I have had good luck getting quality Chinese coins on eBay, by carefully checking the sellers and then measuring my coins when I receive them (usually, I have no issues). But this coin has made me feel... uneasy. The issues: 1. The surface on the obverse is not smooth, with some pitting in areas. 2. There are also issues with the lamination, or outer layer, on the obverse. 3. The surface of the reverse has a couple of noticeable lumps, which can be seen in the pic attached. 4. The coin was sold for $20. On the other hand, the diameter (33 mm) is correct and the weight (12.6 g) is about right. I also know there were quality-control issues at the Chinese mints at the time these coins were made. If anyone has insights, please let me know!
The pictures are not the best so I cannot say with certainity. Personally I would lean towards genuine as these were struck in millions and these are actually one of the cheapest 50 cent pieces or 3.6 mace coin you can find compared to other provinces. The edge of the coin also seem to suggest that it's more likely genuine. The reason is because a lot of these were restruck later with reduced silver content. Here's more information: http://hkmal.blogspot.com/2011/02/283-china-yunnan-republic-50-cents-1920.html You could have a common to a scarce variety but I am not well versed in this particular type of coinage. But again, counterfeits of these do exist. Best policy is to avoid Chinese coins unless you are prepared to step into a minefield and learn it the hard way. I have to be honest and say that I am still learning.
Thanks for your response. Yes, Chinese coins are a minefield, but they are great because of their wonderful culture, civilization, history and the fact that they are now a superpower with growing wealth. I don't exclusively buy Chinese coins but try to add them whenever I can. Your response is very reasonable, and it leads me to conclude the coin is genuine.
Again, for those who buy Chinese coins on eBay, here are some guidelines: 1. Buy from reputable sellers. 2. Avoid coins from China, and be skeptical of nearby countries, though finding a good seller in Hong Kong is possible. 3. Carefully measure and weigh the coins you receive. 4. For coins worth a lot of money, buy them slabbed, and, when possible, verify that the slabs are genuine online. This isn't fool-proof, but it is a way to make sure the vast majority of the coins you buy are authentic.
Jolumoga, I have to disagree with your advice for many reasons. Avoiding buying coins from China is not helpful as you are just putting a bias opinion of sources where counterfeits could come from. It would not help especially if you have a seller with more than thousands of feedback who recently bought counterfeits and resell them. Unfortunately I had a similar experience coming from a US seller. He had excellent feedbacks and he unwittingly sold a counterfeit. It was a pretty deceiving one as well. Bought one from Japan - fake as well. You should never use location as a guideline. Weight of coins is another tricky one. There can be significant weight variance even with silver coins - could be in the range of +- 0.3 grams. Slabs are equally bad as well - there are known counterfeits as well. My personal advice is, if you do express desire in collecting Chinese coins, you need to know your dealers whether it is in person or online and let them guide you for a good period of time. Catalog is another must. They are getting amazingly difficult to diagnose and it has become a stage where collectors have to compare against known genuine coins versus coins that they have in front of them. Even edge detection could be difficult to tell. You need to know the details of the coins in and out. Definitely not for the faint hearted. Personally if you are buying on ebay here's one tip I can advice. Look up at historical price record and if a certain type of coin on average sells for let's say more than 300 dollars - would you think a lot would miss out if one sells for under 100 dollars? Possible if the seller has put it for "Buy it now" and someone catches it first but look carefully. Looking at previous buys and look at the pictures and compare it. And here's one more thing - the era of cheap Chinese coins are gone especially nice silver crowns. Just doesn't happen unless someone ignorant decides to sell them at scrap metal price or they are more likely to be counterfeits. OR you have access to a local coin dealer where not many would want to touch foreign coins and you happened to be the first lucky person.
I understand your objections to my post and don't disagree with them. I think you are more knowledgeable than me. However, the guidelines I have posted, though admittedly crude, have served me decently. Despite all of the Chinese counterfeits, I seem to have done OK, given that none of the Chinese coins I have posted (including a silver dollar) have been called out as fake by the many people who have seen my threads. Again, I think your objections make sense.
Take notes, that the Repbulican chinese minted more yunnan coins. Also there are many variety of the coins! Anthony H
