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colonialjohn's Last 20 Posts

1818 Zacatecas Rg Contemporary Counterfeit 8 Reales - Riddell #69?

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 03/10/2023 5:46 pm

With the absence of Richard Gurney possibly due to health issues? I will post this on that new site of mine. See what clicks. Real KOOL coin! I am away from my library currently.

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

1909 French Indo-China Piastre. Probably A Contemporary Fake Or Was It A Fraud From The Mint?

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 02/13/2023 4:09 pm

Sometimes photos are deceiving - however this has that Chinese look to it along with raised metal dots in the field.

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

Moneda 1562 - Aparentemente Goa Mint

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 02/12/2023 10:31 am

A tanga denomination made in bronze? - its has MUCH historical value as a CCC no matter how much you want it to be regal. Its that word "counterfeit" that seems to indicate a devaluing sense in many collectors today >BG>. JPL

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

Identify This Ferdinand VII Countermark Coin?

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 02/12/2023 07:10 am

Not bad 3/50. JPL

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

1909 French Indo-China Piastre. Probably A Contemporary Fake Or Was It A Fraud From The Mint?

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 02/11/2023 11:37 pm

On the obverse on the crown points of K-9/10 look out 1-2" out toward the rim directional = the raised metal dots. Several of many. JPL

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

Counterfeits Of Cast Silver Sud - Any Pictures?

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 02/11/2023 11:33 pm

3/50 = Looking at the impurities of this gold piece with SEM/EDS analysis could answer? all the questions in this piece. Period gold has metal impurity signatures for the period it was made and geological region - possibly.

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

Moneda 1562 - Aparentemente Goa Mint

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 02/11/2023 11:28 pm

Incredible detective work so based on the new findings its back to a contemporary circulating counterfeit status based on its metallic composition?

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

1909 French Indo-China Piastre. Probably A Contemporary Fake Or Was It A Fraud From The Mint?

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 02/11/2023 11:25 pm

If coin A is real how do you explain the raised dots in the field caused by a Transfer Die casting process? JPL

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

Identify This Ferdinand VII Countermark Coin?

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 02/11/2023 11:22 pm

Any ideas of its meaning.

Ferdinand VII + Crown + R.P. = ?

John Lorenzo
Numismatist
United States

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

Should I Buy Some German WW2 Coins? Opinions Needed Please Help.

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 02/09/2023 2:52 pm

The only problem is they are not able to be sold or bought on EBAY in the U.S.. What you can do is avoid using the word "NAZI" when selling and just post the date/denomination so to avoid EBAY pulling them down. They have a good market. The zinc pieces are tough in UNC due to their oxidation tendencies. John Lorenzo, Numismatist.

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

Moneda 1562 - Aparentemente Goa Mint

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 02/09/2023 2:48 pm

Sell it as a Goa piece and indicate not in Gomes. Match the weight to the denomination in the series. Its real early so as he said above its a variant. John Lorenzo, Numismatist. P.S. Starting to collect these due to their crudeness. Real interesting series. Don't have Gomes - will buy once in English. Just collecting these as simple type pieces - nothing elaborate so KM is sufficient. JPL

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

Moneda 1562 - Aparentemente Goa Mint

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 02/08/2023 8:42 pm

Do you have KM & Gomes?

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

A Cob Is It Real Or A Later Forgery>

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 02/08/2023 08:40 am

Sorry no weight or other metrology data just the picture. Have requested the weight. If necessary. FYI.

Thanks for your assistance. JPL

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

8 Reales Authentication Needed

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 02/06/2023 8:05 pm

Its a contemporary circulating counterfeit probably during this period a Silver Sheffield type plate over a copper core and Pb added probably to bring it to 26.5 grams. JPL

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

Contemporary Circulating Counterfeit Or Zacatecas Of 1811 Or 1812?

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 02/06/2023 7:38 pm

Need an ID on this a Zacatecas or more likely Durango and if genuine? No edge shots. Realeswatcher your opinion. See the reverse. Do early Zacatecas ever appear debased such as this reverse? I do not follow Durango 8's that closely.

