I recieved these two coins from my grandfather and have no idea as to what they are, I would appreciate any information on them, I do know they are silver as I tested them, approx size of a morgan or peace dollar, many thanks, Ron
I'm a little confused as to which obverse goes with which reverse. If we number the coins as follows: 1 2 3 4 I'm guessing that "1" and "4" are one coin and "2" and "3" are another. Is that correct? Also, coin "1" is the same coin as in the thread listed just below this one. Gary
The two top coins are showing the obverse, then I flipped the coins over and took a scan of the reverse of the same two coins, so anyone that can read "asian" can read it as I do not read this language.... sorry for the confusion....
No, I went to the coins shop locally and they gave me a test kit... The liquid "went" from yellow to red.....
You are saying that the image directly below each top image is the reverse side of the coin above it. Please look at the coins again and confirm that this is true because I read Chinese and this does not seem correct to me. I think you have accidentally switched the reverse images. Gary
You are absolutely correct, the bottom left coin, "goes" with the Top right coin and bottom right coin "goes with the top left coin, Ron
May have been the wrong term, however,since I cannot read it, it appears to be Chnese, mandarin, Korean or some type from the asian part of the world...... just calling it as I see it or perhaps what area it may be from......
They look chinese but to me chinese + japanese look almost the same so.. hopefully someone with experience with be able to identify if they are coins or some sort and give you some information about it. ;]]
Was your grandpa a Vietnam vet? I have a few in my bank box that look like them??? I can't keep them at home they smell & I don't dip or clean any coin. :kewl:
Korean War possibly? My stepfather was in Korea and he tells stories of spending time in Japan. I don't know the age of the coins, but they look like they may be at least that old. Just thinking out loud.
The local swap meet usually has a vendor that sells these. I've seen them all over southern california swap meets. They're probably fantasy coins. Like the post above they're usually sold to tourists in east asia and then past along at estate sales or antique shops.
Chinese fakes The coins are: Top left (reverse bottom right) 1835 Empress Yun Lu and Peacock series. Krause XM190 Top right (reverse bottom left) Xinjiang 5 miscals, Dihua mint, Guang Xu period. The characters on the reverse are in Chinese, Manchu and Arabic (?) script. The top 2 characters in the central row (running top to bottom) are Guang Xu. The bottom 2 are the denomination - 5 miscals. Don't know what the middle 2 are. I have one of each of these coins.
I do not have any Krause publications to check this but the attribution does not seem to be correct. The date on the coin is Guangxu yi you which would be the year 1885 not 1835. Also, the portrait is of Empress Dowager Longyu who married Emperor Guangxu. An authentic version of this coin can be seen at this Chinese website which confirms that the portrait is Xiao Ding Jing which was her real name. The third inscription is not written in Arabic but rather in Uyghur script. The Uyghurs are an ethnic minority in Xinjiang Province. The two middle characters are yin yuan which translates as "silver round" and usually refers to a silver coin or silver dollar. An authentic version of the coin, which was produced in 1890, may be seen at this Chinese website. Authentic versions of these coins are rare and expensive. As already stated, both of HMS31's coins are reproductions. Gary
I went to the site and I looked at the pictures and to be honest they are either really good copies, or...... but as said I did test for silver so if nothing else I have a couple of silver coins I can melt down....Thank you so much for all of the responses, I am amazed at how many of you are willing to help, Best regards to all, Ron