flea market find 1921 and 1924 Russia 1 roubles

Today's new flea market pickup,
1924 weighs 19.9 grams
1921 weighs 20.4 grams
Do they look authentic and did I get taken to the cleaners?
Paid $10 each

 

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Sorry about the upside down and backwards photos, Im still at the Flea market

 

Edge:

 

I've never seen this issue before, so know nothing about it, but your pictures hint at the same toning pattern and "sinking" design features (fine features disappearing into the field) that I usually see on eBay fakes.

Turning it around, why would you think underpriced coins at a flea market would be authentic?

Edit: to be fair, I've found myself calling "fake" here on coins that turned out to be legit. See what others say.

 

Unfortunately, IMO, you just bought a group of counterfeits.

This is for all CT members who read this thread: IMHO,

This is the computer age so very rarely will you find a genuine coin that is under priced ANYWHERE.

95% of the folks selling coins at flea markets are "horse traders" not numismatists! In some cases they don't know if anything is authentic.

Most gold at flea markets is fake.

Bye, just got called to breakfast.

 

It may still be possible to get them close to melt if the seller couldn't care less of how much he / she is going to get. However these days, you are more likely to get counterfeits. Low / high price does not necessary indicate something is amiss.

At one stage where silver melt was around 50 usd / oz, this is when the flood of such counterfeits appeared. These were sold often for 40+ dollars where the production cost would probably have been around a dollar at most. Of course, this is still profitable for counterfeiters but not as much as before.

This is actually a lot harder to tell as it's not a simple cast / poorly made copy. It's the overall details that give them away. Note that the weight is made close to the original weight (20.0g). The edge also has reasonably good details as well.

 

Ditto! Great information.

 

Thanks everyone, i was in the middle of a transaction with another of my customers when this guy approached me asking what they were worth & how much I'd pay. I offered him close to what I thought my LCS would pay,(Melt)I normally proceed such dealings with extreme caution, (scales magnet ,eye ball exam ) but didn't bother to look@ it under loupe as I was sorta busy at the time. I spot fakes all the time there but this is the 1st time I'd ever seen this coin so I took a gamble and lost....This is the 1st counterfeit I've posted or purchased. If they are Indeed silver it's not a total loss. I suppose I should have them tested now.
I see enough pimples and slag(along with the weak design elements mentioned) to say with certainty it's fake, it's always easier to ask the audience here on CT but this is just a reminder to be very careful out in the field nowadays as fakes are becoming more & more common (Especially @ flea markets and the bay)

Thanks again .To all who chimed In

 

This are mine. I bought them many years ago and I may say that they are genuine. As for your coins, sir: $10 is very very very low price for such coins.

 

Those look genuine to me. I wish I was more familiar with the issue. They look like they had an old cleaning or were made to look worn after fake creation. I guess I'm on the fence. Magnet test? Weight? If they are silver, you didn't do bad. They'd be good to study as well if fake