Tellurium is a brittle, semi-conducting metalloid. Though not considered a precious metal, tellurium is rarer in abundance than platinum in the Earth's crust.
This coin is not in my collection. If you know where I can find one, please email me at jer...@gmail.com
The Hungarian Millenium Exhibition in 1896 celebrated 1000 years of Hungarian history since the conquest of the Carpathian Basin by the Magyars in 896 AD. Among the many commemorative items made for this event was this mining medal, which claims it is made of "Nagyági Tellur"... in other words, of tellurium mined from the Nagyag mining region (now called Sacaramb) of Romania. This area is a part of Transylvania, also known to the Germans as Siebenbürg, where tellurium was first discovered in 1782 by the Hungarian Franz-Joseph Müller von Reichenstein.
The reverse inscription is an abbreviation of the name "Magyar Királyi Fémkohó Selmeczbányan", which means Hungarian Royal Metal Furnace in Selmeczbányan (now Banská tiavnica, Slovakia). The history of this town has been determined by its abundant mineral deposits, primarily silver.
The medal is said to be 43 or 44 mm diameter, weighing 36.1g. Based on some photographs it appears to have a slightly yellowish or golden color. Tony Clayton speculates this medal might actually be a tellurium alloy with 11% copper.
Here are some appearances of this medal on the Internet. Estimated pre-sale prices are given; actual prices realized are unknown.
1997 Baldwin's Auctions Ltd., London. Lot 782. Est. 30-40 Euro ($44-$59)
2008 Hungarian National Medal Association, Budapest. Lot 408.
With case and certificate. Est. 3000 Hungarian forint ($16)
I am uncertain whether the Hungarian words "hű másolata" (true copy) mean that this coin is an authentic piece or an exact replica. Also uncertain is whether "csak 100. db" (only 100th pc) means that only 100 pieces were minted. And if so, 100 of the original or of the replica?
2009 Czech medal club Plastika. Lot 1224 (pictured above) . Est. 5000 Czech koruna ($289)
This appears to be a private medal collecting society. Non-members aren't allowed to buy, and non-Czechs can't become members.