I really need a second opinion on this one. Only 40,000 minted in proof. And I am quite sure this is not one of them. This coin has die cracks on Zogu's neckline (OV) and along the ground line (RV), and it 22.5g . I think @Stork has some knowledge here, but not real sure how to make contact. All help appreciated.
Checking in! I don't collect the provas--I'd have to go back to work full time to pull that off (there's a plethora of them and way too many gold ones!). The 1927 5 FrA prova is known for being heavily counterfeited. I had one years ago and sold/traded it to someone who collected fakes. That was before starting to go after Albanian coins seriously. Wish I'd kept it now. Yours looks fake--if nothing else provas were designed to be of superior quality for collectors, theoretically trial pieces, but with collectors in mind and generally of high quality. No way would there be die cracks like that. The details and the rims look off too, as well as the apparent relief (which could be the photos). Plus the weight is supposed to be 25 grams. Here are a couple Heritage archived auctions: https://coins.ha.com/itm/albania/wo...-23495.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515 https://coins.ha.com/itm/albania/wo...-23495.s?ic4=ListView-ShortDescription-071515 Look at the full slab photos and you can see what I mean. Very different. IIRC the 1926 prova is seriously scarce, like the other provas. The 1927 had a huge mintage (40,000 per the price guides, vs. a mintage of 60,000 for the regular issue in 1926). So I suppose many could have been handled. Even so, and even if it was just a glorified ciruclation coin, it still has the wrong weight. I'll try and grab all the photos and see if a side by side can be done.
I figured that must be true. Thank you very, very much for responding. And the great information and photos. I just had to double check or I would always wonder about it. Now I can decide what to do with it.
Stork summarized everything quite nicely but here’s another pointer which leads to the easy identification of a fake. On genuine pieces the head of the adjunct oxen never touches the rim of the coin. It comes very close but never does. On yours however as on a forgery I used to own and every fake of this coin I have ever seen for that matter the oxens head mushes in and connects with the rim of the coin. As stork mentioned plethora of differences here but the above for me is the most tell tale sign. Well that and the price tag of less than $500 of course
That's good to know. I rarely look at the provas (too much temptation) and wasn't sure about that. There are a couple up on eBay I looked at after seeing this thread and that certainly is an easy tell. One even has a closer weight.
