Expert: Dmitry Livshits - 1/13/2011

Question
QUESTION: I have a friend who has a coin that she believes to be an 1897 Kiangnan dragon silver dollar. We have not been able to identify any experts in our region to look at it to determine its authenticity. We're hoping you may have some advice.

thank you

ANSWER: Hi Andrew,
The design is that of an 1898 Kiangnan silver dolalr, but the surface and details do not look correct. The style of lettering and coloration is typical of non-silver modern counterfeits.
These are nearly always underweight. If you have an accurate scale or access to one you can always check if it's right around the normal 27 grams or not. Most of these that I see are between 25.5 and 26.5 grams. Please note that a genuine coin with wear will also be a few tenths of a gram lighter, but this coin has no wear.
Thanks for the question! =)

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I'm concerned that I may have sent the wrong photos for you to review. I've been collecting many of them. So, I am sending the photos that are absolutely the right ones. Because your system doesn't accept .zip files, I will send one jpeg with each of three messages. This is the first, and it includes a front view.

Answer
Hi Andrew,
The pictures are of the same coin, but thank you for attaching larger pictures with make it clear that this coin was cast in a mold, rather than struck on a blank piece of metal as they normally are.
If you look at the scrolling around the rim - at the bottom left of the dragon the scrolling becomes small dots. Also, the circle surrounding the dragon looks to have some extra material on the circle to the left, where it becomes thicker. Combined with the numerous breaks in the lettering and irregularities in the design this tells me that I am looking at a modern copy.
It's unfortunate, but such copies have flooded the coin market. The only good thing about that is that it has driven the prices for the genuine coins through the roof.
Thanks for the question! =)