Was close to a Native American reservation in Chandler, Arizona this past week and found this piece of metal in the dirt. The opposite side is flat and was the side facing up when I found it. It is gently bowed, with the detailed face going slightly upwards. Various AI tools have yielded different results and seem to be off in depicting the item. r/coins didn’t have much guidance either. Any help is appreciated!
by landylindo
9 Comments
As someone who grew up in the Valley of the Sun, lived there for 26 years, but who is not Native myself, that does not look like any sort of Native American design, at least not any of the peoples of Arizona. I have no idea what it’s supposed to be, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say it’s not Native American, in particular not Pima, Maricopa, or Yaqui, Tohono O’odham, the tribes I know of that are close to Chandler.
Could be a Spanish silver dollar. I don’t know my coins but the Spaniards explored that area in the 1500s
Edit: I personally would bring a metal detector to the site. You never know if you stumbled on one dropped coin or a conquistadors stash. Be sure to share any big find with academics
Is it heavy for its size? Is it hard or soft?
Check with one of the coin subs
https://www.cgb.fr/judee-premiere-revolte-prutah-ttb-,bgr_714119,a.html
This ?
If true it’s a very very old coin. So maybe Jewish frem Jerusalem.
Lol, I know exactly what this is. Must have missed your post on r/coins cause I could have told you if I saw it, sorry about that.
In any case, it’s a fantasy piece attempting to imitate a prutah from the first Judaean revolt. It’s a pretty commonly faked coin due to the religious significance. [This is what an authentic example looks like](https://en.numista.com/63811), which as you can see is a pretty stark contrast to yours.
I happen to have one in my collection as well. [It’s worn to shit](https://imgur.com/a/RSxQ5Z5) but much of the legend is still legible.
check this out, it’s not the same coin.. but it has a similar symbol on it! the y looking thing with 3 prongs
https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=318049
Nice catch! I think it is supposed to be a coin from a similar background used to decorate Psagot wine bottles.
Coin used to decorate Psagot wine bottles. The original coin was found in the area where they grow their grapes and the coin represents a wine bottle and on the other side a grape leaf. Though from what I remember they’re made of some kind of resin, not metal