Hi, I have been searching the internet to Identify a coin that I have, with no luck. Actually, it may be a coin or a commemorative of some sort. It is Austrian, dated 1915. It is silver and the size of a US penny. It has the profile of Francis Joseph as on the Corona coins with latin inscription: NP (or dn) franc.jos.I.d.c.avstriae imperator. On the reverse it has the heraldic shield with the double eagles and the crown above and between the eagles heads. It has an inscription as well, but no monetary mark or type. The inscription is:lod.ill rex a.a.1915 hvngar.bohem.gal. As I said before, I can't find a description of the coin, if it is a coin at all. It may be a commemorative of some kind. Can anyone help? Thanks. Kurt J. Bowker
Hmm, the Austrian 1 ducat coins look pretty much like that, except they were made of gold. Or rather "are"; the ducats dated 1915 are modern restrikes. But if it is actually a silver coin, sorry, no idea ... Christian
Possibly the core of a fake trade ducat. That is, prior to gold plating. It is probably worth while weighing the coin, because some `fakes' of the late 1800's used platinum (much cheaper than gold was back then). If the coin turns out to be heavier than the trade ducat, then `bingo'...you score! if it is lighter, it is still interesting....but relatively worthless in cash terms. Ian
Ian, Would you know off hand how much a trade ducat would weigh? I've seen pictures of them on the internet, but not weights. Does platinum tarnish? My 'coin' tarnished black until I polished it, which makes me think its silver, and thus probably only interesting, but worthless. Thanks for your help. Kurt
kjbowker - If the coin were a genuine 1915 gold ducat it should weigh 3.4909 grams. And just a heads up - never polish a coin. Cleaning a coin will ruin its value to a collector. And Ian is quite correct - if it is indeed a platinum coin instead of gold - it would be more valuable to a collector than a genuine example. Of course the platinum is worth more than gold as well. But this is one of those times when a counterfeit can be more valuable than the original.
Kurt, Platinum doesn't tarnish. ...at least not `black'. Sounds like you have a silver core. It is fairly readily found, and the only reason i know as much as i know about it is that about twelve years ago I came across one in a tin of coins at auction. It was `gold' (plated...although I didn't know that at the time) and i thought that I had literally struck gold! When i got the tin of coins home, under a magnifying glass i could see silvery metal showing through. :-( It took me three years of asking around before I found out what it was that I had. Since then I see people who are possibly following in my very footsteps asking about this `coin' a few times a year. It is a VERY good silver replica of the ducat which is /was intended to deceive. One of the most convincing counterfeit coins I have ever come across. I see that your questions re `weight' have already been answered, so hope all that helps. Ian
