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French Indo China 1895 Piastre Fake Or Real

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Paul St Louis's Avatar
United States
127 Posts
 Posted 05/19/2023  5:56 pm Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add Paul St Louis to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
Everything I've read indicates the reverse of the coin should show 27 grams versus the older 27.215 prior to 1895. My friend purchased the coin from a jeweler who did a test and swears it is .9 silver and not a counferfeit.

It was rather dirty, so I did the unthinkable...I cleaned it. Looks like silver plated cupro-nickel to me.

What are your thoughts? Real or fake?
French-Indo-China-1895-Piastre-Fake-Or-Real
French-Indo-China-1895-Piastre-Fake-Or-Real
Valued Member
Paul St Louis's Avatar
United States
127 Posts
 Posted 05/19/2023  7:04 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Paul St Louis to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Whoops. Forget to mention 39mm diameter and 26.9g weight
Valued Member
1847bill's Avatar
United States
465 Posts
 Posted 05/19/2023  8:01 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add 1847bill to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
First the TITRE 0.900 POIDS 27.215 GR. Is correct. That was the weight when it left the mint. Some loss is normal with use. I thought it should have been a little more based on wear. It does have a funny appearance but that could be from the angle you took the pictures. You should take pictures direct.
I don't know how to determine a fake but with better pics some of the others can help.
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sel_69l's Avatar
Australia
21786 Posts
 Posted 05/19/2023  9:03 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add sel_69l to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
It is easy to .900 plate or put a thin silver wash over a base white metal core.
The Romans were expert with the wash technique for their double denarii of the late 3rd century.

Weight is a tad too light for a genuine .900 fine example.

I would only be happy with this coin, if it was in my 'black' collection of fake coins.
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NumisRob's Avatar
United Kingdom
17885 Posts
 Posted 05/20/2023  03:34 am  Show Profile   Check NumisRob's eBay Listings Bookmark this reply Add NumisRob to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Is the edge milling rather faint and at an angle rather than straight across? I've seen several fakes of this coin where the milling is a dead giveaway.
Pillar of the Community
United States
1910 Posts
 Posted 05/20/2023  06:58 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Albert to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
A check for specific gravity or to see if it is diamagnetic is what I'd do.
The face is like known fakes I have, but the photos are poor to be certain.
I may find a page to show this and edit this post if I have one in my binder.
edit:
The faces on my fakes are ugly in a different way, so no point in showing them.
I tried to improve the OP photo, but it doesn't show and good sized clarity.
Based on what I see I'd doubt if it's genuine.
Maybe the OP could provide a good size detailed photo with good lighting and clarity?
Edited by Albert
05/20/2023 4:04 pm
Valued Member
Paul St Louis's Avatar
United States
127 Posts
 Posted 05/20/2023  10:49 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Paul St Louis to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Attached are more photos, as requested (obviously, I won't win any awards for my photographic abilities). Hopefully you can see evidence of the obverse looking to be worn silver plating.

Also attached is a photo of the coin as it originally looked to start out.

Also attached is a photo of a 1927 with the reverse showing the change in lettering I previously described from POIDS 27.215 gr to POIDS 27 gr (such a minor change, I have no idea why they bothered).

Edging shows no sides of slant and is not faint (first thing I looked at), coin size appears correct, and weight is close to correct. This is what baffles me most. I have other fake coins where the weight is way off by several grams.
French-Indo-China-1895-Piastre-Fake-Or-Real
French-Indo-China-1895-Piastre-Fake-Or-Real
French-Indo-China-1895-Piastre-Fake-Or-Real
French-Indo-China-1895-Piastre-Fake-Or-Real
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Paul St Louis's Avatar
United States
127 Posts
 Posted 05/20/2023  10:57 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Paul St Louis to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Something didn't happen right. I'll try again. Argh. Load order will be reverse, then front, then coin as originally purchased. Here we go..

Reverse:
French-Indo-China-1895-Piastre-Fake-Or-Real

Obverse:
French-Indo-China-1895-Piastre-Fake-Or-Real

As originally purchased:
French-Indo-China-1895-Piastre-Fake-Or-Real
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machine20's Avatar
United States
1272 Posts
 Posted 05/20/2023  11:27 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add machine20 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I'm not sure but this coin just looks really flat, not enough relief
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erafjel's Avatar
Sweden
2124 Posts
 Posted 05/20/2023  11:41 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add erafjel to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Can't say whether it is genuine or not, although the color seems a bit off (but maybe that is just the photo).

Quote:
the change in lettering I previously described from POIDS 27.215 gr to POIDS 27 gr (such a minor change, I have no idea why they bothered).

The change in weight (and lettering) took place in 1895, so for that year there are coins of both weights. The reason for the change was to align with the British Trade dollar and Japanese yen, also coins of 0.900 silver but weighing 27 g. Since the piastre's official value was the same as the dollar and yen, the piastre tended to be melted to profit from the small amount of extra silver.
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Paul St Louis's Avatar
United States
127 Posts
 Posted 05/21/2023  10:16 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Paul St Louis to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Thanks one and all for your honest and thoughtful replies. It's why I've chosen this community to pose such questions. In regards to the coin, the color is very off (it's not my camera). For instance, compare it to the photo I included of my genuine 1927 Piastre and you can readily see the difference. In fact, the tone looks very much like a copy of a USA Trade dollar I purchased from China. In summary, I enjoy collecting coins so very much. You come to accept that there will be problem ones, it's just a part of life.
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colonialjohn's Avatar
United States
1757 Posts
 Posted 05/21/2023  11:07 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add colonialjohn to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide...duid-1267194

NGC info-page. Have you compared the ring to a Morgan dollar? Seems pale but as others have said probably the photos. The black areas are a good sign the color of AgS with the weight differential due to wear as it looks VF. I understand the XRF gun analysis of the top 10mm of the surface revealed 90% Ag. Report on the ring comparison to any 50C or $1 Ag coin.
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