Unknown lion coin ?

[dinara]

Please could I have an id for this coin (?) I just purchased - all I can make out is a lion on one side.  The other side appears to be completely blank.  Sorry if this is not a coin, I have tried researching it online and in one of my coin books but I cannot find anything similar.  Many thanks to anyone who can help me.

[SRukke]

Looks like a monkey to me.

[dinara]

I thought so too at first but when you look carefully it looks more like a lion facing forwards - I agree though that the tail is more monkey like.  My brother pointed out that if you turn it on it's side it also looks like a Rolfaroo!   

[dinara]

This is possibly a clearer image:

[Tony A]

The coin is similar to the Celtic or Gallo-Belgic varieties. Other than that, I can't help. (Check out the earlier post today "Celtic? Potin?" by Rik2 and you'll see what I mean.)

Is it silver or bronze? Size and weight, too, please. Was the coin a detectorist find or did you get it from a dealer? Uncleaned lot?

Good luck!

Tony

[dinara]

Hi Tony, many thanks for your reply.  I was thinking Celtic too but can't see any with same sort of creature, as most appear to be horses.  I will check out the Gallo-Belgic ones.  I don't know what metal it is either - at first I thought it could be silver but I did the spit and foil test and there was no smell at all.  It doesn't look like copper either, so again a bit of a mystery!?  It weighs approx 3.6g and has a diameter of roughly 22mm.  It was just listed as a detector find with no other information at all.  I thought it looked interesting and would be fun to research but despite having several coin books I can't identify it.  I guess there were hundreds of different Celtic designs though? 
Thanks
Jo  : )

[areich]

It looks more modern than that though. If I had to guess I would also say monkey and not a lion.

[dinara]

I agree the detailing on the creature seems a bit too good for Celtic as to me they appear more basic, although it still seems quite crude.  My brother thinks it should be the other way up, more in a rampant position than kind of squatting down - this gives it quite a different appearance, the head even looks a bit human-like.

[dinara]

Sorry, just a quick update - after a bit of soaking it now looks as though it is silver and I can also make out a couple of letters that look to me like 'FE'  I've taken a magnified photo of them.  I still can't really make out anything on the other side.

[Jay GT4]

Maybe an Indian temple token?

[Tom Mullally]

Indian temple token is a good possibility.  I was also thinking Iranian Civic issue similar to this one:

http://www.vauctions.com/auctions/APViewArchiveItem.asp?ID=15173

There are lots of varieties of this coin type from Iran.

Tom

[dinara]

Ah yes - many thanks it does look like both those possibilities!  Would you say it's quite old then? or rare?  Sorry I really don't know anything about foreign coins. 

[Tom Mullally]

It's impossible to say whether it's rare or not until it's been positively ID'd.  So far, you don't have a certain attribution.  I think it would be safe to say it is "Old" but I'm not sure how old.  My guess is 15-18th century.

Tom

[SRukke]

I happened to see this coin on Ebay and thought it has a slight resemblance to yours. May be a direction lo look.
Bronze Coin Mon Dvaravati Kingdom 6th-9th century AD Thailand

[Howard Cole]

I happened to see this coin on Ebay and thought it has a slight resemblance to yours. May be a direction lo look.
Bronze Coin Mon Dvaravati Kingdom 6th-9th century AD Thailand

You have to be careful of using eBay for Southeast Asian coins, especially from the Mon Dvaravati, Khmer or other Kingdoms.  They are commonly faked, as I believe this example is.

[SRukke]

I happened to see this coin on Ebay and thought it has a slight resemblance to yours. May be a direction lo look.
Bronze Coin Mon Dvaravati Kingdom 6th-9th century AD Thailand

You have to be careful of using eBay for Southeast Asian coins, especially from the Mon Dvaravati, Khmer or other Kingdoms.  They are commonly faked, as I believe this example is.

May very well be. I posted it only as a reference. If it's a fake it's a fake of something. I thought it may be a direction to look for ID on his coin.

[Howard Cole]

I happened to see this coin on Ebay and thought it has a slight resemblance to yours. May be a direction lo look.
Bronze Coin Mon Dvaravati Kingdom 6th-9th century AD Thailand

You have to be careful of using eBay for Southeast Asian coins, especially from the Mon Dvaravati, Khmer or other Kingdoms.  They are commonly faked, as I believe this example is.

May very well be. I posted it only as a reference. If it's a fake it's a fake of something. I thought it may be a direction to look for ID on his coin.

Not necessarily a fake of something.  I have to laugh at some of the stuff coming out of Thailand and Indonesia.

[SRukke]

I happened to see this coin on Ebay and thought it has a slight resemblance to yours. May be a direction lo look.
Bronze Coin Mon Dvaravati Kingdom 6th-9th century AD Thailand

You have to be careful of using eBay for Southeast Asian coins, especially from the Mon Dvaravati, Khmer or other Kingdoms.  They are commonly faked, as I believe this example is.

May very well be. I posted it only as a reference. If it's a fake it's a fake of something. I thought it may be a direction to look for ID on his coin.

Not necessarily a fake of something.  I have to laugh at some of the stuff coming out of Thailand and Indonesia.

Guess I'm mistaken then. To me the term "fake" means it's an imitation or it's trying to be deceptive. If it's not a fake of something wouldn't it be a fantasy coin?