I was watching a Pawn TV show and the expert was able to tell right away that a coin was struck versus cast after looking very briefly under a loupe and therefore authentic. This intrigued me. I would not want to buy a coin that should be struck that had been cast when it seemed fairly easy to distinguish this. Does anyone know telltale signs to look for that would confirm a coin has been cast verus struck? Is it definition or more? I realize I guess many ancient coins were cast? Thanks
Long answer required and it is late. Why not look on the Internet for characteristics of cast coins. Then tell all of us and I'll see what I can add.
Welcome to Coin Talk. I think you should post this on the Ancient Coins Forum. The people that collect Ancients seem to know more about this as modern coins are seldom seen cast. Also, I've noticed that a lot of the regular members are not posting much on the weekend. Maybe you should re-post this early Monday evening. Another option is to follow what @Insider told you. Since your new I'll tell you he's a professional grader and has a lot of knowledge re Numismatics.
The person on the TV show likely had looked at numerous examples over many years and knew the difference simply from practice and experience. If you really want to know this yourself, you should also begin looking at numerous examples. Then look at more. Plenty of examples exist out there, but an Internet search will also reveal some of the basics, such as the surface pitting that can arise from casting. Such things take research, practice and patience. One common example of cast coins are Chinese and Japanese cash coins. They were cast from copper and other metals and cut away from cast "trees." They have a definite look to them.
Thanks I actually had googled it prior and no success. But the KEY word characteristics pulled back a great post on NGC. You are correct it is a long answer and I will have to study it somewhat. What is interesting is the grader thought a coin he was examining was authentic at first inspection and it was not until he went to 10 to 16X that he found it was not.
Yes, I should have added that on the show it was an early American coin. But the Ancient Forum would, as you say, know a lot about the "characteristics" and that would be helpful. Characteristics I googled from Insider's recommendation and gained some insight through an NGC post. Thanks, I appreciate the help.
This is a relevant question for a broad range of coins because casts are a common type of forgery of struck coins.
I look for a porous surface. That is the easiest identifying characteristic for me. There will also be casting marks somewhere. Basically a seam where the mold comes together.
