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 Replies: 9 / Views: 5,979 |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3499 Posts |
I got this one from my dealer free of charge since it certainly is fake. I just had no idea that these coins were being faked due to there not being too much numismatic interest in the series. Though this coin is obviously cast (and the security edge looks horrible) very much as modern Chinese fakes are, is it possible that this coin is a contemporary counterfeit?   Edited by Archraz
01/23/2010 11:21 pm
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10045 Posts |
Interesting! To my eyes, this doesn't seem convincing enough to be a numismatic copy.  How much was a Rupee worth in 1942? It may have been profitable back then as a circulating counterfeit. |
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Pillar of the Community
 United States
3499 Posts |
DVCollector- Yeah, the strike is so weak and there are obvious casting errors along the edges. I am sorry to say that I just cannot get a decent picture of the edges since the security edge is almost laughable it is so bad. It also is a few grams too light as well, so there is no doubt in my mind that this is a cast copy.
Well, I am not quite certain that I know how much a Rupee was worth in US dollars in 1942, but this type was 50% silver and it is about the same size as a US half dollar in diameter, but a wee bit thicker.
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Moderator
 Australia
16837 Posts |
At the time of WWII, the Indian rupee was pegged at 1 shilling 6 pence (18 pence) sterling. The wartime sterling-dollar exchange rate was £1 = $4.03, so 1 rupee would equal 18/240 x 403 = 30.2 US cents.
It certainly could be a contemporary, circulating counterfeit. A rupee would have purchased quite a lot back then.
Don't say "infinitely" when you mean "very"; otherwise, you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. - C. S. Lewis
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3499 Posts |
Sap- Thanks for the input! I figured that it was worth about that amount in 1942. I have a feeling that this is a contemporary counterfeit since there is no way that even modern Chinese forgers would make a copy this bad.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5362 Posts |
I agree with the assessment that the coin is contemporary. I own a very similar one in a white "pot metal". They date into the 1950s.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3499 Posts |
swamperbob- Thanks for the input and for the assessment! Do you think that my contemp. counterfeit may have any value? Even if it does not, I just think that it is really quite interesting.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
525 Posts |
British India 1917 1 Anna filed to pass as 1/4 Rupee  I acquired this coin sometime in the 1960's from a dealer's foreign coin box. I examined it later and saw that it was a 1917 British India 1 Anna coin filed down to the size of a 1/4 Rupee coin. The filer even inserted edge reeding. As there were 16 annas to the rupee, this alteration quadrupled the value. The anna was then worth around 3¢ so the filer made a 9¢ profit. ____________________________________________________________ Check out my website at: http://www.brianrxm.comRoman Coins, Mexican Coins, Favorite Coins, Movie Coins The San Francisco Mint 1949 Mexico Peso Restrike for China |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5362 Posts |
Archraz - It would be of most value to a collector trying to assemble a date set or type set of counterfeit Rupees, but I know of no one who is doing that. It is a modern type so legality needs to be reviewed. A US coin of comparable date would be illegal to possess because it is still current. I presume that the Rupee in question has been demonetized. A counterfeit of a foreign demonetized issue would be legal in the US.
The coin has some value for educational purposes to the average counterfeit collector as long as he needs the type - (White metal cast). That is a very common variety of forgery and most coins of the type bring about $1.
The one thing you do have going for you is that there are no test scratches or cuts.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3499 Posts |
willieboyd2- that is really funny and interesting. Thanks for showing this!
swamperbob- Thanks for the info! I figured that there really would be a lot of counterfeits like this out there. But even if it was totally worthless, I'm just glad to have such an odd piece in my collection.
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Replies: 9 / Views: 5,979 |
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Posted 01/23/2010 7:45 pm
