Not sure what it is, but you need to rotate it 90 degrees to the left for it to be in the proper orientation.
Looks like China, Republic, Xinjiang (Sinkiang) province, 1918, 1 tael, Y#45.2 . But as already noted, there are some spots that look suspiciously like evidence of casting, which would mean not genuine (and presumably also not silver).
I just checked out some genuine pieces on eBay. Definitely seems like a cast. Thank you for the info. Did you already know about these or did you have to research? I tried to find some info online but couldn’t really find anything. Just wondering what the best method would be when you can’t read any words or date on the coin.
For $5 it's most definitely a fake. As for knowing what it is, it helps to be able to discern between Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. If I don't know the particular coin I start by searching "japanese/chinese/korean coin, silver/copper, etc..." That's usually a good place to start.
I didn't recognize the specific coin type, but I did notice that it had both Chinese characters and Arabic-based script (actually Uighur, but it uses an Arabic-derived alphabet) on the same coin, and I knew that that is most likely to happen on coins from Sinkiang province of China. Since it doesn't have an Imperial dragon, it would probably be from the Republic period. Looking through the appropriate section of the Standard Catalogue of World Coins quickly turned up a match. If you can't do something like this, where you can at least figure out the most likely region, I would recommend posting the coin here for ID. The depth of knowledge here is remarkable, and there is probably someone here who can identify just about any coin that exists.
Well, if it's real, it's worth a decent amount. It actually looks closer to this one, Y#45, which is from 1917 as opposed to Y#45.2 which is from 1918. You'll have to figure out exactly what date it says on yours, based on the Chinese characters.
Well, that info at least gives a weight to compare to -- but I'd do a magnet check before anything else. I'm afraid those denticles look like classic Alibaba dynasty to me...
Doesn’t stick to a magnet but the surfaces don’t look right. Pretty certain it’s a cast. I saw it as I was leaving a conseignment shop and figured I’d grab it for $5. I thought best case scenario, I would get a chunk of silver. Worst case, my 4 year old boy loves coins so he would get a little present.
LOOKS LIKE A NICE COIN, BUT I NEVER EVEN ATTEMPT ANYTHING FROM CHINA. THEY CAN DO SOME AMAZING REPOS SOME OF THE U.S.A. FAKES LOOK PRETTY GOOD /W TONING ETC. AS SOON AS I SEE SHIPPING FROM HONG KONG ,SINGAPORE ETC. I STAY FAR AWAY
