Coin and Paper Money Collecting/Chinese Silver coins

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Expert: - 9/29/2009


Question
I recently bought 8 Silver Dollar size Chinese coins, they all have a dragon on the front, one I traced to be Japenese with Trade Dollar at the bottom. I cannot find them in the books I have 3 ARE FROM THE 34TH YR. KUANG-HSU, 2-ARE FROM THE Shen-Si Province AND 1- IS FROM THE Fen-Tien Province. In the world coin books I have I can find parts of each in other coins. I collect coin as an amateur and I picked these up at a flea market for $10.00

Answer

ReplicaDies
Hi William,
Unfortunately you have a group of modern counterfeits. The designs you described are among the most common and I see them all over the internet and especially at flea markets.
Flea market dealers rarely have access to genuine coins like this, which are worth in the hundreds (and some in the thousands) of dollars, yet nearly every flea market I've been to has at least one guy selling these "fantasy" coins, which are similar to existing coins but not quite right.
One thing to be suspicious of... flea market dealers will never offer you a genuine silver coin for just silver value or less. In this case, the real thing would have close to $15 worth of silver. This is true for all kinds of large coins, not just the China/Japan dollars.
I have attached a photo of one such counterfeiting die used to strike British crowns, and the one below it for Greek drachmas. All of these valuable coins are prime territory for counterfeiting.
To be sure, ask the dealer to weigh the coin before buying. If they refuse, or if the weight is well under the 27 grams for a dollar size coin, you likely have a replica. The modern ones are typically 22-23 grams, but certainly under 25.
Luckily you only paid $10 a piece, which is a normal price that you might expect to buy a confirmed replica "study piece" (as they are commonly referred to). Many unethical dealers try to pass them off as the real thing, for hundreds of dollars.
Feel free to ask follow-up questions and post pictures of any other coins you are unsure about.
Thanks for the question! =)
    Questioner's Rating
    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 10Clarity of Response = 10Politeness = 10
    CommentMr. Livshits, Thank You for your answer, I guess I am lucky because I bought these coins from a lady who did not know the coin either because she sold me all eight for ten dollars. They even have signs of ware on the coins showing maybe circulation. Thanks again you were a great help. William


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Dmitry Livshits

Expertise

My specialty is world coins from the 18th to 20th centuries, primarily non-US foreign coins and related areas such as errors and exonumia (tokens, medals, etc.). I can answer questions relating to identification, grading, selling, preservation and evaluation of such items. In addition to catalog value, I can give you the practical market value and trends for specific types of coins. I will also take questions regarding counterfeits (both modern and antique) and on how to identify them. I am NOT knowledgeable in paper money/banknotes, ancient or "shipwreck" coins. Thank you.

Experience

Collector of world coins since early childhood. Access to a variety of auction records and reference material. You can also find me on Facebook.

Education/Credentials
A.S. in Psychology (2006), B.A. in Forensic Psychology (2008), M.A. in Forensic Psychology (2011).

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