Here is the original lot description: "Durango(?). Ferdinand VII "Royalist" 8 Reales ND About Fine, KM-Unl. 37.1mm. 27.43gm. Possibly an issue of Durango from the die style, though the portrait does not match any of the coins in Calico.
From the Maurice Storck Collection"

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

Help With Identifying Coins Authenticity And Value Please (Id: 8 Reales, 1811, Zacatecas Mint Mark)

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 01/28/2023 3:44 pm

Looks genuine to me. Weights do vary but 7.X is acceptable for this regal weight window range for a 2 Reale. John Lorenzo, Numismatist

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

Counterfeit Coins In Online Auction

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 01/24/2023 7:19 pm

Based on the fabric and coloration of these issues these appear to be Chinese counterfeits. Perhaps everyone here is already aware of this fact with the (sour?) grapes innuendo. In either case as I devoted a chapter in my book (Forgotten Coins of the North American Colonies) I did purposely spend ~$100 or so and XRF surface analyze these recent Chinese junk types - in most cases they were German silver (Cu/Zn/Ni) & Fe/Ni alloys. Rarely debased silver but occasionally we may see these but the weight is difficult to get approaching regal weight with debased silver as not enough Pb can be introduced in most cases to being it to regal and for the coin to look like real silver. Someone is out $500 on some cheap base metal modern replicas. PERIOD. John Lorenzo, Numismatist.

Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins

Heritage Auctions Selling Contemporary Circulating Counterfeit 8 Reales

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 01/22/2023 09:18 am

HMMM ... as you know Bob Gurney's word was final and in 99.999% of the time he was correct. We never discussed this hidden contaminant or 1816 piece and only his high skill set and XRF analysis yielded its hand engraved status and German silver composition. In short this specimen appears to be an oddity. Bob was a purist and was very demanding in something being Class 1 (i.e., of the period since not everyone has read GNL) during the creation of GNL and rightfully so as this was his book having spent his entire life in this series and Cap and Rays CCCs. German silver as he indicated was manufactured consistently around the U.K. ~ 1835-1840 but was first introduced into the U.K. a decade earlier or more. This German silver or paktong as it was called was manufactured in China way long before this 1835-1840 period. We concluded any piece with German silver was post Class 1 due to its entrance into the U.K. from 1835-1840. Rather than get into some argument can a German silver GNL Class 1 exist by our definitions in GNL - NO. Can this be a period piece made in German silver - POSSIBLY from my viewpoint. Why bend the rules? For me I have more of an open mind - this hidden contaminant could be a false positive, the contaminant may be geologically ore related element or something else. German silver was always a grey area since German silver existed in the Far East for centuries and you can argue perhaps this piece was from a melted GS artifact. Kleebergs CCC2Rs most common metal alloy is GS and in this case I always keep an open mind that perhaps the series was not created so late (c. 1835-beyond) but possibly EARLIER due to the paktong Far East connection? So IMO the Bob Gurney Class 1 boundary may be QUESTIONABLE on this one - this is the first I read about this 1816 GS culprit but it makes sense how it slipped by A&C and Heritage as a period piece. Its a piece I would not mind owning. I am not the consignor <BG> but to me its not a slam dunk. As I type this from memory the first amazing thing I observed since I pretty much did every XRF analysis for the GNL book was the EXTREME SCARCITY of any specimens being GS. This then lead to the conclusion after analyzing several hundred different variety examples these GNL CCCs unlike Kleebergs were EARLY - OF THE PERIOD TIME WISE - and not later issues say strictly for U.S. and Canadian circulation like the Kleebergs if one can even use this argument - but its a good one. Warren Baker the Canadian numismatist believed these were Canadian Blacksmith linked and the British Museum does not have one at all in their inventory and ANS (NY) has around 90-100. In conclusion Realeswatcher and Robert Gurney leave this interesting hand-made GS alloy piece with this hidden contaminant alone - what did it ever do to you? <BG>. JPL

P.S. It seems people just bid ~$1000-1200 on CCC 8 Escudos with mercuric gold over platinum - less for mercuric gold over copper based on weight (i.e., ~90% of regal and ~50% of regal - respectively. The price of Pt also is less than Au so people buy them as high Pt pieces ~$1000.

