a friend of mine would like to know if anyone could identify this coin...and possibly the value? he believes that it is silver and he also believes that it is 100 years old. any help would be appreciated...thanks.
how did you get this coin? I am asking since these are very heavily faked. These are fairly scarce if real, but the US has been flooded in the last few years with Chinese fakes of these coins. Without proving it has been in a collection for 20 years, I think the likelihood is high that it is fake.
It is similar to a 1914 "fat man" dollar - one of the Republic of China's earliest coins, depicting Yuan Shih-Kai, first president of the ROC and briefly its self-proclaimed emperor. There are five known varieties: Y#329, with a vertically reeded edge, worth BV (.7555 oz ASW) to ~$50 Y#329.1, with a series of raised circles around the edge, worth BV to >$2,500 Y#329.2, with a series of alternating position "T"s around the edge, worth BV to >$2,500 Y#329.3, with a plain edge, worth BV to ~$1,000 Y#329.4, with a tiny circle in the ribbon bow (Krause doesn't specify the edge condition), worh BV to ~$250 Is it magnetic? It's fake. Does it weigh something other than exactly 26.4g? It's fake. Does the calligraphy have improper details? It's fake. Are the military decorations/collar/epaulet incorrect? Its fake. Is it in existence? It's probably fake. Actually being in a collection for 20, 30, or even 97 years is no guarantee of genuineness, since counterfeiting started in the year of original issue!
Good point, but to most colelctors those earlier fakes were more easily spotted. China has always counterfeited coins, but the earlier ones usually easier to tell. I have one of these in my collection from a 40 year old collection that a couple of experts has told me is good. Short of something like that, I usually do not bother even trying to authenticate these anymore. Btw hontonai, great breakdown of details. Tyvm for the post. Chris
