Help with a 1815 Ferdin VII Medal

azsolla · 15 August 2009, 02:50 PM

HI again, You guys were so helpful before and I really appreciated it.

I want able to get back on for awhile ~ my computer died!

anyways this is another one of the medals I found that I need help with ~ there was a handwritten note in a old box with what looks like hand picked cotton ~ that read : given to (unreadable) war of independence

i can find the coin but nothing on the medal any ideas or info would help alot!

azsolla · 15 August 2009, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azsolla

HI again, You guys were so helpful before and I really appreciated it.

I was not able to get back on for awhile ~ my computer died!

anyways this is another one of the medals I found that I need help with ~ there was a handwritten note in a old box with what looks like hand picked

I can find the coin but nothing on the medal any ideas or info would help alot!

Thank you!!!

azsolla · 15 August 2009, 02:53 PM

here is the top of the Medal (black gross grain Ribbon)

joegertler · 15 August 2009, 04:38 PM

I do not think it is actually a "medal." It is more likely some type of home made award or prize. It is simply a fairly common style of silver 'Piece of eight" coin that someone drilled a hole in to hang on a crude metal loop, attached to a plain piece of black cloth. so probably a prize for some contest, to be hung around the winner's neck.

Malaula · 15 August 2009, 09:31 PM

Hello azsolla,
It might be a homemade watch fob for a pocket watch as it was the timepiece in style prior to the wristwatch. Just a thought. Best regards, Dave.

azsolla · 15 August 2009, 09:45 PM

I did a little research and a coin guy told me this:

It is a Award for fighting in the war of the indepence from spain/spanish kingdom in the South American War of Independece.

I think the watch fob parts are gold ~ and the coin is cool.

I appreciate all your help to everyone who has helped me one this item and the others. I still have about 27 medals and war items not counting alot of what looks like civil war buttons to go through.

This lady saved everything from everyone!!!

any price ideas on it? .... or am I pushing it? hehehe

Jim · 17 August 2009, 09:07 AM

It is a nice story, but it is not correct.

It is a coin that has had a hole drilled in it by some individual and put on the black ribbon. The coin itself is a Mexican 8 Real coin. No South American country would ever use a Mexican coin for an award.

I think the story you were given grew out of a garbling and embellishment. The Mexican war for independence from Spain lasted from 1810 to 1821. Both sides were minting coins since they both needed to pay their soldiers and buy things. Your coin was one of the ones made the Royalist side and appears, from what I can see, to have been made at the Durango mint. Apparently some individual decided to turn it into a watch fob and mounted it the way you now have it. Unfortunately the value of the coin is enormously lowered given the damage from someone drilling a hole into it. It is basically a space filler for someone who is hoping to find an undamaged example of this particuar coin for their collection. You can research the going prices for these on the web and you will see it would be somewhere in the $75 to $200 range, but in its current condition you would be lucky to get a small fraction of the prices you will see.