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Now these guys are really old. How old? Well, there's a high probability that they are older than your religion, whatever that is. These are old Roman coins from various periods, found as dug relics in Europe. This, evidently, is quite common over there. I don't pretend to know much about them, although I've had friends identify a few of them by sight (I really don't care, myself). I think they are cool - makes you wonder what happens to our coins in 2000 years, huh?

Most of these are copper, brass, or bronze, although a few are slightly ferrous as they stick to a strong magnet (not as strongly as steel, but enough to be lifted off a surface without falling).

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This one is English, with barely discernible busts of William and Mary - 1691 - 1693.

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This piece is brass "gun money", allegedly made from melted cannons. It's an Irish 12 pence coin minted during the reign of James II (1689 - 1691). This coin is surprisingly hefty, and feels really good to hold in your hand (real numismatists cringe here).

Happy New Year!

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This one is a copper turner from Scotland, during the reign of Charles II (c. 1639 - 77). It has a crowned "CR" (Charles Rex) on the obverse and a barely discernible thistle on the reverse (I may have these backwards).

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This one is a copper liard from the Spanish Netherlands, 1710.

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This old coin is a Spanish 4 maravedis with a lion on the obverse and a castle on the reverse. It was probably minted out of brass or bronze between 1621 and 1625. Not as sexy as silver reales or gold dubloons, but still cool, right?

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Now, I am no numismatist, however, I have managed to acquire a few old coins that could have plausibly been carried by pirates. By this I mean they were minted in used during the "golden age" of piracy - say 1650 - 1750 (this range is a bit arbitrary).

This piece is a double tournois from France, and was probably made in the 1640's. It is copper, and probably a Provencal issue, which would be very common for this period. The condition is not the best, but I don't collect based on condition like true numismatists, so I can often find bargains!