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

Heritage Auctions Selling Contemporary Circulating Counterfeit 8 Reales

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 01/21/2023 10:39 pm

This is interesting that Heritage is selling this Counterfeit 8 Reales. I can add this to this thread. When the GNL book came out I was curious if Heritage as the rumor went did not touch counterfeits with a ten foot pole as they were strictly a slab selling company. Sorry we don't John but we appreciate all the effort that went into the GNL book some VP replies. Perhaps this changed when Donald Partrick consigned his collection which by the way included Warren Baker's intact collection of Canadian Blacksmith Coppers - Canada's most important contemporary circulating counterfeits. In that group were two Latin American counterfeit 2 reales in off-metal and to my surprise after contacting them through Sarah Miller did include the two Kleeberg numbers into the listing from my inventory listings and keeper of this counterfeit family. These were in the collection since way back in 1987 Warren Baker believed these Kleebergs had some link by manufacturer to the Blacksmith's. They both went surprisingly well at near $1,000 each. Unusual so high for Kleebergs. We then see some mercuric gold over platinum escudos pieces from the so-called Long Island Collection. This still may be Partrick as he was a resident in eastern Long Island where he had his real estate/construction business? But with this singular 1816 CCC piece maybe they have seen the light? This piece is not in GNL, the A&C reference you supplied is curious and if you look in page 66 of GNL the A&C 1816 CCC8R has this silver edge ribbon seam of a Sheffield plate (i.e., a fine seam that runs through the dentils in a roughly circular fashion around the perimeter). Not seeing this Heritage piece as a Sheffield or the A&C piece as the Heritage piece with its low weight (24.81 grams) seems more of a debased silver appearance and I see no silver breaks over the base metal host after a magnification overview for either specimen.

U.S. Colonial Machins Mills pieces which are also contemporary circulating counterfeits have also been sold by Heritage and are the most well-known being in the U.S. Red Book - so perhaps they saw collector demand for these Academia pieces. There are GOOD counterfeits and BAD counterfeits. I remain pessimistic with Heritage and wonder since Stacks/Bowers is also pushing for pure slab sales what will happen to some very good collections of contemporary circulating counterfeit British/Irish counterfeits of 1/2d and 1/4ds and is their fate strictly EBAY for these types that are not plated Machins Mills 1/2ds? Back in 2008 Stacks Americana Sale a Ringo CCC 1/2d went for $18,000!

One last thought there was a big debate here awhile back with Gord Nichols CCC8Rs and some of his other counterfeits which were dated post-1840 and not allowed in any Canadian auction due to their policy of not allowing counterfeits of their Canadian Mint coinage to be sold. After this I was told his counterfeit 8's went privately. I agree BTW with the CCF Canadian's moderator SPP-Ottawa he should of went "south of the border" to Stacks/Bowers. I still own around 30 of the more rare types like the GIII English countermark (circular/hexagonal) types and other crude one's including the most rare alloy being of tin/lead/antimony. From a collection of around 140 I sold one a week on EBAY to many eager buyers. Mike Ringo's pieces went to Stacks and did well all being sold with GNL classifications.

Will HERITAGE break the barrier threefifty with the GOOD Latin American counterfeits? Who would not want to own a mercuric gold platinum host escudo contemporary circulating counterfeit? Thousands of people BLINDED by the massive Chinese Junk COUNTERFEIT base metal influx holding up their signs "MELT ALL THE COUNTERFEITS!"

Crazy times threefifty ...

John Lorenzo
Numismatist
United States

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

Counterfeits Of Cast Silver Sud - Any Pictures?

colonialjohn

Pillar of the Community

United States

1608 Posts

Posted 01/16/2023 6:18 pm

No problem but keep the NGC or PCGS ticket in the flip. I did this with this coin and published it at the E.P. Newman Portal:

https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/579875

SEM/EDS looks at the coins microstructure and is able to pick up the lighter elements such as S & Cl as it works in a vacuum whereas most XRF devices can analyze only metals as oxygen interferes with the detection of lighter elements in the Periodic Table. In this study I needed to detect sulfur. It showed that sometimes a non-homogenous surface can be mint made under the proper mint conditions. We can expect DIFFERENT microstructures between a silver issue from 1812, 1900 & 1950 and even from the same era and from different manufacturing operations. The microstructure and gold & silver assay values all together would give us a good picture. Since these devices to use or rent if you will are $350/hour it still prohibitive as it takes about an hour/coin to get the full picture - so to speak. I felt it an important enough study so I dropped the money into the analysis for this one coin. JPL

Forum: World Coins and Commemoratives

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