Expert: Brad Swain - 2/17/2010

Question
I recently purchased a bag of these 'coins' from a market and was wondering where I could find out more about them. Most have been painted to look old which I have cleaned off and now I just wanted to know about them some more and what I can do with them. I know they are most likely counterfeit and don't want to sell them as coins but maybe drill them and use as a medallion.

Answer
Hi Tony, yes, they are likely fakes and using them as jewelry would be fitting for they are not coins.
You might try a library for a copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins for pictures, values and lots more interesting info.
Counterfeits and fantasy pieces mass produced in East Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe abound of Chinese and U.S. coins, and many other countries'.
A 'fantasy' piece is when someone creates or hijacks an official design and changes it to suit whatever purpose they imagine that will make the coin interesting enough to sell as a souvenir or conversation piece to someone who is unfamiliar with the genuine pieces.
Most older counterfeits weigh up light, are grayish, may have a weakly struck look to appear worn, look cleaned or antiqued and may have a dull or grainy surface or have typographical errors. Newer ones show that the counterfeiters are refining their skills and obtaining planchets of the right weight to produce passable counterfeits. Weighing it may be the best telltale of its genuineness.
Genuine Chinese silver dollar coins of this period weigh 26.4 to 27.5 grams each.
Chinese counterfeit factory: http://coins.about.com/od/worldcoins/ig/Chinese-Counterfeiting-Ring/Chinese-Fake... .
If you have pictures (not over 1 megabyte each please) you can email them to me at tbirde@psknet.com.
Brad