Cast or Milled?

satootoko

The seller says


<< <i>Our items are guaranteed to be authentic and bear the identification of our Master Craftsmen. >>



Does that mean the "Master Craftsmen" sign the authentic molds before casting these, or am I imagining things

Edited to add the Missing Link.

spinaker2000

link please.

spinaker2000

stand back from the monitor when you click on "Supersize" !!!

historygeek

Unnatural colour, either wizzed or cast.

Aethelred

When I clicked "supersize" the thing knocked me in the face!!!!!

Those coins are seriously FAKE!!!!!!

laurentyvan

Other than the color (strange colors sometimes to me seem to be from poor photography) can someone take a few moments to detail exactly why they think these coins are fake. The more I learn, the happier I'll be!
I see an unnatural surface on some of the closeups, the wear points on a couple don't seem to make sense, and here and there I see a wavy planchet edge. What are the indicators of a fake coin as you see them?

satootoko

<< <i>What are the indicators of a fake coin as you see them? >>


It's very tough to articulate just why a coin "smells bad", but the first clues are often a suspicious origin and/or a ridiculous price:

1. In the case of early Meiji Japanese coins China, Korea, Singapore and (surprisingly) Canada, are known sources of fakes. This one is from Shanghai!.

2. A seller with a 400 rating - definitely not a newbie - not only offers ¥1 pieces form 1888 ($25+) and 1897 ($16+) for a $3 opening bid; but he throws in a coin mating the reverse of a standard trade dollar (value ~$400-2,800) and the obverse of a pattern coin ("rare" per Krause, ¥4-8 million [~$220,000-440,000!] per JNDA 2003).

Surface characteristics are also clues:

3. The supersized picture of the Trade Dollar Reverse (second row, first column of photos), especially at the bottom, clearly demonstrates what a cast coin's surface looks like. That grainy appearance. which shows up in several of the scans, is a very typical result of the casting process.

4. Cast coins frequently have unusual wear/weak strike characteristics. The obverse of the 1888 (Meiji Year 21) yen is typical of that situation - the legend inconsistently varies from clear to "gone", including an almost invisible "ichi" (figure one, looking like an irregular hyphen) in the date).

Size, weight and metal composition are important.

5. "Ask the Seller" for the diameter and weight. Some coins go through two or more variations.

Sometimes design characteristics are unclear in the photos/scans:

6. "Ask the Seller" does the spiral on the pearl in the Dragon's claw turn in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction; is the calligraphy correct on the lettering; etc.?

As Laurent pointed out, color of the picture is not a good indicator, except in the very rare case where the color is completely inconsistent with the correct metal - a red/brown "silver" or a white "copper".

Without the coin "in hand" it is usually impossible to fully authenticate an item, but it is not at all uncommon to be able to fully "deauthenticate" one!