Log in or Sign up
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
World Coins
>
1917 London Mint Fake Sovereign
>
Reply to Thread
Message:
<p>[QUOTE="Chard Coins, post: 1059028, member: 28372"]<b>1917 London Mint Fake Sovereign - Definitive Answer</b></p><p><br /></p><p>Obviously this answer is a little late, but...</p><p>We are working on Spanish time here in Blackpool.:smile</p><p> </p><p>We can tell you it does not belong to London (note the capital L), it belongs to you. :smile</p><p> </p><p>Seriously now, it is one of the more obvious fakes.</p><p> </p><p>Several members have commented quite correctly that it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to authenticate a coin from a photo. The reverse however is not true; it is often possible to detect a fake from a photo alone.</p><p> </p><p>Simply find good photo of any genuine sovereigns from the same period, and compare yours. There are numerous features which are diagnostic:</p><p> </p><p>Both sides are struck very noticeably off-centre.</p><p>The engraving is slighlty clumsy and childish, particularly the obverse portrait.</p><p>The date numerals do not match those on genuine George V sovereigns.</p><p>1917 - L is rare, despite the high mintage. Counterfeits are common, including excellent 1970's Lebanese ones.</p><p>The entire surface of the coin appears to be very grainy as though the coin had been cast, which it probably was.</p><p> </p><p>One member commented that the lack of a mintmark may be because a commoner mint mark had been removed; this method of faking a London mint coin is very rare, and would almost certainly be noticeable from your photos.</p><p> </p><p>Fretboard is being rather kind when he says "beautiful gold piece"; we disagree and would rather tell you the truth even if it is not what you want to hear.</p><p> </p><p>Don't be too harsh on any dealers who do not reply, most are very busy trying to make a living, and keep up with paying enquiries. Giving free appraisals or opinions would need a large full time team of unpaid experts; this would be in itself a rarity, (even more so in the legal profession).</p><p> </p><p>Your third coin appears to be a 1923 London Mint sovereign. It also is a fake. The fact that London Mint did not strike sovereigns that year is a clue. It is one fake we have not noticed before, but we probably will see another one soon.</p><p> </p><p>It we had to guess, we would say that both your George V fakes were made in Spain, but only because that's where you are from. Spain has an ancient jewellery industry, and it is likely that your coins are copies made by jewellery manufacturers for resale, either as genuine or as fakes, and possibly mounted in jewellery.</p><p>Italy also has a similar industry, and there are many eastern Mediterranean countries where many fake coins are made.</p><p> </p><p>Prestoninanus is correct that many of our prices are out of date.</p><p>We now have over 10,000 web pages, some of which contain more than 100 "products". Most of the time, at least one of our 15+ employees is occupied in editing and updating, but even so, we happily <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /> cannot keep up.</p><p> </p><p>Lawrence Chard</p><p> </p><p>To translate into Spanish, we suggest you use Google:</p><p><a href="http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en" rel="nofollow">http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en</a>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="Chard Coins, post: 1059028, member: 28372"][b]1917 London Mint Fake Sovereign - Definitive Answer[/b] Obviously this answer is a little late, but... We are working on Spanish time here in Blackpool.:smile We can tell you it does not belong to London (note the capital L), it belongs to you. :smile Seriously now, it is one of the more obvious fakes. Several members have commented quite correctly that it is difficult, perhaps impossible, to authenticate a coin from a photo. The reverse however is not true; it is often possible to detect a fake from a photo alone. Simply find good photo of any genuine sovereigns from the same period, and compare yours. There are numerous features which are diagnostic: Both sides are struck very noticeably off-centre. The engraving is slighlty clumsy and childish, particularly the obverse portrait. The date numerals do not match those on genuine George V sovereigns. 1917 - L is rare, despite the high mintage. Counterfeits are common, including excellent 1970's Lebanese ones. The entire surface of the coin appears to be very grainy as though the coin had been cast, which it probably was. One member commented that the lack of a mintmark may be because a commoner mint mark had been removed; this method of faking a London mint coin is very rare, and would almost certainly be noticeable from your photos. Fretboard is being rather kind when he says "beautiful gold piece"; we disagree and would rather tell you the truth even if it is not what you want to hear. Don't be too harsh on any dealers who do not reply, most are very busy trying to make a living, and keep up with paying enquiries. Giving free appraisals or opinions would need a large full time team of unpaid experts; this would be in itself a rarity, (even more so in the legal profession). Your third coin appears to be a 1923 London Mint sovereign. It also is a fake. The fact that London Mint did not strike sovereigns that year is a clue. It is one fake we have not noticed before, but we probably will see another one soon. It we had to guess, we would say that both your George V fakes were made in Spain, but only because that's where you are from. Spain has an ancient jewellery industry, and it is likely that your coins are copies made by jewellery manufacturers for resale, either as genuine or as fakes, and possibly mounted in jewellery. Italy also has a similar industry, and there are many eastern Mediterranean countries where many fake coins are made. Prestoninanus is correct that many of our prices are out of date. We now have over 10,000 web pages, some of which contain more than 100 "products". Most of the time, at least one of our 15+ employees is occupied in editing and updating, but even so, we happily :) cannot keep up. Lawrence Chard To translate into Spanish, we suggest you use Google: [URL]http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en[/URL][/QUOTE]
Your name or email address:
Do you already have an account?
No, create an account now.
Yes, my password is:
Forgot your password?
Stay logged in
Coin Talk
Home
Forums
>
Coin Forums
>
World Coins
>
1917 London Mint Fake Sovereign
>
Home
Home
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Activity
Recent Posts
Forums
Forums
Quick Links
Search Forums
Recent Posts
Competitions
Competitions
Quick Links
Competition Index
Rules, Terms & Conditions
Gallery
Gallery
Quick Links
Search Media
New Media
Showcase
Showcase
Quick Links
Search Items
Most Active Members
New Items
Directory
Directory
Quick Links
Directory Home
New Listings
Members
Members
Quick Links
Notable Members
Current Visitors
Recent Activity
New Profile Posts
Sponsors
Menu
Search
Search titles only
Posted by Member:
Separate names with a comma.
Newer Than:
Search this thread only
Search this forum only
Display results as threads
Useful Searches
Recent Posts
More...