I have recently expanded my area of collecting. I have been looking at the Scalloped or flower shaped Chinese lunar coins. Ya , I know, buying from the enemy. I actually bought the 98 tiger and the 2000 dragon from kellys coins.Mainly because of there mintage 6800 total pieces each year, with the gold series mintages being much lower. My idea was to put this set together to sell back to the enemy at a profit of course. I was very curious one night and examined both of my coins. I noticed many small fibers under the sealed plastic. So i did the unthinkable. Yes i cut it out. It looked like the fibers were part of the coin so i just had to see. Turns out that they were just fibers. What i did notice,was a crease on the edge of the coin. Kinda like two separate pieces were put together and then sanded to get rid of the line. Butonly leaving a small portion of this line. My question is is this a common counterfeit?It has the so called O.G.P . Which that would not be a problem to copy. The coin is supposed to weigh 2/3 of a troy ounce. My memory is not what it used to be . I forget exactly how much a troy ounce weighs. Any ways, i weighed the coin on a handheld scale .Approximately 21 g. Could this be a fake or badly made coin.Im sorry , i have no ability to post a pic. Beautiful coins but my advice is to stay away. I would appreciate any comments concerning these coins. Thanks a bunch CLAW.
I have read of these being counterfeited but that's about all I can offer. But this line you speak of - does go around the entire coin horizontally or is it a vertical line on the edge ? Either way - there should not be a line.
reply to ? The line is about 3/4 of an inch long.Like i said, it looks like two separate pieces sandwiched together, with a line running horizontally exactly in the middle. I guess it does way 3/4 of an ounce Thanks for your expertise CLAW .
If I were you I would send an email to Kelly's and explain what you did and what you found. He is a reputable dealer and will likely give you a refund. The problem you may have is that you removed the coin from the original package - this means another coin could be substituted for return. But if you have dealt with him in the past he may take your word. Either way it's worth a shot.
That is a big problem, since all returns require unopened packaging.And it is pat the 15 day return policy. But I will call him tomorrow. Thamks GDJMSP for your expertise CLAW
Well, I have left six messages and two E-mails to kelly's this week and no reply. My 15 days are up this weekend, and really doubt any reply. Though i have heard kellys was quite reputable, I will never order from them again. Guess I will have to find a new dealer to complete my MS-68 sac dollars. Anyone have any advice for other reputable dealers ? Thanks CLAW
