Counterfeit Balboa???????????

grayroads

Question: With the flood of counterfeit coins from Asia in mind, I have weighed a Panama, 1934 One Balboa, KM 13; it is 25.3 gm, the listed weight is 26.7 gm. Is this within the tolerance for this coin? Added note of caution, the coin was purchased in China.
Thanks for your help.
Bob

Steve27

I would expect a couterfeit to be much lighter, so it's probably OK. (Got a pic?)

grayroads

Image of the obverse is attached. Let me know what you think. Your help is appreciated. Bob

satootoko

5-1/4% off-weight doesn't sound too encouraging.

Counterfeit weights are all over the place, especially on Chinese garbage. Contemporary counterfeits intended for circulation are close to the correct weight more often than replicas made for tourists, who are less likely to know how a coin should feel in the hand.

coinpictures

Actually, being 1.4 grams light compared to spec weight screams out FAKE to me.

It would be one thing if we were talking about coinage minted in the 1700s and earlier, where tolerances tended to be wider, but mid-20th-century coinage is usually pretty tight.

Ricke

the face of the bust strikes me more than the weight... it doesn't look quite right, does it?

TwoKopeiki

Almost 100% sure it's fake.



<< <i>Actually, being 1.4 grams light compared to spec weight screams out FAKE to me. >>




Roman.

grayroads

Thanks to one and all. The verdict: It's a fake. It's a fake.

Dentuck

Yes, it's a fake --- and there are other counterfeits of more common coins in the market. I've seen several of the same fake Prussian 5-mark coin of Wilhelm II, with a telltale broken-numeral flaw (I forget the exact diagnostic at the moment; might have been the "3" in the date).