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Numismatists are baffled by an unusual French coin which appears to show a flying saucer. Experts have spent decades looking at the 17th century coin, but still have no idea what it is.
It was made in the 1680s in France and the design on one side certainly looks like it could be a flying saucer in the clouds over the countryside,said Kenneth E. Bressett of Colorado Springs, Colorado, a former President of the 32,000-member American Numismatic Association and owner of the curious coin.
Is it supposed to be a UFO of some sort, or a symbolic representation of the Biblical Ezekiel's wheel? After 50 years of searching, I've heard of only one other example of it, and nothing to explain the unusual design.
Bressett said the mysterious piece is not really a coin, but a "jeton," a coin-like educational tool that was commonly used to help people count money, or sometimes used as a money substitute for playing games. It is about the size of a U.S. quarter-dollar and similar to thousands of other jetons with different religious and educational designs that were produced and used in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.
The design on this particular piece could be interpreted as showing either a UFO or Ezekiel's wheel, but little else. Some people think the Old Testament reference to Ezekiel's wheel may actually be a description of a long-ago UFO,he explained.
The legend written in Latin around the rim is also mystifying. 'OPPORTUNUS ADEST' translates as 'It is here at an opportune time.' Is the object in the sky symbolic of needed rainfall, or a Biblical reference or visitors from beyond? We probably will never know for certain,said Bressett.
Centuries' Old UFO Coin Remains Mystery - PR Web, 28th January 2005.
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Comments
1: Posted by: Diego Cuoghi | January 31, 2005 9:49 AM
I made a web page (this one is only in italian) to explain the meaning of this jeton: http://www.sprezzatura.it/Arte/Arte_UFO_7.htm
I think that the scene comes fron the roman mithology, the object represents the Jupiter's shield (Ancile) that protects the country from the storms.
The sentence "OPPORTUNUS ADEST" means something like "It is present by the way" ("Il est présent à propos" in french).
I found another Jeton with the same shield, held by an arm. In this one we can clearly see that the shield protects from the lightnings coming out from the clouds: http://www.sprezzatura.it/Arte/jeton_bouclier2.jpg
Best wishes
Diego Cuoghi
2: Posted by: Feòrag | January 31, 2005 11:23 AM
Thanks for that, Diego. I've edited your comment to make the links live. Here is what Google Translate makes of your first link: ART And UFO? part 7.
Evangelism, witnessing and similar activitites go by one name here—, and is no different from spam for viagra, penis enlargement products and pornography. We do not take advertising. If you want to advertise your imaginary friend, please spend your own money on your own web space to do so. Any attempts to use the comments section for advertisements will be deleted, and the perpetrator barred, unless they are particularly stupid, in which case I reserve the right to pinch an idea from Teresa Nielsen Hayden and delete all the vowels.
This is not a contacts site. If you are looking for help regarding a particular path, I suggest The Witches' Voice, which does operate a contacts service.
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