Question About A Peruvian 1933 Silver Crown (Un Sol)

spruett001 By SG I am referring to Specific Gravity. The OP's coin should be tested with XRF to avoid any possible damage. That test I can not control. The owner of the magnetic versions would have to undertake those tests.

While copper and nickel are essentially the same density - silver is not. The coin to be genuine must contain 50% silver by Peruvian law. Anything else (lower silver content) makes the coin fraudulent - even if made at the mint in Lima it could not be encapsulated as genuine.

There are absolutely no reports, discovered so far that claim the Lima mint produced fraudulent coins with deficient silver content at that time. No US mint reports issued cautionary statements about Peruvian coins being fraudulent either.

So I will test the coin to see if it yields an appropriate density. That would prove the coin I have in hand is some form of counterfeit. I would propose that there is little chance that the coin was made as a "for circulation" forgery ca 1935, since there are no reports of such a counterfeit in any reference I have. It is far more likely that it would be a numismatic forgery made recently. It makes more sense financially.

The very existence of a high quality forgery of a Peruvian Sol dated 1934 calls into question the statements that numismatic forgeries of this series of Sols are unheard of.

I am trying to prove my initial contention that it is possible for a numismatic forger to be producing fake 1933 Sols for the numismatic market. Until that is established the possibility of a genuine magnetic Sol remains open.

So far I have been unable to charge the battery for my camera so the pictures will have to wait a bit.

I have completed the physical tests and visual tests. The coin is NOT silver. The SG is correct for a copper nickel alloy. SG = 9.88. A 500 fine silver alloy would be about 9.64. So the coin is not "genuine". The dealer was correct. That much is now established.




The coin weighs 25.0 grams which is actually perfect. It is an EF-AU coin which has minimal luster and almost no genuine wear. The diameter is 37.1 mm which is almost identical to the other example I own. (I was able to locate a 1923 for size and density comparison that I have owned for at least 15 or 20 years - it cost me $2.76. The 1923 has a density of 9.63 a weight of 24.9 grams and a diameter of 37.0 - rounded up.) The 1923 coin was made at Philadelphia and it is not be debased. It is slightly more worn than the 1934.

The 1934 coin is also very slightly thicker than the 1923 example and the reed count does not match the 1923 collar from Philadelphia. Perhaps an expert in this series can comment on reed counts and in which years they were used at the Lima mint.

So until I can take photos or until the magnetic examples can be XRF or SG tested, I see little alternative but to maintain that magnetic Sols are not genuine. I would personally label every one a "Suspect".

Not enough to prove anything to NGC yet - but I will discuss the situation with them at the FUN Show. I will also bring a magnet and check dealer inventories for a magnet copy.

Swamperbob, is not the SG of a copper-nickel alloy nearest to 8.9 ?
I think a SG > 9 indicates a Silver alloy...or Lead, or other metal with more density than Copper or Nickel.




I totally agree in that.

A pair from 1934.
Top 25.2g magnetic(neo and fridge), bottom 25.1 non-magnetic. Same diameter and thickness.






Reeding top on left, bottom on right.

Ok Swamperbob, this is my 1923 1/2 Sol, which is slightly magnetic, that is, it is attracted with a potent magnet. It weighs 12.35 grams and has the typical gray color of a copper-nickel alloy, but the S.G. is 9.62, so It is a Silver alloy with Nickel.

The pictures in my post are taken under incandescent light hence the bad color. The coin is actually a very nice silver grey.

Now I have a comment for people who routinely use rare earth magnets instead of ferromagnetic magnets in coin authentication. If the rare earth magnet is so powerful that it detects the presence of 10% or 20% nickel - what actual value does it have?

A ferromagnetic magnet (common magnet) needs 56% nickel to react in a nickel-copper alloy. In a 50% silver alloy ferromagnetism is impossible. So the common magnet gives a Yes or NO decision. The rare earth magnet stirs up uncertainty.

So my question is do these "magnetic coins" actually respond to a common magnet? Why not use a common magnet and do specific gravity. That test can not be messed up.

For some reason I'm very interested in this topic.

Through all of the tests I'm still left wondering about the consistency of the Lima mint or whomever they contracted to aid in the minting of this coin. I have a couple quotes, one from Peru itself, that left everything in question for me:







After that, I can't be certain who actually made these coins, who made the planchets or dies or who minted them and whether or not multiple suppliers were involved with different standards. With everything going on in this period, I don't see a <50% silver coin being a hands-down fake.

That said, I know that there are many out there with way more knowledge than I about these tests and history.

I have two 1/2 sol în my collection. 1915 & 1926. Same dimensions 30 x 2.2 mm. 1915 = 12.48g,1926 = 12.30g. Both not attracted by fridge magnets, but 1926 one is attracted by a stronger magnet (not neodyne, the magnet is too old for this).
I think they go with this topic. Please advise if I should place pictures here or open a different topic.