The Pharaoh, Sphinx, Pyramids, and Hieroglyphs
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The Egyptian Magic Coin has been manufactured in various places since as far back as 1905.
Some were sold as independent medallions and some were attached to watch fobs. |
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1. Egyptian Magic Coin
Gold colored bronze, 32 mm, 8.35 gm
Obverse: Pharaoh seated on throne surrounded by hieroglyphs Reverse: Sphinx with pyramids and sunburst behind |
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Description:
Egyptian Magic Coins are coins with Egyptian symbols which have been made since 1905.
They were originally part of watch fobs but were then manufactured as independent items.
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Details:
The creator and designer of these items or the base watch fob is unknown.
Searches for trademark or patent registrations have turned up nothing. There are four main types of these items and several varieties. Some are plain round coins, some have loops for wearing them as jewelry or amulets. Sometimes loops have been removed to create a "coin." Many are found very worn and possibly they were kept as pocket pieces. |
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Egyptian Revival:
The design may have been inspired by the "Egyptian Revival" fad of the late 1800's, which saw
ancient Egyptian designs being worked into architecture and art.
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Tutankhamun discovery in 1922:
The 1922 discovery of the tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun or "King Tut"
created another wave of "Egyptian Revival" items, including more of these coins.
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Identification:
These items usually do not have any inscriptions, text, or logos on them.
This makes them hard to identify by people who have found them in collections, estates, or
with metal detectors.
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What's it worth and sales prices:
Egyptian Magic Coins are not worth very much, they have sold on Ebay for prices ranging $1.00 to $100.00,
the price depending on condition and if the coin has an unusual design, an inscription, or advertising.
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Coin types:
There are four main types of these items and the first type (Type 1) is the most common.
2. Egyptian Magic Coin Obverse types
3. Egyptian Magic Coin Reverse types
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Sears & Roebuck watch fob:
The item appeared in the 1905 Sears & Roebuck Catalog Spring and Fall editions, also in 1906 and 1907.
The 1905 listing did not show the medallion's other side.
4. Sears & Roebuck Catalog 1905 Watch Fob listing
No. 4C16186 The latest craze.
Gentlemen's fob, ancient Egyptian design, silver plated, oxidized finish on German silver. Length 5½ inches.
By 1907 the listing had a smaller size and the price had been reduced.
This listing shows the other side of the watch fob. 5. Sears & Roebuck Catalog 1907 Watch Fob listing
Sears Catalog 1907 listing with text similar to the 1905 listing.
6. Sears & Roebuck Watch Fob
Bronze, silver plated, 6 inches (15 cm), 34.45 gm (total), 23.39 gm (fob only)
7. Sears & Roebuck Watch Fob Coin
Bronze, silver plated, 32 mm, 11.05 gm, Type 1
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Movie star in "Duel in the Sun":
An Egyptian Magic Coin appears in the 1946 David Selznick film "Duel in the Sun", a Western film
set in the 1880's at a large southwestern cattle ranch.
8. Walter Huston gives Jennifer Jones a medal on a chain
The medal is shown with views of both sides.
9. The film medal, a Type 3 Egyptian Magic Coin
The film medal with the obverse and reverse edited together.
