Replicas

Some people like to buy replicas of valuable coins to fill the "holes" in their sets when they know they'll never be able to afford the real thing. Others consider replicas an abomination that they want nothing to do with. It's entirely up to the individual collector.

For myself, so long as the replicas are clearly marked, in such a way that a clever scam artist can't remove the markings easily, I have no problem with their existence. I have a few replica coins, but for the most part I don't consider them to be part of my "main" coin collection.

When friends and relatives travel overseas and buy me some "souvenir coins", I do try to encourage them to purchase a couple of cheaper real coins rather than the expensive and tacky tourist replicas that are all too easy for tourists to find.

Replicas can be interesting. The Museum quality replicas made in the early 1800s of rare coins are now collectable in their own right. Some people don't consider these early electrotypes to be Replicas - but what else can you call them? A Replica is a copy right?

Souvenier replicas made for tourists are less interesting and more numerous. They are at present of no value over melt. Some are not good enough as copies to really warrant the word COPY being placed on them.

One of my favorite "Replicas" is the American History issue of the 1793 Mexican 8R that was cast in pot metal in the 1970s. They were sold in a cardboard sleve with the story of the 8R and the copy enclosed in plastic. They went so far as to alter the legend of the coin and included the word REPLICA above the crown on the shield side of the coin. It looks like part of the legend. I have seen this coin advertised on ebay as REAL! One seller that I contacted indicated that he read the word as REPUBLICA. He didn't question why there was a KING ruling a Republic.