nalaberong --- Hello and welcome to the world of counterfeit ownership.
The coin looks like a typical cast copy from the last decade of the 19th century or the early decades of the 20th century - made during one of the many monetary crises to circulate. The bright dots in the metal are usually zinc blooms that crystalize quicker than the rest of the mixture.
Casts of this nature are extremely common as a generic type but assembling a complete set from any country or series is a daunting task. There is no large pool of examples to draw from.
I understand about your concerns about lead but don't worry. I have handled counterfeits for over 50 years and as of last year I passed a toxic screening used to detect exposure to hazardous metals. You do need to be aware that arsenic, antimony (nearly as poisonous) and high levels of mercury are typically found in the alloys of that period. But you are safe as long as you wash your hands.
The $2 price is fine - but until you know the alloy I would suggest that you keep the coin in a holder and only handle it with gloves. The precautions are reasonable and should be used with all coins in any event.
The fear of being poisoned by a counterfeit coin is NOT REASONABLE - unless you store your coins in your mouth.
sel_69l --- I agree with you that all forgeries and counterfeits are NOT GENUINE - but:
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They should never be lumped together into one big group. Numismatic forgeries are in a completely different category than Contemporary Circulating Counterfeits.
As coin collectors we need to get used to making that distinction. Forgeries are nearly worthless and are made to defraud collectors -
they are a current threat. Counterfeits that were originally made to circulate and are not a threat. They just need to be properly described.
The key difference in my opinion is:
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All of the Contemporary Circulating Counterfeits that will ever be made have already been made.
That applies to all coin series that are legal to own and collect. These are the coins of the past that are not today monetary in nature.
That is precisely why they are of historic interest and are valuable. They are as rare as or more rare than the genuine examples.
To your list of very valuable counterfeits I would add:
The Birmingham forgeries of the Portrait 8Rs and
all of the counterfeit varieties in Riddell's book. In this regard every collector of counterfeits will have his own favorites.
Posted 12/08/2013 3:49 pm
) and I was expecting it to be dodgy when I saw it.
