I acquired a box of old coins and found this trade coin amongst them. Would there be any reason why someone has hacked at it? How do I determine the coin date? Trade coin by jim47 posted Jan 2, 2024 at 11:07 AM Trade coin by jim47 posted Jan 2, 2024 at 11:06 AM
Google: “Decipher Japanese alphabet”. This is how I learned. The listings will help you learn to translate the characters, including which way to read and the numerals for the date. There is also a character for the ruler at that time. The date sets the number of years since the first year of the emperor’s rule, and that translates to the year the coin was minted…imo…Spark BTW…the chrysanthemum is at the top, the ribbon/bow at bottom for the reverse.
Year 10, 1877 if it’s real and even damaged like that worth $800-1000. Not an expert so not sure about authenticity.
I'm definitely not an expert either, but I do know there are a LOT of Chinese counterfeits of this sort of thing. Hopefully it's real.
I know people have been making counterfeits since people have been making coins, but fairly sure the tin this trade coin came from hasn't been touched for 40-50 years if that makes any difference. Just weighed it on my reloading scales, weighs 416.7 gn
I don't have anything intelligent to add, but it's a really cool trade token. I like it - hopefully it turns out to be authentic
The right weight should be 420 grains. The weight shouldn't be that far off from the looks of the details. Also you can check it with a strong magnet, and then check the diameter.
