New to this. Need a little help with an item.

Hi.  I live outside Dallas and recently retired.  Years ago my dad left me and each of my brothers 3 or 4 bags of coins each.  I never really looked at them, but now that im retired i have some free time.

One of the items is kind of unique and i have no idea what it is.  It looks like an old homemade pair of tongs, but upon closer examination it looks like it was made with 2 coins.  I think one of the coins is this one, which this site shows to be from the 1500's.  Not sure about the other one.   N#330393

I guess im just wondering what i have, if its real and if any of you guys ever seen anything like it. It may be a common thing, but like i said, im new to this.  Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Bob

!

I collect coins of Ferrara, Italy.  

Saint George is the patron saint of this city, and I think one of your coins has Saint George on horseback skewering the dragon, with initials A.B. below, and we can see the letters FERRAR on this coin.  

Let's see if we can find it in our catalog.

Added:  Here is a coin where the St. George image and the papal coat of arms give us a match (you will see in the comments section the variety with A.B. ).

N#364186

Also, the first coin is not Macerata, but is this one:  N#363843 .  The coat of arms with the column helps identify it.

It's a very interesting item, using two rather uncommon coins that would have circulated in different parts of Italy (Ferrara and Rome) at differnt periods in time.  Did your father serve in Europe (Italy) in World War II?  

Thank you for the informative reply.

My father did serve in WW2, but in the Pacific theater.  However, our family is originally from Ascoli Picenio which i believe is also along the Adriatic Coast, a few hours south of Ferrara (?).  His family migrated to the U.S in 1919.

Ascoli, Ferrara and Rome were all in the Papal domain until around 1800 I think.  I wonder if it could have been an item from his family.  

I'm also curious how it would have been made … I guess heated and gently formed into the cupped shape?  It doesn;t look like it was hammered in to that shape.

And, of course, what it was used for (putting coals into a bed warmer?).

I can't help with the coins however I have seen silver coins turned into spoons in a similar fashion in Croatia which is right next to Italy and share a similar culture. Seems to have been a popular thing at the time.

Again, thanks to everyone for  all the information.

In regard to the Papal references, i have been told that my family tree includes a relative in Ascoli by the name of Major Giovanni Piccioni. It appears he was an ally of the Papacy.  Apparently,  there is still a tree in Ascoli that bears his name, where he hid out until capture.  Perhaps that is how we came into possession of the item.

https://luoghi.italianbotanicalheritage.com/en/albero-dei-piccioni-pigeon-tree/

https://www.chiamamicitta.it/lultimo-soldato-del-papa-re-e-non-chiamatemi-brigante/

https://www.cronachepicene.it/2020/10/20/il-brigante-giovanni-piccioni-una-figura-da-riabilitare-il-pronipote-sacrifico-la-vita-per-la-sua-terra/232657/