Garden find - coin or lump of metal?

[Chrisplym]

Hi everyone,

I hope that you are enjoying the sunshine.

We moved house at the start of this year and have been reclaiming the flower beds which haven’t been touched for multiple years.

Digging over one of the flower beds this morning we found the item shown in the photos. It is in very poor condition, but I believe that I can see a head on one side. Is it a coin or just a lump of metal? The diameter is about 35mm, the thickness about 3mm and the weight about 27g. It is slightly domed.

If it is a coin it doesn’t look like it is worth much due to the condition, but I would like to know more about and how best to look after it. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks,

Chris

[Simmoleon]

Looks to me like a Roman sestertius, nice find but as you mention the condition is not the best. You could wipe any remaining dirt off with distilled water and a soft cloth but not sure it would improve its appearance that much. In terms of value, in this condition it is likely to be minimal but still a nice find.

[Chrisplym]

Thank you very much for pointing me in the right direction. I will do a Google search to find out more details.

All the best,

Chris

[dangelo]

If I found this I'd probably turn the garden to some kind of archaeological dig site from Indiana Jones and start excavating in search of more treasure

[Chrisplym]

It is quite cool finding this coin. To think that it could have been dropped by someone over 2,000 years ago when our garden was most probably a field! We let you know if we find any more coins.

[Midasfrog]

Thats a nice Roman coin to find in your garden I bet there are plenty more in the area probably some medieval coins to as the ground would have been cultivated for thousands of years.

While the coin is damp after dabbing with a damp cloth view it at an angle and take a photo , more detail can be seen on worn coins while damp.

[Simmoleon]

Just to add and this is a real guess based off the remaining detail of the obverse - Id start with Postumus with these potential obverses or similar. It’s the shape of the head, probably a beard but that could just be the lights and some sort of hair tassel 

 

Edited July 18, 2021 by Simmoleon
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[Chrisplym]

Thanks both for taking the time to provide me with further guidance. It is much appreciated.