Fake £1

Wow RED, the edge on that 2014 looks darn sophisticated. I'm going that colour myself with envy!

Do you think that is a binary brass, and does it look the same as in the steel-centred (FAKE2K) or any other fake £2?

[Incidentally this forum has cleverly inserted "darn" in place of a similar word I actually typed!]

PS. Really interested in how well this motto lines up against a real one, and how the cross came out. Can we rule out this being a cast job?

This one came from a bank employee who said and I quote "it's a lovey bright yellowey gold lol, stuck out like a sore thumb when I was counting bags"

Here's some comparison pics....

First a colour match to a variety of £2 coins
(Top Left - Steel Center, Top Right - Medusa, Bottom Left - Not-so-pink pink center & Bottom Right - Early Chinese plated.)



Closer-up (All coins in same place)



Now the motto compared to another 2014



Noticed this very slight distortion above a few of the letters, indicating the motto was applied last.

@ RED: Thanks!! That's almost certainly a simple non-nickel brass then. I was thinking it was most likely to be the work of the steel-centre £2 gang as their £2 (e.g. the 2012) likewise have soapy automatic ('Xerox') images of the faces (whereas all the others in those pics have artisan spoofs) but remarkably lifelike edges, and they do not appear to have access to nickel alloys (or they would use them). However the edge is taken to another level here, the reeding is lovely and compressed just a broader gauge.

@ tenbob. This is an example of the series I and RED are calling Magic Motto. If you compare it closely with a bona fide coins with the true non-Roman type DECUS.. motto, particularly in daylight, you will see a number of differences. The lettering does always have differences from the real thing, most visibly the S and the M are more lopsided and the N closer to the D, by about 5 reeds vs. bona fide, although the position of the cross can vary a little in the bona fide. Also the M especially is more spidery/calligraphic. Also the reeding is less tight and I've found the metal to be paler than the real thing with some variegation, which may mean more nickel than par and some lead in the mix. Also rim errors like that you refer to on the obverse are common; the cross may be too blobby rather than just faint; bits may be missing from the motto. They have made several reverses especially Royal Arms and Oak, and both Third and Fourth Portrait. Many can be seen in UK Fake and Error Coins but I've found very few in London, at least that I noticed.

Yours may have been made in the past few years, but Magic Motto is one of two recent large-scale makers operating from before 2010 which do not fit with any reported factory bust and so may still be operating. I have a PLEIDIOL... Leek with similar characteristics apparently also Magic Motto (sorry I should put up pic or two). Their edges are lifelike in a different way to the steel-centred £2 and the 2014 £1, but in all these cases the edges show up clear differences when viewed closely.

Almost certainly real and either badly eroded or was a weak strike error. Or both. Moral

I was going to post in the " lowball 85 " section RED but wasn't sure so waited for confirmation.
I got another at the weekend,
1993 coat of arms
Weight - 9.25g

Just found what appears to be a contemporary fake half-crown, 1923.

Specs: D: 32mm T: 2mm W: 13.8g

Milled. Looks like silver-plated brass, the silver is wearing off on the standard high points.

Pics when I manage it. Anybody know if it's worth anything?

Mercedes and Disney well represented on the reverse, upper left.

News from BBC Wales - last Round Pound coins minted:
http://www.itv.com/news/wales/updat...pound-coins/