Show off some contemporary counterfeits

I hope this thread can maintain some participation. A lot more options here than the US forum.

I just picked this one up today so I haven’t looked into it too much. Came from a good dealer who got it from a fantastic dealer who passed recently so I trust the assessment as a contemporary counterfeit that saw some circulation. Love to see and hear about any others. If real, this would be a $4-5,000 coin.

Korea Kaeguk 502 (1893) 1 whan

 

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Don't have any but @Jack D. Young and his Dark side collection would fit perfectly in this thread.

 

Great Depression-era contemporary counterfeit coin!
This forged florin on the right was made with aluminium/lead alloy (8 grams) as opposed to the real silver coin (11.30 g) on the left. Compare the crisp letters and details on the real one vs the flattened letters and coarse surface on the fake.


And an ancient forgery- a 'fourree' denarius of Domitian, made of copper core covered by a thin silver layer.

 

Well here are my 4 "counterfits" 2 are US 1 Hawiian and one Confederacy... The Confed cent being the only one I actualy paid for...

 

This one cost me a while back. Once I found out it was fake, I contacted the seller and they told me he was out of town. My messages were never answered after that and I was blocked from their e-bay account. Ebay did absolutely nothing because the purchase was over six months past. I was disappointed because the seller was "a top seller on e-bay". I'm a bit more careful these days.

 

Use Paypal!

 

Love true contemporary counterfeits!

Two attributed by Kleeberg:



1793 Contemporary Counterfeit 2 Reales. The “Liberace Head”.
Kleeberg 93A-L6. Copper. Lima mintmark. (I understand this variety was given this name by John Kleeberg, who wrote the treatise on this series)- "Circulating counterfeits of the Americas", edited by John Kleeberg, COAC #14 from 1998.



1801 "Beethoven Head" contemporary counterfeit 2 reales. Lima mint on a
Mexico issue. Struck after 1804 according to Kleeberg.

 

How do you know if they are contemporary? I have this 1879 Mexican 8 reales that I know is fake, but I don't know if it's contemporary or modern day. I bought it when I was just getting started buying coins and had no idea what I was doing. The metal is very gray and the details are really bad. I don't know if it was intended to fool Mexicans in the 1880s or collectors today. I'm also concerned about what it might be made of. Knowing it is a fake I gave it to my kid to play with, but if it's lead then I don't want him having it obviously.

 

Old Spanish Trail, 1935.

 

All found among other peoples collections I have purchased over the years.

 

There's no real hard and fast rule, but generally, contemporary fakes will show signs of circulation (since that's most likely the reason they were made). They'll usually be made well enough that they don't raise too much suspicion at quick glance, but are obviously fake when given a close look. I would bet your 8R is contemporary.

 

Since I'm a US Large Cent guy, my favorite "Contemporary Counterfeits" are the two shown below. Both bring *MUCH* more than originals of their date.

 

What were the indicators that the 1909-S Indian Head were fake? Were there little "blobs" that indicated they were cast? Lack of clear lines in the shield? Just curious.

 

Just a note, many of the contemporaries were made to simulate wear with light strikes and weak details so they looked like wear from circulation!

There is a whole series of these and they are highly collected.

 

See the Gurney book on the Portrait types

 

What made you think the Spanish Trail is counterfeit?

 

Picked up at a garage sale or swap meet in the 80's without a loop. Not a counterfeit but an intentional scam on collectors.

 

Hiddendragon, asked: "How do you know if they are contemporary? I have this 1879 Mexican 8 reales that I know is fake, but I don't know if it's contemporary or modern day. I bought it when I was just getting started buying coins and had no idea what I was doing. The metal is very gray and the details are really bad. I don't know if it was intended to fool Mexicans in the 1880s or collectors today. I'm also concerned about what it might be made of. Knowing it is a fake I gave it to my kid to play with, but if it's lead then I don't want him having it obviously."

Long time experienced collectors can usually tell by the "look" of the coin, its composition and the way it was made. If the piece comes from a very old collection, this is helpful too. Yours looks contemporary and as such is probably worth much more to an "advanced" collector than a genuine. I've heard of these peices being bid to over $100.