I found this in a pile of foreign silver coins I got at an auction three years ago. I set them aside and never looked at them. Last night I pulled them out and recognized the King on this one. The weight and diameter are good, and it's not magnetic, but it sure looks like it was plated. The thing that gives me a glimmer of hope though there doesn't seem to be a difference in what looks like the plating and the base metal. They both seem to be the same material. Any chance some acid could have caused this?
I'd say it is corrosion of some sorts if that helps. How's the reeded edge? I'm wondering because of its relatively low mintage that it might also be not genuine. Just my "gut" feeling. ¼ Dollar - Kalākaua I - Hawaii – Numista
Hard to tell if it's real by a pic but it looks real to me, that said it's ruined because of the surface so likely not worth much other than it's silver content.
Bad surfaces or not, there are lots of us that would pay a nice premium for any Hawaiian coin. I'd want an expert's in-hand opinion, however. You can often spot a fake with a photo, but you can never be sure if it's genuine just from a photo.
It is in your interest to pass. Without being boring, the obverse was washed with silver-like putty mix, my guess being mercury added. The date and surrounding area was tooled, and filled, and smoothed. Note the tooling is visible under the Wash, and time and cleaning has failed and the date area discolored due to the cleaning, to an almost burnt appearance.
And that is *exactly* why the counterfeiters make them, and then beat them up like this. Because its more difficult to tell if they are counterfeit (which I'd wager this is), and people will pay a premium for them.
It looks genuine to me. Match it up next to this one: https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide...ar-km-5-1883-1883-3-cuid-1200504-duid-1415658.
The melt value is $5.65. In VG, NGC lists it at $40. So it is worth more than melt. At least $10 maybe more.
It looks real to me but it also has corrosion and it’s been cleaned. It was more than likely metal detected at one time.
Call it shipwreck Salt water damage, should double the value What percentage of silver is it supposed to have? A strong rare earth magnet should be able to manipulate it around some of its 925 or better silver.
Since you aren't buying it (found in some foreign coins you bought) I'll venture the opinion that it is authentic. It just looks like it had a hard life. Put it in a holder and make it part of your collection or take it to a dealer and offer to sell it.
