this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2024
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Historical Artifacts

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Just a community for everyone to share artifacts, reconstructions, or replicas for the historically-inclined to admire!

Generally, an artifact should be 100+ years old, but this is a flexible requirement if you find something rare and suitably linked to an era of history, not a strict rule. Anything over 100 is fair game regardless of rarity.

Generally speaking, ruins should go to [email protected]

Illustrations of the past should go to [email protected]

Photos of the past should go to [email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Interesting. What was it used for?

[–] [email protected] 31 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Money can be exchanged for goods and services.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago
[–] betterdeadthanreddit 7 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

Hmm. This is good. I feel like we're making progress here.

[–] Cris_Color 6 points 1 month ago (2 children)

It kinda looks like a blobby casting error... Of course if it were manually cast I dunno why it'd be haphazardly stamped a bunch of times- that feels like what you'd see on an automated production line where something has gone wrong, rather than manual production

[–] uservoid1 15 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

They made them look like this on purpose. Silver was too expensive for daily trade, so they minted weird shaped money with cheap metal to be used as credit tokens. [source]

https://laralfabian.com/2015/07/24/odd-bronzes-of-the-golden-age/

[–] Cris_Color 6 points 1 month ago

Oh neat! Thank you for sharing more info ☺️

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

Pretty cool, thank you

[–] Buddahriffic 3 points 1 month ago

But wouldn't those odd shapes jam up their vending machines and pay phones?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Did they have automated coin prints in the 13th century? The printing press wasn't invented untill two hundred years later.

Regardless, you're probably right. However it was stamped or pressed was messed up. The design is pressed on top of itself in a few places.

[–] Cris_Color 3 points 1 month ago

Someone shared a bit more info in another comment apparently they were cast this way on purpose!