As in my other 2 posts I picked these up at an estate auction and was looking for information on them. They are 39 1/2mm in diameter and have reeded edges. The automobile one weighs 26.8 grams. The other is 27 grams. Any information on dates names and if they are real would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance, Jason.
The top one is a charm/token, not a coin. The one on the bottom is supposed to be the famous "Auto Dollar", issued by Kweichow Province in Republic Year 17 (1928) to commemorate the opening of the first automobile road in the province. The lack of most counterfeit "flags" (wide border, uneven denticles, ragged reeding, casting bubbles, etc.,) coupled with the weight being off by a full gram (it should only weigh 25.8g), and the diameter being 1/2mm too wide, all suggest that it's simply a fake of above average quality. (It has been estimated by reliable sources that less than 10% of the Auto Dollars seen on the market are genuinely part of the 648,000 mintage.) KM#428 values start at $200 (VG) in the 2008 35th Ed. From the picture, if genuine I would grade yours as in the high VF to low AU range, with a value of ~$750-2,500). If I recall correctly, that last graded one I saw on EBay was an AU50, that didn't meet reserve with a bid of $2,700.
Thanks for the quick reply Hontonai. This coin is only 39mm ( i measured 1 then held them all together and they seemed the same. But a whole gram off screams fake. Thanks again for the info.
While the first one certainly looks like a charm, it is actually a coin. The obverse side shows an image of the God of Longevity. The four Chinese characters (dao guang nian zhu) to the left of the image are written in seal script and translate as "made during the years of Dao Guang". Dao Guang was the reign title of Emperor Xuan Zong who ruled during the years 1821-1850 of the Qing (Ch'ing) Dynasty. The four characters (zu wen yin bing) to the right of the image are also written in seal script and translate as "standard purity 'silver cake'". "Silver cake" referred to silver coins cast in Taiwan during this period. The term "cake" was first used during the reign of Wang Mang (7-23 AD) to describe coins that were particularly thick and heavy. The four characters (ku ping qi er) at the bottom translate as "Treasury Scale 72". The "treasury scale" was the standard silver scale used by the Treasury during the Qing Dynasty. The "72" refers to 0.72 tael. The reverse side of the coin displays an ancient chinese bronze sacrificial vessel known as a ding or "tripod". I am guessing that it is used here as a symbol of imperial power. If you observe closely you will see ancient Asian swastikas on the ding. There are four large Manchu characters surrounding the ding which translate as "minted at Taiwan Prefecture". This coin was believed to have been minted by Zhang Wen in the year 1837 in Tainan, Taiwan and is popularly referred to as "Old Man Cake" (lao gong bing). Authentic coins are few but fakes are plentiful. Gary
Thanks again for all the help. I know they are more than likely fakes, but what would be the best way to find out for sure? I've only dealt with US coins before.
Other than submitting them to a top-tier TPG and gambling on whether the charges will result in certification or body-bag, weight, diameter, metallic content, and careful comparison with known genuine examples - sometimes available on auction sites, etc., - is the way to go. For example, in one of your other threads I call one of your coins a "blatent fake" because it is dated as a year in which the design was not used.
