Mysteries from the Vault: Monkey?

With close to a million objects in the American Numismatic Society’s collections, the curatorial team occasionally comes across items that are mysteries to us. This series will feature some of these objects in the hopes that the collective wisdom of our readers can help us to identify and learn more about them.

This rather strange looking metallic object is 28mm in diameter and is rather hefty for its size, weighing 20.7 grams. The obverse features a raised face that I think looks like a monkey. The face is in extreme relief raising 5 mm out from the 3 mm thick planchet. The reverse is plain except for some striations visible on the edges. If you have an idea of what this might be, leave us a comment below. And if you are a new reader, we have solved some mysteries, but others are still unresolved!

Have an idea about what this might be? Let us know in the comments or send us an email.