Where is this coin from?

[DerrickTA]

Hello! 

Simple question already asked in the topic post, but again:

Can someone help me identify where this coin originated? What country? 

Thank you, in advance! 

[Finn235]

It's a repro widow's mite - haven't seen this particular one before, but there are at least a few companies that sell them. People give them to kids for Sunday school or similar.

[Ryro]

Fake modern replica for tourists. 

[CPK]

1 hour ago, Finn235 said:

It's a repro widow's mite - haven't seen this particular one before, but there are at least a few companies that sell them. People give them to kids for Sunday school or similar.

Wow. I would not have even thought of that! Looks nothing like a real one.

[DerrickTA]

1 hour ago, Finn235 said:

It's a repro widow's mite - haven't seen this particular one before, but there are at least a few companies that sell them. People give them to kids for Sunday school or similar.

Interesting! Thank you for the response. 

Could you give me more information? Or send me to a link? I've never heard of that before. 

Who makes them? Where did were they "minted"? Etc. 

[sand]

Hello @DerrickTA. Welcome to Nvmis Forvms.

Yes, it looks like the coin is a modern fake. If you collect ancient coins for a few years, and if you look at a lot of ancient coins, then you can sometimes tell, when a coin looks like a modern fake.

It looks like, the modern fake, is supposed to resemble an ancient Judaean coin, which was minted during the reign of Alexander Jannaeus from 104 BC to 76 BC.

Here's a helpful web site, where you can search for examples of ancient coins.

https://www.acsearch.info/ 

For example, you can search for the following keywords :      Alexander   Jannaeus   star   anchor

https://www.acsearch.info/search.html?term=Alexander+Jannaeus+star+anchor&category=1-2&lot=&date_from=&date_to=&thesaurus=1&images=1&en=1&de=1&fr=1&it=1&es=1&ot=1&currency=usd&order=0 

Here's the most popular web site, for buying ancient coins.

https://www.vcoins.com/en/Default.aspx 

There are also some good sellers on Ebay, but there are also many fakes sold on Ebay, therefore you have to be careful. "Know the dealer, or know the coin."

You can also buy ancient coins at auctions, many of which are on the internet. Sometimes, the prices at auctions are lower, than the prices at fixed price dealers.

Edited February 6 by sand

[Finn235]

1 hour ago, DerrickTA said:

Interesting! Thank you for the response. 

Could you give me more information? Or send me to a link? I've never heard of that before. 

Who makes them? Where did were they "minted"? Etc. 

Private companies make these. This is the more commonly encountered repro of the type:

https://www.amazon.com/Widows-Coins-Reproduction-Antique-Bronze/dp/B00NVOFJ44/ref=asc_df_B00NVOFJ44&mcid=9d8f7335b35d346b925aec1c9fbde613?tag=bngsmtphsnus-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=79852149838132&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=t&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583451676491427&psc=1

They are one of the more common "coins of the Bible" - from the parable in Luke 21 in which a destitute widow puts in two of the lowest value coin in circulation and everyone mocks her but Jesus explains that the monetary value isn't what is important. "Mite" is an anachronism from the KJV translation - the correct term is lepton, a denomination only made in large numbers by Alexander Jannaeus, and thus assumed to be the coin referenced.

Companies make them as props, usually to give to young kids. Very frequently, said kid will grow up, forget they had the fake widow's mite, and then inquire about it on forums like this one. Of the ones I provided an Amazon link for, I usually see minimum 5 ID threads a year!