19th century A.D. Obv: facing bearded head with gibberish legend. Rev: heraldic arms quartered with four annulets, a sword, three chevrons and diagonally striped. 10.15 grams, 26mm. Acquired M J Bowman Auctions, lot 81. Property of a Kent gentleman. William Smith and Charles Eaton created fantasy antiquities supposedly found in the river Thames silts, especially during the construction of the new docks at Shadwell. Using chalk moulds the cast a wide variety of medallions, pendants and other objects in a lead alloy or lateen (a crude brass alloy) which were treated with chemicals to give them a realistic patination. They typically depict bearded heads or armoured figures in combination with unintelligible inscriptions using letters of a characteristic form. When they first started to appear, they were widely accepted as genuine and it took some while before they were finally condemned as fantasises.