Private mint bullion that knocks off Government issues

Here is the newest example on the market, a knock off of the silver Britannia:

https://www.providentmetals.com/1-oz-silver-round-british-trade-dollar.html
vs https://www.providentmetals.com/2018-great-britain-1-oz-silver-britannia-oriental-border.html

I find this completely unacceptable.

 

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I own the legit UK one...gotta say, the "knock off" that doesn't have QEII's face on it looks better

 

Thanks! I think I'll order the round. I'm tired of looking at the queen.

 

Notice that Provident didn’t post a buyback price for the knockoff.

 

I wonder if the queen's effigy is a protected image and that's why it wasn't duplicated. Does anyone know?

 

Most likely she's not on the round because she was never on the original British trade dollar. It does not appear that any monarch was on them. What is shown on the first link is very similar to what the wiki image shows.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trade_dollar

 

I'm curious when something becomes a counterfeit. Does the inclusion of the queen represent a replica that is close enough to real money that it would be considered illegal? (Even though, yes, I see the original trade dollar didn't feature any monarch on it)

 

I don't see how it can be called a counterfeit coin if there is no denomination on it.

 

Right. Not this specifically, but coins and bullion in general.
Have you also noticed that in legal knock offs and replicas that the queen is never present? I am curious if this is because doing so would constitute a counterfeit.

 

Most knockoffs are rounds. Rounds cannot be called coins if they do not have a denomination on them so they cannot be called counterfeit coins.

An imitation coin, one that has all the features of an actual coin but is a replica, has to be marked COPY. Replica coins, including coins featuring the queen, are not illegal so long as they are marked COPY in letters that are the correct height.

 

This one has the queen on it: https://www.apmex.com/product/162361/2018-st-helena-1-oz-silver-british-trade-dollar-restrike-bu

 

I don't see what mint struck the coin. Was it one of those lava rocks in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? If so they're probably authorized to do so.

 

Niue struck the Scrooge McDuck two pound coin featuring Scrooge McDuck (owned by Disney) on one side and the Queen on the other side.

 

Regardless, I bought one and may buy more. That's one good lookin' bullion round to my eye. (The OP coin.) OK, not coin.