Help me identify this Chinese Dragon Dollar

I found this in the scrap bucket at a local silver/gold shop. I am satisfied that it is real. however I am having trouble with the year and then Krause number. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

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I just looked that up on Ebay and your lettering is much bigger.... Ebay link: http://www.ebay.com/sch/Coins-World...ngnan+province+7+mace+and+2+candareens&_sop=3

 

I am guessing yours is fake. on the real ones the lettering on the Kiangnan Province has smaller letters and widely spaced out. we need a China expert in here to tell you more.

 

Size of letters, letters out of alignment, side ornaments different - a fake in my opinion, as well as a coin that's repeatedly faked.

 

I agree that it's a fake, and what the heck is that round thing between "KIANG" and "NAN"?

 

Krause says for some years the lettering is smaller and some variations are larger between 1898-1904. Secondly there are fine chop marks including the one noted above between kiang and nan. Thirdly if you look at the chop marks under 10 power loop you can see the marks hand been cleaned after they we're put in at some point in its history. Lastly I took it took it to another coin shop with a rather expensive piece of metallurgical equipment and the alloy came out correct at 90% silver. While not ironclad proof it did point me to being authentic. Please let the debate continue and if anyone recognizes the date it would be helpful. I will try to post better pics later.

 

I've only found one authentic Dragon Dollar looking through junk bins.
Out of perhaps 50 or 60 fakes.

 

The coin is dated 1898 (戊戌).

I do not have any Krause publications so I cannot help you with the Krause number.

How much does the coin weigh in grams?

Gary

 

Krause gives you a choice of Y145a.1, Y145a.18, or Y145a.3 and I can't tell which variety it is until we have a larger scan. All of these appear to have a 6-pointed star in the legend, not a 6-petal lotus.

 

Here are a couple of better pictures.

 

Is it magnetic?

 

Here is an interesting article.
http://coinquest.com/cgi-bin/cq/coins?main_coin=7235&main_ss_id=357229&main_ww_id=270

 

No, in an earlier post I stated I had it tested at 90% silver

 

There is a possibility that this coin is genuine at first glance.

However, these are so heavily counterfeit - I cannot say with certainty.

 

From the second group of pictures I see some really sloppy dentils around the rims. 90% silver copies are also well known. In addition, that ying-yang chopmark is unusual, seems tailored to attract Western collectors. Have never seen or heard of a ying-yang choprmark on any of these coins. Based on just your pictures I would be highly skeptical of this coin.

 

We need an accurate weight in grams.

Gary

 

Here is the weight

 

I checked two respected Chinese references which document five specimens of this coin.

The weights are 26.8 g, 27 g, 26.9 g, 26.8 g and 26.8 g.

A weight of 26.86 grams is correct for this coin.

While a correct weight does not ensure its authenticity, it certainly is a a promising sign.

Gary

 

Thanks to all for their opinions and information. Is it worth taking a shot and sending it in to a TPG? If so I was thinking NGC but I would be interested in other recommendations. Also is there a forum on the web that specializes in Chinese coins?

 

Well I sent in to ANACS and it cam back Authentic EF 40 details (chopmarked/cleaned) which I expected so I am happy with the result. Can anyone tell me what a coin like this is going for on today's market? I have been told Krause is not the best on Chinese coins.