(Identified; thanks, Kuhli!) Please help identify this 1918 crown (caution: two medium-res scans, ea

mrfred

Hello folks -- can you please help me identify this 1918 crown? I cannot find it in the Krause catalog. Thanks!!

mrfred

p.s. forgot to say: the diameter is 40mm

kuhli

Eritrea, 1 tallero, KM#5, 28.0668g, .835 SILVER, .7535 oz ASW

mintage of 510K

F=$25, VF=$55, XF=$115, Unc=$425

mrfred

Kuhli -- thanks very much!

newsman

Yours looks like a nice AU from the scan. But be careful -- there are lots of fakes of that coin out there.

mrfred

Hello Newsman

Yes, I suspect that it is a fake. I bought it at a little shop in Dubai, where I also bought two Italian coins from the 1840s. Those two Italian coins I sent to the ANA Authentication Bureau, and they came back as "typical tourist copies" ().

This third coin has been in my collection for some time, and I came across it the other day. Now -- thanks again Kuhli -- I know what it is a copy of even if it is not real.

I may try to get it authenticated, because as you say, it seems to be in good condition. Where should I send it, now that the old ANA Authentication Bureau is disbanded? One of the slabbing companies maybe? ANACS? They did a nice job on this one not long ago.

Anyway, I gave about the same price for all three -- the two Italian copies and this maybe-copy: about USD$9.50 each. They all three passed the ring test for silver.

mrfred

p.s. does ANACS have a slab big enough for this puppy, assuming it is real?

newsman

It's about the same size as a Maria Theresa thaler, so it should fit in an ANACS slab. You could also send it to NGC, they have a $14 world coin economy service which is very efficient.

I have one in AU in an NGC holder:

mrfred

Nice coin, Newsman!! and thanks again!

I'll think it over -- that NGC deal sounds like a good price.

newsman

BTW, I've been to Dubai as well, and looked over some of the coins on offer there. It's Ground Zero for fake coins, though you can occasionally get a nice deal.

mrfred

I enjoyed prowling the boxes of coins in the back shops, aided by one of my former students (who speaks Arabic). I got a whole bunch of rupees -- those are as common as snails in California -- and the three unusual pieces mentioned in this thread.