Back on the firing line.

[2ndoldman]

The title is quite obvious.
I do try to stay away from the shell casings but when they are on end they do sound good.
There was not a lot of trash yesterday.
And Only a few keepers.
This one is unique.
How many of you remember Popeye?
What's funny about this one is I have never seen Popeye depicted in shorts before.
If it were not for the missing blade of the hockey stick it would be complete.
This little acorn bell put me in a good mood. I did manage one older coin on Tuesday. I believe that it is Egyptian but so far I have been unable to match both sides to get a date.

[Ron Kelley]

Hey Bruce, Some nice finds there. Popeye can have his cooked spinach but I do like it raw.

[2ndoldman]

I enjoy spinach both ways Ron.

[CoachG]

What's the piece with the two holes in it?

[2ndoldman]

That is a big chunk of lead.

[2ndoldman]

I found a date and an ID on that coin.
Turkish 5 Para, minted in 1877 and last issued in 1879 http://colnect.com/en/coins/coin/958...amid_II-Turkey

[Ron Kelley]

Hey Bruce, I'm glad I came back for a second look. Way cool that you found the info on that old Turk.

[2ndoldman]

Thank you Ron. A member on another forum got me looking in the right direction.

[p kurt]

Bruce, got me wondering. I notice u find alot of spent casings. Are you near an old firing range of sorts? Or what do u attribute all the casings to?

[2ndoldman]

Check out this link. It gives the history of the area and you will see part way down the answer to your question.

http://www.beaconhillparkhistory.org/contents/appendix_C.htm

[willjo]

That was interesting, what are the majority of shell casings? British 303?

[2ndoldman]

Yes the majority of them are 303s

[p kurt]

Very interesting, there is a plethora of history there. Neat area, thanks

[painshill]

Hi Bruce

Strictly speaking, and despite what that website says, the coin is not “Turkish”… it’s “Ottoman Empire” and would have circulated across multiple territories. The “tughra” (monogram) on the obverse is for Abdul Hamid II, who was the last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire to rule over its territories from 1876 until he was deposed in 1909, after the 1908 revolution. At the time, the Ottoman Empire consisted primarily of the territories of what we now refer to as Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Bosnia, Herzegovinia, Serbia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Mesopotamia, Palestine, Algeria, Tunisia, Syria and Italian North Africa, plus bits and pieces in other regions.

Russia declared war on the empire in 1877 and the Ottomans were defeated the following year since no European country offered any assistance. Thereafter, the empire was progressively dismantled, with independence being given to what became Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro; autonomy to Bulgaria; the reform of Bosnia and Herzegovina; parts of Bulgarian Dobrudja ceded to Romania and parts of Armenia ceded to Russia. The entire geographical region was reorganised.

What was left of the empire rashly entered World War I on the side of the Germans (with an expectation of restoring its former glory) but the victorious allies carved it up again at the end of the war, immediately prompting the Turkish war of independence in 1919. Ultimately, the “Republic of Turkey” was recognised in 1923 as a continuation of the Ottoman Empire, but with greatly reduced territories. Before that, there was no such country as “Turkey” and the modern territories that were once part of the Ottoman Empire have mostly had their borders redefined.

Much of the conflict we see in those regions today has its roots in these enforced reorganisations and the religio-political and ethnicity problems they created.

[2ndoldman]

Thank you for the correction Roger. I do truly enjoy it when you educate me with the historical facts of my finds over what I can find through a quick google search. If the coin had been older I would have suspected that it was dropped by someone using Victoria as a stopping point on their way to the norther gold fields. Given it's age and wear though my suspicions are that it was brought here by a soldier returning from war. Following WWI is a very likely timeline for the loss.