Fake Belgian 5 Francs 1873 Coins?

I've seen fakes of the Prussian 5 Mark 1907, 1937 UK Crown, S.Africa 5 Shillings 1952, so it'd seem that nothing isn't worth faking, especially since people are likely to be less suspicious precisely because of their commonality

I'd like to see head on photos of the obverse and reverse to judge authenticity, but I don't believe that discoloration along the edges is silvering over base metal. It looks like environmental damage / staining; I've seen similar colored staining on authentic silver coins before. Note that there's silver showing on the raised letters of the edge; for silvering, I'd expect to see the opposite where wear exposes base metal on the letters and original silvering still shows along the flat surfaces of the edge.

I'm quite sure it isn't toning, because in the hand it really appears that the surface of the silver just around the areas of the supposed toning rises above. As if a very thick layer of paint had been chipped off of a metal handrail and the metal underneath shows.

Notice the soil/rust specks in the first picture. But unlike what I see on the edge, these specks look on the surface rather than under. Also, I can't help noticing that horribly weak strike/strong wear on the edge lettering of one of the two coins, when hardly the same degree of wear appears on both sides.

On a side note, any recommendations for a usb microscope? Taking macro pictures with my phone is a horrible experience

I was referring to the cardboard folders. It is possible that there are deposits of dirt, etc which have built up over the years, and as I mentioned, the edges of this coin have been damaged through filing, resulting in the 'weak' appearance of the letters. Again, this is a damaged coin, but I see no indication that it is a counterfeit.

Ok, so what sort of chemical reaction could have resulted in this particular type of discoloration? I'm only familiar with the usual grey-to-dark grey type, if not some iridescent or even gold toning, but never this kind, if it isn't actually soil.


Thanks for the insight, never having cleaned any coins, not even for experiment, I wouldn't have thought about that.

Yes, I've just had them tested, they are of 90% silver. But anyway I have seen fakes of the common Prussian one I mentioned a few replies up, so I wouldn't be too confident, although those fakes were too obvious anyway.

And with that, I think that we can bury this truly well and dead horse.