Expert: Brad Swain - 5/13/2010

Question
I have a silver Chinese coin about the size of an American silver dollar,on the front are the dates 1875-1908 and a chinese man wearing some sort of crown.On the back is a dragon holding what looks like arrows in his claw.All of the writing is in chinese symbols,any idea what this is or what it could be worth? Thanks for your help.

Answer
Hi Edward, This is a fantasy pieces mass produced in East Asia, the Middle East or Eastern Europe.
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. No designs, especially with English dates were ever issued.
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.
Genuine Chinese silver dollar coins of this period weigh 26.4 to 27.5 grams each.
Fakes: http://reviews.ebay.com/Fake-8-4-and-2-Reales-coins-from-ASIA-BEWARE_W0QQugidZ10...
Chinese counterfeit factory: http://coins.about.com/od/worldcoins/ig/Chinese-Counterfeiting-Ring/Chinese-Fake... .
Brad