Chinese "Junk" Dollar With Birds...is It Real?

Absolutely not the real deal. Cast Chinese fake. Will probably jump to a magnet.

This is a coin that's worth more than a thousand dollars if genuine. Even if you may be able to claim that it was struck in silver, this is still of no reason why this is genuine. To use silver to strike a counterfeit 1000+ dollar coin and be able to pass it off as one is a cheap bargain.

The details might look right but at closer details, there is something off about it. Can you show us an edge of it and if possible, provide the weight of it as well.

I guess the biggest concern at first look is the overall appearance. While it may sound silver or while the photography skills may not reflect its true appearance - it just looks like it's some kind of base metal alloy. Indeed it may be possible that it's silver that has been coated with all other minerals but I'm not convinced it is genuine. A lot of counterfeits now go through some artificial wear to make it look more 'genuine'.

Secondly, the biggest giveaway is the overall thickness of the fonts and the sun rays. If you compare to genuine examples, they are just too thick.

Thirdly - normally weight and edging would reveal it straight away. As there is no information available with the weight, this is not applicable. Often counterfeits will have a huge weight variance which gives it away. The edge is a bit hard to tell which is also often another sign.

There is not enough sharpness in the design, both sides.

My opinion is that the coin is a numismatic forgery made to fool collectors.

The details are blunted - the fine details are lost. They were not worn off the coin since the high point details still show clearly. Also if you notice there is some distortion of the highest part of the rim by the reeds. This is only seen on coins that are MS. The reed distortion of the rim is the absolute high point where wear starts. So either the reeds were applied after the coin was cast or it is MS. I believe it was post cast edging, but it COULD be MS.

The problem is if the coin was MS where are the other details - it is NOT strike pressure because the ray tip over the aft sail is COMPLRTE. What is missing are the boards on the side of the hull, the anchor details and some of the deck details. These are all weak strike details that should be there.

But back to the ray over the aft mast - it is actually too thick - too prominent. I believe it was recut into the mold and in the process in crosses OVER the mast. On the original dies the mast crosses the ray.

I believe there is a clear case for forgery. The origin of the coin is also a clue. Would it be more likely to find a rare silver coin on the forest floor or a 10 cent forgery that someone discarded because he had been fooled by a vendor in a stall.

You should never, ever do this to a coin that is potentially valuable. Heat can cause chemical changes in the metal, and water (unless distilled) is a vehicle for chemicals that can interact with the metal.