digitaldreams, I believe that Doug will say that it is also a fake! The first one appears to be cast from a mold and the second one appears that it may have been struck using mold casted Dies. However, the second one might just be a much better cast fake! Frank
Hmm, I was just looking for some info about a coin i have and i ended up here reading you guys. I must say it was very educational. The coin looked like a tin piece to me but also kinda nice looking one with this gold look. Here is the picture of my coin.
If you read the entire thread it will explain why there are so many fakes. It's because years ago Reader's Digest magazine did a promotion and handed out copies of the genuine coin. Genuine examples of this coin are somewhat rare, and in my entire life I have never even heard of one being for sale. So there are no pictures.
1752 Austrian coin I, too, have the same coin that Juliette is describing. I found it in France in 1989 when they were digging up the courtyard of the house I was living in. It looked like it had been buried for quite a while. When did Reader's Digest make all the replica Austrian coins, or could this be the real thing? Luann
I have one I also have one of these coins. i found it on a beach 30 years ago. It only weighs 2.2 grammes but is definitely not magnetic. It was really tarnished/dirty when i found it but i cleaned it up and it seems to be silver in colour. Do you think it may be worth anything?
I don't know what the first person that asked this question meant but I'd like to know the answer to this question as well. I'll ask it in a slightly different way so perhaps someone can answer: What was there about this coin that caused it to be selected by Reader's Digest to be mass produced and cause all this trouble. I can think of a hundred coins that I'd be more likely to include in my advertising scheme but someone saw enough significance here to select this one. When they promoted a book on ancient Greece, they selected a coin of Gela with a rather neat man-headed bull design on one side and a chariot on the other. While not super rare, it is a very typical Greek looking design (albeit Gela being in Greek Sicily). Another commonly found super-fake is the New Hampshire colonial WM/1776 which is super rare but still the first coin issued in the US by the newly declared independent US. I assume it got points for being first. What is it that is special about this ducat that caused it to be selected as the coin for the promotion?
i am fascinated with these fantasy pieces and have built a decent collection of them for a very small outlay of around 10p each. along with counterfeits they always catch my eye for an alternative collection................
Short of contacting Reader's Digest I doubt we'll ever know for sure but I have always suspected that the reason was the rarity of the coin. Very few coins are actually rare but the word is used all the time. So maybe they picked this one because it really is rare.
maybe this might be the real thing "i have read what u all have said and the coin i have does not have serrated edges and is smooth but u guys can be the judge" i also have another coin i will show u guys aswell and let me no if there worth anything