Shipwreck Sale: 1726 German Saxony Coin, "Taler' or 'Thaler"
This coin is in excellent dug condition; it shows normal use wear; I am not sure if it is silver or not.
The coin features what I assume to be a Saxony German State crest. I'm afraid I cannot tell you what the large 48 at the top of the dated side of the coin indicates.
You can certainly date coinage by its minting. Coins I have included in the sale that date from the Middle Ages pre-date the industrialization and coining methods you see evident by the 18th century.
Still, the quality of design (and creation) of even early Roman coins is outstanding; hammered English coins are not going to be particularly outstanding simply by the nature of how they were made. And besides Roman and Byzantine, as well as Spanish treasure coins, the earliest in the sale immediatey precedes this listing: The Biblical "widow's mites" date to before the time of Christ.