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 Replies: 12 / Views: 3,192 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3499 Posts |
Hi everyone, I just picked up this Ca. 1914-22 Republic of China "fat man" dollar. I know that about 900 million were minted. But I know that these are heavily counterfeited, and one has to be particularly vigilant when venturing into this complex series of coins. However, it does not show any signs of casting, it sounds of silver, it weighs 26g (the proper weight according to my Krause catalogue & other sources, and it does not have that sandy/scrap metal look of typical counterfeit fat man dollars. What do you all think? Does it look good or does it have signs of being a better, silver numismatic counterfeit?    |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1915 Posts |
Doesn't look right to me- but I've said before about trying to judge a coin like this with only the given pictures.
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Valued Member
Canada
117 Posts |
Bring your coin to pawn shop and use an XRF machine to exam the metal. If your coin is 90~92% silver, then you can send your coin for grading.
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3499 Posts |
silverai- Thanks for the input. I bought it from a very reputable dealer who had examined it closely. He believed it to be authentic.
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Valued Member
Canada
117 Posts |
XRF machine is the best method to test the metal. I tested my coins, one of them is copper-zine alloy, others are 90 to 92% silver. The fake coin looks exactly like a real coin! The pawn shop only charge me $5 CAD/coin or $20 for bulk. It is a small fee and it's worth the money.
Edited by silverai
01/24/2017 6:05 pm
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Pillar of the Community
Austria
566 Posts |
Looks good to me, but I would be happy to see the edge more focused. The photograph does not help much as it is taken.
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
3831 Posts |
I'm not convinced with the reverse. Does this only weigh 26 grams? Please provide up to one decimal place if possible.
My partial coin collection http://www.omnicoin.com/collection/gxseriesMy numismatics articles and collection: http://www.gxseries.com/numis/numis_index.htmRegularly updated at least once a month. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3499 Posts |
gxseries- I actually just weighed it on a more sensitive scale. It is 26.9 grams.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5362 Posts |
The weight of 26.9 grams is high for a genuine coin and I would be concerned it is a counterfeit. I think SG or XRF are clearly called for before sending it to a TPG. |
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Pillar of the Community
Australia
3831 Posts |
It's definitely on the higher end weight. I've got five examples and they range from 26.61g to 26.84g, majority within the range of 26.7g.
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Valued Member
Canada
115 Posts |
Just a historical fact, the "fat man" on the obverse of the coin is Yuan Shikai, self-proclaimed Emperor of China.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3499 Posts |
swamperbob & gxseries - Thanks for the help! Yes, this struck me as being slightly heavy as well. It may be slightly less than 26.9 since my scale only goes to the tenth place and it tends to weigh coins as being slightly heavier than they actually are. So it wouldn't surprise me if it were actually between 26.8 - 26.9.
CanadianNumismatist - Great info! Thanks.
Edited by Archraz
01/25/2017 11:42 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5362 Posts |
Archraz You really need to invest in a scale that is accurate to 100th of a gram. Forget the digital scales unless you are willing to spend over $100 and want to replace them about every two years. The old fashioned 4 beam Ohaus balance used in High School Labs is good enough. The SG model is best. They are cheaper and can be adjusted and repaired easily.
A good scale removes questions of precise weight and can be used to determine SG of a dollar sized coin to 0.1 enough for most cases of forgery detection.
An analytical scale - accurate to 1000th of a gram is of value when testing SG to 0.01 or when coins smaller than a half dollar size are being tested.
SG is better than magnets or weight alone to quickly pick out counterfeits. It is superior because it is difficult to fool. Before anyone says something about adding lead or titanium to get a correct density - you should be aware that those alloys are very difficult to work with and produce a poor surface or ring or both.
After doing this for over 40 years SG is in my opinion the best way to go unless XRF is available.
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Replies: 12 / Views: 3,192 |
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Posted 01/24/2017 5:32 pm
