Mardi Gras coins? Not really, but still fun.

[chrisild]

Have just spent a couple of days in the US where a friend of mine had a small bag full of "nonsense coins" for me. He got them on eBay, knowing that I find both Mardi Gras and coins interesting ... well, I do not think those are actually M.G. coins (that you would give away from a float or so in New Orleans), but I like them.

Where to put this? Could be "Fakes and imitations" (of course nobody will be deceived by them), could be "Fantasies" (but at least the first few mimic actual coins). And what I got is, literally, a mixed bag. (Edit: Images in the next posts.)

[chrisild]

First, a "Buffalo" or "Indian Head" nickel from 1913. This is a huge but very light (aluminum, I suppose) piece; would anybody believe this could be real money? (See the modern actual 5ȼ on the side.) But still, the word COPY was added, hehe. The other side shows how thin this piece is.

[chrisild]

Then we have two colored "rubber" pieces. One has the design of a US half dollar, minted in Hong Kong and dated 1980. The other one is a German 5 DM coin, minted in Stuttgart (F) in 1975 – or in China at some time. The two actual coins (for size comparisons) are the "nickel" from the previous post and a €1 coin. I had no idea that even rubber coins had milled edges.

[chrisild]

Two more pieces that I find interesting: A plastic medal (size about 44 mm) dated 1947 commemorating the Mid-America Exposition in Cleveland, and particularly "World's first exhibit of atomic energy for peace-time uses". Guess the piece that I have is younger ...

The other medal or token features the head of a famous mouse; the reverse is quite sober. Interesting about this one is that it apparently has some metal core. It sure is heavier than a plastic piece of that size (about 38 mm) and has a weight of 9.5 grams. And if I shake the thing, it rattles.

[Figleaf]

Just wondering if the big boys in the beginning of the thread could have been used in chocolate coin production, to turn a piece of aluminium into a mould. I find the two last pieces puzzling.

Peter