Can anyone ID this coin?

[amicold]

This was found in a friend's yard, the house and property are a little over 200 years old so I have no doubt it's been there for awhile. It is dime sized and the face looks like a seated liberty dime but the reverse is wonky. I told him I'm assuming someone hacked up the back but I wanted to see ATOTs opinion.
http://imgur.com/x1NDpGW
http://imgur.com/vgfMA5x

 

[sandorski]

Google image search turns up nothing. I wonder if it's some kind of Token for something. Maybe for Public Transit or something?

 

[RampantAndroid]

It looks like a seated half dollar, not a dime...but I can find none with "United States" and such on the seated side. Opposite size def looks hacked up.

 

[BoomerD]

The seated liberty was pretty common for 1874 coins, but that back is definitely not normal.

http://www.coindatabase.com/coin_usa_sort.php?ano=1874

 

[preCRT]

Looks like it's a love token.

http://lovetokensociety.com/history/love-tokens/

http://www.seateddimevarieties.com/FS_Lists/lovetoken.htm

 

[John Connor]

That's pretty cool. Did you find it with a metal detector?

My Bro has a nice metal detector he uses all around Colorado. He even pans for gold, but in a lot of the areas you would want to pan for gold the stupid ass county forbids it. Some freedom we have.

 

[kranky]

Yep, a love token.

 

[lxskllr]

Looks like it's a love token.

http://lovetokensociety.com/history/love-tokens/

http://www.seateddimevarieties.com/FS_Lists/lovetoken.htm

Nice find. I like the concept. I might make one for my daughter as a birthday present.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Question's answered I think, but that's pretty freakin' awesome.

 

[Homerboy]

That is awesome.
Would be so cool to know the story behind it!

 

[IronWing]

Nice find. I like the concept. I might make one for my daughter as a birthday present.

It would be interesting with a quarter where you could engrave into the copper layer for a two tone effect.

 

[kranky]

One theory I have heard about love tokens in the mid-1800's was they served the purpose that an engagement ring does today. A man would make a love token with his girl's first initial and his last initial. Giving it to the girl was a proposal (= would she marry him and change her name to his).

Earlier than that were the prisoner tokens of Great Britain. Someone being shipped off to the Australian penal colony would make a token with a design and typically include the words "When this you see, remember me". Apparently these prisoners wouldn't come back for years if ever.

 

[cbrunny]

I wonder how hard those would be to make today.... That's really cool.

 

[steppinthrax]

I wonder how hard those would be to make today.... That's really cool.

I imagine the same way as one of those machines you put a penny inside and it makes a souvenir. Some sort of Die that would pretty much hammer down on the existing design. Imprinting a new design.

Or maybe someone with real good tools simply puts the coin in some sort of "coin vise" and sandpaper's off the existing design, hand engraves the new one.

 

[Jaepheth]

I wonder how hard those would be to make today.... That's really cool.

Not hard; you just sand off one side and then cold chisel the design you want. In order to not mar the opposite side you rest it on a block of lead.

 

[lxskllr]

It would be interesting with a quarter where you could engrave into the copper layer for a two tone effect.

I was thinking an old penny since it's all copper, but I like your idea better. I wonder if you can get rid of the image while still leaving it silver colored? I'll have to experiment later.

 

[OutHouse]

been a long time since i seen one of those. the coin shop i used to visit had them come in from time to time.

Great find.

 

[OutHouse]

nevermind