| Author |
 Replies: 12 / Views: 2,720 |
|
|
Valued Member
Japan
71 Posts |
so, recently I have bought the "Ghana 1997 500 sika Marine-life protection" 5 oz silver coin, thus completing a collection of 10, 100 and 500 sika with the same design   but upon inspecting the newly arrived coin, I could not help but to notice a kind of a chip as if a paint got peeled off leaving underneath whitish enamel-like surface:  so, a question arose as to how that could have been possible if it was supposed to be a solid silver coin with only the obverse side painted - or my understanding is incorrect? (i should admit that I'm not very knowledgeable with regards to these topics) ... this coin is 15 years old, the overall condition aside from the said flaw is good, the silver is quite 'toned'... and I actually don't mind a little 'wear', but am worried if it could be a fake would appreciate anyone's informed input to confirm or dispel that worry of mine thanks in advance Edited by goodwin
06/02/2013 07:09 am
|
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United Kingdom
856 Posts |
Sent it back. As far as I can make out Ghana has had no real reserves or stable currency for years and producing such items is a way of boosting the economy. Though it issues 'gold' coins they appear to be about 1/4 gold (ie plated), though it would be worth checking Krause to see what they say. I suspect your coin (which as 'sika' probably has no legal status in Ghana or anywhere else) may just be plated and the silver has peeled off the back. http://www.24carat.co.uk/frame.php?url=ghana.htmlIf you like it as a piece of medallic art, get one that's perfect. But unless it has a certificate of authenticity that says it's solid silver I wouldn't assume it! Edited by Tom Goodheart
06/02/2013 07:23 am
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1200 Posts |
I'm not an authority on the subject of plated coins, but that certainly does look like a plated item from which the plating is starting to peel off. If I were you and I could still return
them to the source I bought them from and get a refund, I'd mail all three coins out in tomorrow's mail and be on the phone with the vendor as soon as they opened for business.
|
|
CCF Master Historian of USA Commemoratives
 United States
12267 Posts |
What you have would be better classified as a set of medals rather than coins. The "cedi" is the official currency unit of Ghana and is used for its internal legal tender. The "sika" is a pseudo denomination the government has apparently authorized for use on commemorative pieces sold outside of the country to promote Ghana. Only cedi-denominated coins are included in the Krause Standard Catalog of World Coins; the sika-denominated coin-medals appear in Krause's Unusual World Coins Catalog.
The attractive pieces you've shown were produced in Germany. Based on some quick internet research...
In terms of mintage: 10 Sika â€" 20,000; 100 Sika â€" 5,000 and 500 Sika â€" 1,000. Regarding composition: 10 Sika â€" Copper-nickel; 100 Sika 0.925 Silver and 500 Sika 0.999 Silver.
The coat-of-arms on the 500 Sika coin-medal certainly does look suspicious. If it really is a solid 0.999 fine silver piece, it shouldn't be peeling unless it was struck on an incredibly bad planchet! Many plated coins/medals have either a copper or copper-nickel base. Your piece doesn't appear to be copper under the "peeled" areas, but it could be copper-nickel or some other white metal alloy.
You've noted that the medal is supposed to be five ounces â€" have you weighed it? Does it check out?
I would contact the seller and explain your concerns.
Collecting history one coin or medal at a time! (c) commems. All rights reserved.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
8516 Posts |
Either the plating is peeling or it's varnish that's peeling. They could have coated the entire coin after painting it. If its not just a sticker on the obverse.
Oregon coin geek.....*** GO BEAVS ! ! ! ***
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
592 Posts |
Perhaps you could perform the tissue test and see if the reverse comes up with a different color in the peeling spot. |
|
Moderator
Australia
16817 Posts |
To me, it looks like blobs of clear or translucent glue/varnish stuck to the coin; the varnish has (partially) protected the bits of the coin underneath it from toning. Quote:
The "sika" is a pseudo denomination the government has apparently authorized for use on commemorative pieces sold outside of the country to promote Ghana. As far as I know, the "sika" has never been recognized or authorized in any way by the government of Ghana; these are purely fantasy "coins" with no connection to the government of Ghana and no legal tender status whatsoever. That's why they're in the "Unusual" catalogue. Quote:
But unless it has a certificate of authenticity that says it's solid silver I wouldn't assume it! I wouldn't assume it then, either. Of what worth is a "certificate of authenticity" for something that was never an "authentic coin" to begin with? I could print you up as many "certificates of authenticity" for this coin as you wish; they'd be just as reputable as anything that might have originally come with the coin. Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
|
|
Valued Member
 Japan
71 Posts |
thank you for all the responses: I wrote a letter to the seller, asking to elucidate the issue but the point is, I bought it at a certain German auction house at an auction that had thousands of items (ancient rome, china, medieval europe) some of them sold for thousands if not tens of thousands: that place would be the last I would ever suspect of selling some dubious stuff i weighed the coin: 155 g. a " tissue test" - well, don't even know how to interpret the results, as they seemed to me to show that aside from the banner in the center (purple in color) it looked somewhere in the middle of white and purple specter (can a toned silver reveal itself as slightly 'purplish' on that test?) |
|
Valued Member
Japan
71 Posts |
by the way, almost half of the surface of the edge is purple:  |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
5206 Posts |
Weigh the coin. The edge toning looks normal for a silver coin that has been stored in a non air tight condition. I have a silver 1989 Maple Leaf that I bought in the original mint plastic wrap that split the seam and it toned on the edge only where the split was.    |
|
Valued Member
Japan
71 Posts |
Quote:
Weigh the coin. 155g. |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
5206 Posts |
|
|
Valued Member
Japan
71 Posts |
ok, here is the reply I got from german auctioneers:
"Dear Sir,
of course the coin is solid silver and totally genuine. We guarantee this without limit of time.
Regards"
those folks surely do sound very confident, but their words - are they convincing enough?
|
| |
Replies: 12 / Views: 2,720 |
|
Posted 06/02/2013 07:46 am
