know it's a long shot, but might somebody know what this is?
- Thread starter Camp Breathedsville
- Start date
Digger_O'Dell
New member
That's one heck of a find! Think I found your coin! This likely dates to well before Columbus, so could be either from a lost collection, or Viking loot. It looks to be a medieval Enrique II 1369-1379.
https://www.sixbid.com/en/silicua-c...8858895/1369-1379-enrique-ii-1369-1379-zamora
History of Enrique II (AKA Henry II) : https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-II-king-of-Castile
https://www.sixbid.com/en/silicua-c...8858895/1369-1379-enrique-ii-1369-1379-zamora
History of Enrique II (AKA Henry II) : https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-II-king-of-Castile
Camp Breathedsville
Member
How it the world would something like this make it to the fields of Central Virginia!!
Thank you, Digger!
del
Administrator
This one is a bit closer Spain Blanca Coin, Castille and Leon, Enrique IV, Burgos, Billon VF(30-35) | MA-Shops but still 1454 to 1474 , its an oldie
Dan
Dan
Camp Breathedsville
Member
Camp Breathedsville
Member
Thanks Rebel! :thumbsup01:
Tony Two-Cent
Administrator
What an incredible find! It certainly gets a person's imagination working overtime. How did such a coin end up in the United States?
I had to Google "billon" as I had never heard of that before.
Billon is an alloy of a precious metal with a majority base metal content. It is used chiefly for making coins, medals, and token coins. The word comes from the French bille, which means "log".
I had to Google "billon" as I had never heard of that before.
Billon is an alloy of a precious metal with a majority base metal content. It is used chiefly for making coins, medals, and token coins. The word comes from the French bille, which means "log".
Full Metal Digger
Active member
Tony, a lot of the medieval silvers I found in Germany were made of billon (pronounced bee-yon), usually about 27% silver or so.
Full Metal Digger
Active member
Congrats on finding a hammered silver coin in the US! Very rare indeed!
Digger_O'Dell
New member
Well, the most simple explanation would be that it was brought over by a European settler and coin collector who later lost it somehow. But for some reason that also doesn't sit well with me. If I knew what area of Virginia I may be able to track down some exploration routes and dates that would explain the presence of Europeans in the area around that time. The Spanish were huge explorers and conquerors that could have simply brought coins like that here during the early 1500s. The explorer either could have used it in trade with the natives in the area, or been lost at the site where the explorer(s) died, or many other possible reasons for it to be there.
Honestly, there were lots of stories of Indians killing the first explorers, taking things they found useful such as knives, fabrics, food, etc. But they left behind things they considered useless-coins and such being an example.
Camp Breathedsville
Member
Thank you all for the thoughts and kind words. :thumbsup01:
