1765 Bavarian Thaler

Not an authentic coin, unfortunately, in my opinion.

In addition to the lack of any test marks, the dot after the 5 in the date looks more like a dash, and, more telling, the mint mark of A which is present on all 1765 issues is not present below the bust. The Madonna's face is too detailed for a real coin, and the lettering on the obverse and reverse too well aligned when considering that the dies were letter-punched by hand. The stops (dots) in the obverse legend are too small as well.

A PCGS-graded 1765-A Madonna Thaler:

https://www.PCGS.com/cert/80886239

Krause lists 1765 and 1765A. As for the dash and the mintmark, See also https://www.vcoins.com/en/stores/ci...Default.aspx

100% fake.

Besides the tone that I instantly didn't like (smells Chinese), there are plenty of other telltale signs of this being a forgery.

Here is an original example:



Take a look at the original and look at yours. For starters these are never so perfectly round, generally with pre 19th century German State thalers you should always be wary of perfectly circular coins. Also to Paralyse's point, adjustment marks are very common though not mandatory. Secondly, look a the denticles, especially on reverse, there are just giant blocks of denticles mushed together. Lastly the details are all mushy. Take a look at the lettering - the X in 'max' for example looks like a 'K', the E in 'Bavariae' is a blob, etc.

Besides the visual component your coin's weight is off nearly a whole 1g; these should weigh about 28g. 1g variation is outside acceptable threshold.

All of this, combined with the look and feel of your coin again suggest a cast copy.

Here are a few more original samples so you can get a better feel for the type. Note the similarities between the originals.

You think that buying this as part of a bulk purchase for perhaps 10% over spot is too reckless?

The answer I'd give is that if the counterfeits mixed in have any silver content at all, then it's at least not a total loss, although I don't know how you resell such to go to the smelter if you really can't determine just what the fineness is exactly. If their composition is merely a convincing combination of nonprecious metals, then they're trash, except for somebody's black cabinet as an educational prop.

I can only speak for myself on this - I really don't want to buy counterfeits at all unless they're contemporary and therefore historical in their own right, or if they're just so bad and cheap that they're good for a laugh.

IMHO, I don't see anything wrong with this coin so I don't think it is a fake. This is quite a common coin, not expensive so it is not possible as a numismatic forgery.

I am also in the camp that is not sure on this...

There are certainly some concerning elements, but based off photos exclusively, not 100% sure on this...

If indeed not genuine, I would lean towards it being semi-contemporary, not base metal nor modern.

In the condition as posted by OP if genuine this is a USD $175-$200 coin minimum; the Chinese are busy knocking out fakes of common date US coins that are worth $2 to $10 at most, so yes, they do copy cheap coins.

When dealing with photos, there are no absolutes, only suspicions, and this coin is highly suspicious. Can I say with 100% certainty that this is not an authentic issue? No. But I can put the probability of its being a fake at around 90% with confidence.

After spending a good bit of time with a particular coin series, you begin to see what the Germans call the "Gestalt", i.e. the perception of something as more than just the sum of its parts. It is this sense that allows experienced collectors of a certain type of coin to help differentiate the fakes from the genuine coins, even if, at a cursory glance, all of the "parts" seem to be mostly correct; this is just putting into more formal terms the sense that "it just doesn't look right."

OP's coin just doesn't look right.