Mexico 1898 Peso located in China - Authentic?

WillieBoyd2

Does this Mexico 1898 peso coin look authentic?

This coin is listed on Ebay and is located in China:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150048525832

I know that the Chinese have been making copies or counterfeits of various silver-dollar sized coins.

However, this one could have really made it to China.

It is a 1949 restrike of a 1898 peso that China's Chiang Kai-Shek Nationalist government (the Kuomintang) ordered from the Mexico City mint.

Approximately 2,500,000 of these coins were shipped to China in late 1949.

They were to be used to pay soldiers who would not accept the worthless Nationalist paper money.

drjules

My opinion - I have no way to tell if it is real or fake, or whether you will get the coin pictured.

Ebay and China, a bad combination

Dr J

coinnerd

If it had really circulated it would probably be chop marked. Anyway, why take the chance on such a common and readly available coin.

TwoKopeiki

Here's one on Teletrade tonight - PCGS slab.

Teletrade link

coinkat

This is not a rare date and can be located without incurring the postage associated with a coin coming from 1/2 way around the world

1jester

Resist the temptation!

I can't say if the Chinese one is fake, but a couple things point in that direction, just from comparing it to the one selling in the Teletrade auction. Why is the Chinese one listed as AU even though it's bright as the sun (obviously dipped) and has apparently many more details? The reverse, for example, shows an apparent stronger strike, yet the whole coin appears more fuzzy, more soft than the Teletrade coin. I don't like the rims either; they appear too wide. And the whole coin just appears to lack the strong details of the obviously more weakly struck genuine (slabbed) coin. And I know nothing of the diagnostics of these coin, nor have I compared the details carefully.

WillieBoyd2

Thank you for the posts.

I probably should have mentioned in my original post that I was not going to bid on the coin.
I have two original Mexico 1898 MoAM pesos and two 1949 restrikes.
I bought one restrike for $10 on Ebay from a New Mexico seller; the coin had some damage.

The seller just happened to list a Mexican coin which was only made (in 1949) for China.

I have been researching these unusual coins for the past year and wrote this article on them,
posted on my website below.
I have found out some more information and will update my article soon.

By the way, the Teletrade coin labeled as "original" is a restrike.
I counted the denticles (the beads around the rim).
The "Liberty Cap" side has 134 denticles and the "Eagle" side has 131, characteristic of a 1949 restrike.
An original should have 138 or 139 on both sides.