(not-so) Secret Santa greedily contemplated keeping that tricolored Faeroe Islands piece for himself, but finally relented and turned loose of it. It was in some stuff @spirityoda sent, to be used in the giveways, so Santa had to remind himself he was Santa, and that it needed to be given away.
This just in! Success in the one CNG lot I was pursuing! Now my second 2019 purchase. CRUSADERS, Lusignan Kingdom of Cyprus. Henry II. King of Cyprus & Jerusalem, 1285-1324. AR Gros petit (20mm, 2.21 g, 2h). Nicosia mint. Hugh enthroned facing, holding lis-tipped scepter and globus cruciger / Jerusalem cross. M&Ppl. 11, 10; Metcalf, Crusades 688-91; CCS 51. Good VF, toned.
Picked up these today as part of a bunch of British silver coinage. The rest was quite worn, but these two made slight upgrades for me so have stuck. (The deposed examples will make it to Ebay in due course!)
A little off the grid since I am not a huge fan of colored coins, but it was purchased to be a gift and a reminder of a special occasion. My son drove down from Colorado for Thanksgiving and I took him on his first hog hunt the next day. He was able to harvest(beginners luck) a very large (300+ pounds, 5 feet long, 4 1/2 tusk) spotted hog that I have been trying to get for the last two years. The coloring on this coin closely matches the actual hog he shot. I thought it would make a perfect reminder of the hunt and a nice addition to his collection. Australia 2019 Year of the Pig. Mintage 9,000 Photo of actual hog he harvested. Taken a couple of weeks prior.
Some old stuff from India came today. I probably have the ID a bit off, have them labeled as: 1. 35-405 Western Satrap AR 2. 980-1003 Didda Rani AE 3. 1791 Jodphur 1 taka That last one is 20mm D and 7 mm thick, 20.68 gram
Haven’t done a lot of research on this wild man but I loved the double strike reverse. I don’t think it’s a doubled die but struck twice with a different die. The shape of the 3 and the S on the undertype appear to be different.
More coins from India came yesterday, a tiny silver 2 anna, 1912 rupee from Princely State of Hyderabad and a 1929 1/4 anna from Gwalior State
That Edward VII 2-anna piece looks suspiciously Chinese to me. Mind you, I'm not saying it is. It's just that the lettering looks similar to what I've seen on Chinese counterfeit rupees. This might mean nothing. Sometimes real coins throw up red flags for me. I really have no idea.
Take a look at this one. I have posted it before, and it is so obviously a fake/counterfeit. Someone (on CT) wanted it and bought it from me not too long ago, calling it a "contemporary counterfeit". The 2 anna looks a bit worn to me, yet looks pretty genuine in hand. It is so small, about the size of a 1 1/2 pence, that it might be not much of a target for forgery?
Oof. Same "Made In China" appearance, That rupee is definitely bad. Not a contemporary counterfeit in that it isn't contemporary to Edward VII. It's more likely contemporary to the Bush or Obama administration. (JMHO.) The 2-anna I was unsure about for precisely the reason you mentioned- it's small and less likely to be a target of the fakers. But the Chinese coin counterfeiters will fake anything- large or small, common or rare. They like crown-sized silver pieces, especially rarities, but nothing is immune from their craft. I have no doubt about the spurious nature of that 1904 rupee. On the 1906 2-anna, I'm merely suspicious, but rather strongly suspicious.
I respect your opinion, Herr Marcovan, and will keep it in mind. Please regard this other example I have of Edward VII Indian silver, does it look equally fishy or what? Note the weird denticles at 11 O'clock obverse and 9 O'clock reverse. Might be an aberration of the lens in photographing?
I have been wanting one of them too, and I keep seeing fake looking examples being sold from certain foreign countries and I just shy off....
Nice wildman! I don't think what you have is a double die or double strike; these coins are commonly struck from recut dies, dies that have been worn down and then are freshened up a bit for extra use.