That motto is on ALL British Coins so it doesn't help to ID a specific coin. Please post a new question with the coin's denomination and an estimate of how worn it is.
It will be either a British Sovereign or Half-Sovereign.
Well, you didn't specify the denomination, but let me tell you what the legends mean. 1896 is obviously the date on the coin, Victoria is who is depicted on the front of the coin. Dei Gratia means by the grace of god. Britt Regina means queen of the British. Fid def means defender of the faith, and Ind Imp means Empress of India. Put these together and you get part of Queen Victoria's royal title, Victoria, by the grace of God, queen of Britain, defender of the faith and empress of India. As for the mintmark M, this mintmark would only appear on the gold coins, the sovereign and the half sovereign for this date. The mintmark would be above the date on the reverse between the 8 and 9 on the ground with St. George slaying the dragon. This mintmark means the coin was minted in Melborne.
(Victoria) Fid Def Britt Reg and Regina Fid Def Britanniarum describes the title of the monarch in abbreviated Latin, in this case, Queen Victoria. It tells us nothing about the coin other than it is British or from one of the many British Empire/Commonwealth countries or Colonies. The phrase "VICTORIA DEI GRA BRITT REGINA FID DEF IND IMP" is mostly abbreviated from Latin. The literal definition is - "Victoria by the Grace of God, Queen of the British territories, Defender of the Faith, Empress of India". British coins issued in 1887 were - Five Pounds - gold (non-circulating) Two Pounds - gold (non-circulating) Sovereign - gold (One Pound) Half-Sovereign - gold (Ten Shillings) Crown - silver (Five Shillings) Double-Florin - silver (Four Shillings) Halfcrown - silver (Two Shillings and Sixpence) Florin - silver (Two Shilling) Shilling - silver (Twelve Pence) Sixpence - silver Threepence - silver Penny - bronze Halfpenny - bronze Farthing - bronze
At the very least, it will be worth the current bullion value of whatever gold and silver was used to make it. Presumably there is a coin on the chain. Whatever collector value the coin may have had was lost when the coin was modified as a piece of jewellery.
Your coin is either a gold Sovereign or a Half-Sovereign. A Sovereign is about 22mm in diameter and a Half-Sovereign about 19.3mm. The mintmark will be a small M, P or S indicating that the coin was minted at the Melbourne, Perth or Sydney Mint. Coins minted at the London Mint have no mintmark.
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a gramy nomination for her song gold
Australia won 2 Gold medals at the 1896 Athens Olympics.
It's on her album of the same name.
It is quite possible. These coins are a target for forgers. The 1893 Two Pound (Double Sovereign) coin should show the "Old veiled bust" of Queen Victoria on the obverse and St. George slaying the dragon on the reverse. The inscription should read - "VICTORIA DEI GRA BRITT REGINA FID DEF IND IMP" The coin is made from 22 carat gold and should weigh 16 grams and be 28.4 mm in diameter. If in doubt, take your coin to a reputable coin dealer for examination.
Gold was first discovered in Ballarat, Victoria in August 1851.
All Sovereign coinage issued by the Royal Mint since 1817 is 22 carat gold. These include the Five Pound (Quintuple Sovereign), Two Pound (Double Sovereign), Sovereign, Half-Sovereign and, in 2009, the Quarter-Sovereign.