Unfortunately it's not a genuine coin. I have both a genuine and a counterfeit coin and the image you posted has the same die mistakes I have noted on my counterfeit coin. It's interesting to see how uninformed people bid on eBay. And don't count on coins which are in top TPG's slabs. In past few years I have seen some of these counterfeits in their slabs too. Regards, Ballabh Garg
I have circled the areas where the coin doesn't match with genuine coins. First look the placements of stars on both sides. On original coin they are not aligned at all. Inside Gopuram, the standing figure in first, second and fourth floor is wrong. On genuine coin, the floors are divided by a straight vertical line and the standing deity is shown only on right side by a vertical lines. There is no horizontal line on second floor (as shown on your coin) The Persian script is a dead giveaway. On most original die varieties, there is no dot inside the "do chasme shahi' character. On one die variety, there is a dot but it's very small dot (1/10 of the size of on this coin). I doubt that this coin is that sub-variety. Below that, check the Hun word. The calligraphy is totally off from the genuine one. On other side, there are few other die issues like couple of characters in Tamil legends is not correct. It's also missing the central dot between Tamil legends (at 6 o'clock). Lord Vishnu’s face also doesn't look right and on genuine coins his crown has two horizontal lines and one dot. On counterfeit, there is one line and one dot. Hope this will give you enough idea. If I get some free time this afternoon, will scan the two from my collection and will post here. Take care. Regards, Ballabh Garg
Here are few Pagodas from my collection. A Genuine Pagoda: A counterfeit Pagoda: Another Genuine Pagoda (with an unfortunate hole, but kept it because of the die variety) And another counterfeit Pagoda: The last two were bought from a well known Indian dealer who sold both of these for little below bullion price (when gold was around 400/Oz) The first two slabbed one were purchased in 2002 from Pontario's auction. My bid amount was only for genuine one but it was a two coin lot. Regards, Ballabh Garg
