Here's an odd Philippine coin... It appears to be an iron cast coin. 1921 ?? Centavos (maybe 50 centavos) 26.5mm 7.0g Does anyone have info on this counterfeit coin?
Should I have named this thread "Post Your Counterfeit Philippines Coins with Funny Birds" to have gotten more than one response?
1921 50 centavos should be 10 g as stated and 27mm. It could certainly be some sort of counterfeit piece or perhaps even real just extremely worn down. Although since the Manilla mint didn't use a mint mark in 1920, 1921 and 1922 it could be a legitimate trial strike coin of some sort. Although it's a long shot it's in the realm of possibility, at least in my opinion. Either way an interesting coin for sure. I've just started to really focus my collecting efforts on U.S. Era Philippine coinage so to me it's fascinating coin, thanks for sharing.
Certainly appears to be a contemporary counterfeit that was damaged by prolonged exposure to salt water or extreme humidity.
Thank you gentlemen for your responses. I agree that it must be a counterfeit of some sort. Could it be a Japanese repro from WWII? It is definitely not silver and at 3 grams below with the rims still intact it was definitely minted to be as it is, a poor copy.
The Japanese would have made one that would pass easily, meaning high quality. I assume this was done locally.
It looks more like a lead-zinc alloy to me. Unlikely to be silver. I don't see how the Japanese needed to counterfeit such coins where they were issuing banana money.
How so? If they were put in circulation in the Philippines they would be exposed to the same elements, no?
