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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;manymore, post: 1721723, member: 17118&quot;]Hi Matt,</p><p><br /></p><p>In my opinion, there is no possibility that these charms could be one or two hundred years old.</p><p><br /></p><p>It&#039;s always difficult trying to authenticate from images instead of having the items in hand but my reasons are as follows.</p><p><br /></p><p>Let&#039;s use the &quot;boy charm&quot; as the example.</p><p><br /></p><p>Good luck charms are frequently carried and handled.&nbsp; They are hung from the neck or waist, get bumped, dropped, scrapped across tables, etc.&nbsp; They are very often held in the hand and fondled with the fingers.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you look at <a href="http://primaltrek.com/boycharm.html#obverse" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://primaltrek.com/boycharm.html#obverse" rel="nofollow">my boy charm</a>, you will see that the high points such as the forehead, hands, knees and toes are shiny from wear.&nbsp; It is the same on the reverse where the eyelet on the back, the buttock and the heels have been rubbed so much that they shine.</p><p><br /></p><p>Think of how many times and by how many people this charm may have been handled over one or two centuries.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you now examine your boy charm, you will see that there is absolutely no wear at all on the high spots such as the nose, knees and toes.</p><p><br /></p><p>Such a lack of wear on an &quot;old&quot; charm is extremely unlikely.</p><p><br /></p><p>Please look at <a href="http://www.tianxiahuaquan.com/discuz/viewthread.php?tid=59763" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.tianxiahuaquan.com/discuz/viewthread.php?tid=59763" rel="nofollow">this boy charm</a> which is very similar to yours.&nbsp; It has the same obverse and reverse as yours.&nbsp; You can clearly see that an old charm like this has wear on its high points.</p><p><br /></p><p>Also, the quality of the metal of your charm is not representative of this type of charm.&nbsp; Not only is the metal of poor quality but so is the casting.&nbsp; Charms are purposely made like this to give the appearance that they are &quot;old and worn&quot; in order to deceive people.</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, the patina on your boy charm is not right.&nbsp; This type of charm first appeared only a few hundred years ago.&nbsp; They were passed down from generation to generation because they were believed to have the power to bring good fortune, fertility, protection, etc.&nbsp; Unlike coins which could be used in an afterlife, charms like this boy charm were not buried with the dead.&nbsp; A person was not concerned with procreating sons in the afterlife.&nbsp; Having sons was only important when one was alive because of the Confucian responsibilities of filial piety and ancestor worship.</p><p><br /></p><p>Therefore, it is not likely that you would find a charm of this type which is encrusted with patina as if it had been dug up from a tomb.&nbsp; Also, the colors of the patina do not look natural to me.</p><p><br /></p><p>Everything I have said about the boy charm applies to the other charm as well.</p><p><br /></p><p>(As an aside, when one tries to authenticate an old bronze or brass Chinese coin/charm by relying on images only, it is extremely important that the color of the metal and the patina be conveyed accurately.&nbsp; It is always best to use either a white or black background so that the white balance can be determined and the colors be rendered correctly.&nbsp; Your images were taken against a brown background,&nbsp; However, the color of the background is different in the obverse and reverse images which means the colors of the charms are also different.&nbsp; So, which colors are correct?&nbsp; Quite possibly, none.)</p><p><br /></p><p>There are other factors that I could point out but perhaps the above information is sufficient to help you reach an opinion as to the age of these charms.</p><p><br /></p><p>I can believe that these charms may have been obtained back in the 1950&#039;s, as you were told.&nbsp; However, I doubt that they could be much older than that.&nbsp; I believe these charms were made as souvenirs to be sold to tourists.</p><p><br /></p><p>Incidentally, the Chinese are now much better at making fake patina look natural.</p><p><br /></p><p>I am just a small-time collector and am in no way an expert so please consider all of the above in that context.</p><p><br /></p><p>Gary[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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