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Radio star in "The Romance of Helen Trent":
10. Egyptian Magic Coin "The Romance of Helen Trent" radio program
Silvered brass, 32 mm, 11.04 gm
"The Romance of Helen Trent" which ran from 1933 to 1960. |
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Swastika coin:
11. Egyptian Magic Coin with Swastika
Bronze, 32 mm, 13.13 gm, Type 1
There is also a logo with the initials "FEK" or "PEK", this may be a manufacturer. |
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Central Electric and Okonite advertising coin:
12. Egyptian Magic Coin advertising for Central Electric Okonite
Bronze, 32 mm, 9.74 gm, Obverse Type 1
The Central Electric Company of Chicago sold electrical supplies. The Okonite Company was one of the first US makers of insulated electrical wire and cable. Early customers included Thomas Edison and Samuel Morse. |
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French Obelisk coin:
13. Egyptian Magic Coin with obelisk obverse
Bronze, 33 mm, 9.42 gm, Reverse Type 1
The reverse has the same sphinx and pyramids reverse as a standard magic coin. This one came from France and was possibly made there. |
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Cleopatra-Bird coin:
14. Egyptian Magic Coin Cleopatra-Bird
White metal, 32 mm, 10.50 gm, Reverse Type 1
Reverse: The Egyptian Magic Coin sphinx-pyramids design. Origin unknown. |
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Toned coin:
15. Egyptian Magic Coin with toning
Bronze, 32 mm, 9.87 gm, Type 1
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Gold plated coin:
16. Egyptian Magic Coin with gold plating
Bronze, gold plated, 32 mm, 8.64 gm, Type 1
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Zinc coin:
17. Egyptian Magic Coin made from zinc
Zinc, 32 mm, 7.11 gm, Type 1, lots of corrosion
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Painted coin:
18. Egyptian Magic Coin painted
Bronze, 32 mm, 10.02 gm, Type 1, painted
These items are usually hand-painted and come in various colors. and these items have occasionally been marketed as mementos of the performances. |
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Seated Pharaoh coin:
This is an alternate variety, with the common elements but smaller in size and with a different design.
19. Egyptian Magic Coin with seated Pharaoh and loop
White metal, 26 mm, 4.30 gm
It is plated with white metal, possibly silver. The design is not quite the same as the standard magic coin. The Pharaoh is facing but is seated on a mat, not a throne. The Sphinx is facing right, on standard coins it faces left. The pyramids get larger from right to left, standard coins are left to right. It may have been manufactured in Britain or in a British Commonwealth country. |
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British variant coin:
A British example of the Type 4 design.
20. Egyptian Magic Coin
Bronze, silver plated, 32 mm, 9.49 gm, Type 4
It came from Great Britain may have been manufactured there. |
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Two coins for one:
21. Egyptian Magic Coin with foreign coin attached
Bronze, 32 mm, 12.15 gm, Type 4
The attachment was not very good and the coins were able to be separated. The weight with the attached coin is 17.91 gm. The coin is a British Straits Settlements five cent coin dated 1919. It is possible that the work was done there. |
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Glass button with Sphinx design:
This glass button with the Egyptian Magic Coin Sphinx design was supposedly made in Czechoslovakia.
22. Glass button with sphinx design
Colored glass, 32 mm, 5.62 gm, Reverse Type 1
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Jewelry made from coin:
This ornate pin is made from an Egyptian Magic Coin with crescents attached.
23. Egyptian Magic Coin made into jewelry pin
Bronze, 2-3/4 x 1-5/8 inches (7.0 x 4.2 cm), 29.26 gm, Type 1
Origin unknown but possibly somewhere in the Middle East or Egypt. |
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Australian watch fob:
This is an alternate variety, with the common elements but with a different design.
This one arrived from Australia and may have been manufactured there or in Great Britain.
I have a similar one (not shown here) which came from Great Britain.
24. Australian Watch Fob
Bronze, silver plated, 5 inches (12.7 cm), 23.28 gm (total), 14.97 gm (fob only)
25. Australian Watch Fob Coin
Bronze, silver plated, 32 mm, 8.31 gm
The Pharaoh is facing left and the Sphinx is facing right. |
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Tarot Card designs:
The famous Tarot Cards used in fortune telling have images similar to the Egyptian Magic Coin.
26. Tarot Card examples
The coin design may come from the same source as the Rider-Waite Tarot Cards,
published in 1909 by William Rider, Arthur Edward Waite, and artist Pamela Colman Smith. The chariot card also has similarities. |
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Egyptian Oval Coin:
This item appears to be related to the Egyptian Magic Coin.
It also has Egyptian hieroglyphs and no inscription. 27. Egyptian Oval Coin
There is more about this item here: Egyptian Oval Coin
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