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Last week at church Franklin was talking to an elderly woman and told her that he collects coins. She told him she had a jar of coins he could have to go through and keep. This week she gave it to him. Franklin pulled this out. I think it a copy by the thud it makes . Any thoughts.

I don't know what it is, but I have a few. Most of mine are marked "copy", but I do have 2 of them that are not marked. I still suspect that they are both fake. I just need to do more research on them.

I found a yahoo answers question describing the same coin, but no answer.

I'd start with Greek, maybe dating from Alexander the Great.

that looks like a ten penicae from the Greek state of Spermacia

What you have is a replica of the famous "widow's mite" of the Bible which was a circulating copper/bronze coin in Israel during those times. I often find these in foreign coin lots because people give them out during church camp or Sunday school.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesson_of_the_widow%27s_mite

JadeDragon wrote:I'd start with Greek, maybe dating from Alexander the Great.

Good guess, it was minted by the King of Judea, Alexander Janneaus, roughly 200 years after Alexander the Great and 50 years prior to Roman conquest.