1695 Austrian Thaler

Hey Wong, your coins looks good to me.

Nice clear details and the edge seems to be as usual.

coinworldtv - Thank you for your input. Which details on the reverse look crude to you? I do believe that my coin was cleaned a long time ago, and it has re-toned a bit unevenly. Moreover, the lighting in my photos may not be the best - it's just a desk lamp. I know that when it comes to roller press coins, all were struck onto a sheet of silver and then punched out of the sheet. Thus, at times there is often some variation in weight, off-centering, and a bit of inconsistency in the edges as the edges were shaped and smoothed down. This piece does have the characteristic slight bend through the middle of the coin from the roller press and being punched out of the sheet.

Also, the unevenness of the edges could be due to the coin being slightly resized from being made into jewelry at one point. The dealer said that a few of the pieces in the collection had obviously been louped. This coin may have had the same fate, but lacking signs of soldering. Rather, it may have just been shaved down a bit.

I probably should give a bit more background about this coin. I did purchase this coin from a reputable dealer who acquired this piece along with a few others from an elderly woman whose late husband was Hungarian and collected in Europe and the USA during the 1960s-1990s. The dealer knew this man, and could vouch that he was quite knowledgeable about thalers. And I've been going to this dealer for 26 years - they are good assessers of coins and are good judge of the character/knowledge of their own frequent clients.

cableguy815 - yes, it does ring of silver. I've seen a lot of Russian/Chinese fakes over the years, and this just doesn't "feel" like one in hand, it doesn't sound like nickel or some kind of debased silver, and it shows no signs of casting or cheap striking. It just feels like 17th century silver, albeit a silver piece that may have had the edges altered at some point.

I have followed this thread with interest since my first impression was that the piece is authentic. Thanks to coinworldtv for the good insights. I could see the possibility of tooled/shaved edges to erase evidence of a previous mount in jewelry. This would also help explain a slight loss in weight. However, I would expect to see more evidence of other issues due to wear. I still lean to historically authentic with a questionable past, but hard to say for certain from pictures.

Threads like these are good to read, as most of us do not handle the volume of pieces daily to develop the 6th sense for counterfeits and a good working knowledge of all the warning signs. Unfortunately, we have to use a general sense of caution in the analysis. I would imagine that 99% of the forum members are here out of passion for the hobby and an interest in learning. Its the 1% who are here for other reasons that are of concern. I believe others are accurate in the assertion that the counterfeit trade uses these forums to learn how to improve their trade as much as we are learning the hobby. It is a real shame that even in a community of common souls you have to watch yourself and not be naive about sharing your poker hand.