Well, on my second day of detecting, I managed to find something of interest (besides clad and junk)... it's either a coin or medallion dated 1826.
My wife's mother works at a restaurant that's in a renovated train depot, so we decided to do some coil swinging after we went to lunch today, and right off the bat I hit on this object right next to the road poking out of the surface.
It's pretty worn, but I can make out the words 'vtrapvirt protego' (the 'p' is backward in the first word), and the face contains a stylized lion holding a sword, with a crown over it's head, a sword in it's left paw, and two dots under it's belly. It also has a 'F' and an 'M' on either side of the date 1826.
The backside shows a coat of arms that appears to have a crown over the top, and lions in each of the four corners of the coat of arms. I really can't make out the writing on the back too well without cleaning it, but I don't want to clean it if I shouldn't.
I looked up 'Protego' and it means 'to protect' in Latin, so it could be some sort of good luck or protection medallion, since it doesn't appear to have any denominational value on it (which would lead to it being a coin). I attached a photo of both the front and the back so that maybe it would help.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, though I know it's probably a stretch. I had a good second day out, though... found $1.49 in clad on a gravel bar where people swim in a local river, and this object and a wheat penny at the train depot/restaurant.
Thanks.
My wife's mother works at a restaurant that's in a renovated train depot, so we decided to do some coil swinging after we went to lunch today, and right off the bat I hit on this object right next to the road poking out of the surface.
It's pretty worn, but I can make out the words 'vtrapvirt protego' (the 'p' is backward in the first word), and the face contains a stylized lion holding a sword, with a crown over it's head, a sword in it's left paw, and two dots under it's belly. It also has a 'F' and an 'M' on either side of the date 1826.
The backside shows a coat of arms that appears to have a crown over the top, and lions in each of the four corners of the coat of arms. I really can't make out the writing on the back too well without cleaning it, but I don't want to clean it if I shouldn't.
I looked up 'Protego' and it means 'to protect' in Latin, so it could be some sort of good luck or protection medallion, since it doesn't appear to have any denominational value on it (which would lead to it being a coin). I attached a photo of both the front and the back so that maybe it would help.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, though I know it's probably a stretch. I had a good second day out, though... found $1.49 in clad on a gravel bar where people swim in a local river, and this object and a wheat penny at the train depot/restaurant.
Thanks.
