Hi All, I looking for expert advice on a Third Reich coin that I purchased recently from eBay. The reason I ask for your assistance is because the coin has an unusually high surface lustre. I have compared the metrics of the coin on this site against mine and I see some differences. I hear that there are a lot of Chinese imitiataions of Nazi coins these days that are almost undetectable, lazer cut and casted ones I just want to know what is the acceptable standared deviation in weight, diameter and thickness for the coin in discussion. Below I present my Coin's Stats * Deno : 5 Reichpfennig ( 0.05 Mark ) * Dated : 1938 * Color : Goldish - with very small green corrosion in corner ( I hear the alloy is bronze aluminium, but have no idea how that alloy corrodes ) * Weight : 2.52 g ( As aginst 2.53 g as quoted on this site) * Dia : 19-20 mm ( As aginst 18 mm as quoted on this site) * Thick : 1.1-1.2 mm ( As aginst 1.42 mm as quoted on this site) * Edge : Vertical rims PS : I know that these are cheap coin and commands no numismatic value, but still it is quite intolerable to be cheated from a site like eBay.
I'd say the weight is within range, Thickness is meaningless on a struck coin Thickness measured where? And thickness of the struck coin is a function of the striking pressure. Oddly the higher the pressure the thicker the coin. The diameter though is well outside of tolerance. Being struck in a collar I would expect the tolerance on the diameter t0 be about .03 mm not 1 to 2 mm
Rim to Rim Thickness. And as for the Diameter I am not able to accurately measure it as I dont have a caliper , I am using a common mm Ruler measuring the length between the farthest tangents, May not be super accurate but the measurements are fairly correct
I see nothing that concerns me. Coin might have been cleaned, hard to tell from the pics. I don't think the Chinese would spend time making a coin worth $5 to $10. Weight is fine and I would remeasure the diameter. It might be actually closer. Nice coin.
I've been hunting counterfeits for years and never heard of copies of these coins, which generally are worth only a few dollars. Overall the coin looks ok, though maybe dipped in cleaning solution.
I think, It may be a case with Cleaning. And since I posted this Query, The luster on the surface has degraded considerably. Which might suggest some sort of solvent being used Thanks All,
Here's a pic of my 1938-J to compare yours to. 18mm and 2.58g. Diameter is correct but weight a little more. Still in tolerance. Also a lot more wear.
"Also a lot more wear." Thats what is baffeling me the most. A low deno coin like 5 Pfennig should have changed a lot of hands and should show lot more wear. Mine is like it was in Hitler's pocket from the day it was minted, Almost No significant surface wear . I see the Eagle's Head is more pronunced in yours. Mine looks like it is a Pigeon's Head I guess I ll have to live with it, If it is a counterfeit Thanks a Ton Eveyone, For all your Insights
