Need Help With Tang Dynasty Coin

I agree Bob, especially since I have proven myself incompetent at separating real ancient Chinese coins from fakes. I would add, though, that my own Northern Song coins generally have about this level of wear on the characters.

To be honest the white color on my coin may not even be dirt. It could just as easily be paint or something else. I am just saying, you cannot base "AHH ITS A FAKE" off of what you think is fake dirt. The wear of the coin is fine. And while there are variants of Chinese coins I am sure, here is a prime example of the reverse of a Board of Revenue Kang Hsi that you have (So you can compare yours to a confirmed one):


We could both have authentic coins and be throwing rocks at each other; who knows?

Well I'm trying to help... once again as a metal detectorist I can tell you immediately that your coin is fake and presented facts, this is not my coin vs. yours, come on...

I don't need to confirm my coin, I didn't bought it, I dug it from a place with a lot of history in it along with several other old objects.

I don't know if you know who David Hartill is, but he is the author of the most popular catalogue for Chinese coins that everyone follows to id coins, it was found that in his private collection he had several fake coins...

I guess that tell us a lot about the market of Chinese coins worldwide...

I don't think "facts" means what you think it means. I am still trying to find the facts you provided. The metal of coins can in fact stay this intact for so long. The characters match perfectly with the exact coin from that time period. The wear on the coin is from it being roped together with the rest of the coins used for currency.

These coins have been faked for a thousand years, so if your the foundation of your "facts" is based off you finding it in the ground, you may be wrong from the beginning. That "dirt", as I said could also be paint. People during that time painted and even sometimes put extra holes in them to add flair and style. They did it here in Korea as well.

Lastly, I am not putting my coin vs yours. I was showing you that even your coins mint mark is not the same as the online catalog's.

Searching for your facts

I am really hoping that one of the experts will chime in here and prove us both wrong.

Find the diferences of a coin from the same period that actually is genuine on ebay and yours:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1064AD-Chin...350523956033

These clueless people are the reason there are so many fake coins selling outhere, even after being told they have a blatantly fake coin they still refuse to believe it...

Well it seems we have a difference of opinion, while we encourage debate there is a point where the debate ends and your wrong and I'm write begins. We have reached that point. When have several experts here that have made Chinese coins their lives work. Hopefully they will be along shortly and settle this. Until than lets be civil with each other. Enough said.

TypeCoin971793, thanks a million and I am definitely glad you believe it is genuine.

I apologize this cat fight went to your mailbox, but I am grateful that you were able to help.

I too received a PM asking for my opinion. While I am absolutely honoured to be considered an expert (thank you, can't say I am one though), I feel Thomas has already answered correctly: in my opinion the coin is genuine too. I feel the wear is correct for a worn Northern-Song cash, and so is the rest of the coin.

White "dirt/paint" can be a bad sign however. A large number of less than decent fake spades and knives are covered in some sort of white plaster like substance (zeno.ru has a couple of beautiful examples of this). On this coin however it is simply the patina with infused soil like material. A large portion of hoard finds exhibit such a patina. As Thomas already mentioned, there are many different soil types, each providing a different patina. We have the so-called "Beijing" patina, characterised by the beautiful green surfaces, but also the slightly darker patina found near the yellow river delta. Some incredible experts can actually tell the provenance by only looking at the patina, me not included unfortunately. My point being; every coin's patina is different. Even within hoards this is the case. My guess is that this coin however was found cleaned roughly, but not too roughly, leaving the "harder" part of the patina intact.

This may just have been Type's points regurgitated into a short reply, but I feel that when two collectors (I dare not call myself an expert) within the same area have the same opinion, it is a good sign.

And to deme; do please show us some of the coins or artefacts you have found! Hong Kong seems like an intresting place to dig!

Kind regards,

Mika

Ps. Thomas, if you are reading this (keep in mind I am not as trained as you are, and I am looking at a tiny picture), is it just me, or does the patina on the coin slightly below the tip of your Bai-bi knife, look a little off? Could be wrong though, but to me it looks slightly doubtful.. Love the entire overview picture though, I should make one too.