1911 Chinese British Trade Dollar.

As I mentioned in a thread last month, there is considerable debate as to whether British Trade Dollars are considered "British coins" or not. Most people actually in Britain would say "No, they are foreign coins". Most people outside of Britain would answer "Well, if they're not British, then where are they actually from?". Because "Made in British India for use in eastern and south-eastern Asia" is way too long and vague for a "country name".

As for the specific coin in question, my little internal alarm bells are going off like crazy looking at that picture. The colour, the pattern of toning and the overall appearance make me concerned that it's a Chinese fake. Now it could be just the lighting in the pic, and I'd like to assume that your silver seller can tell the difference between silver coins and base-metal fakes, but I'm concerned the person being "stolen" from is you.

@will, I have no knowledge of this type so I can't be very helpful, but buying silver for under melt from a silver dealer seems a little bit off to me. I hope that you are just getting a series of amazing deals, but you might consider getting a second opinion as to the alloy.

I'd be checking if it's real silver too - it looks to me like it could be fake.