Is it just me, or does this thing look totally fake?

lordmarcovan

Linkie

Sapyx

If you've bought the Krause "Unusual" catalogue yet, you should find it in there. Its in my old (1992) edition, KMX1, though the only date given there is 1905. There's a comment: "private fantasy, normally encountered holed and countermarked". Apparently it's made of gold (fineness not given) with CV $500 in VF, $850 in Unc.

Anyone know what the sellers reference "Bitkin 8" means? I assume it's some sort of specialist work...

lordmarcovan

Aha. That 'splains it. Thanks.

The "Unusual" volume is on my to-buy list, after I encountered it at a Barnes & Noble recently. I noticed a 1901 Irish "pattern" fantasy like one I own, on the front cover. In three minutes of thumbing through it, I saw at least three or four things that had mystified me in the past.

I'd've bought it at B&N, but I figured I might do just as well looking for it online.

As to the coin, I spotted it as a fantasy because of the lettering (as if the funky Franz Josef portrait wasn't enough). Too "modern". That is usually the tell for me. The fakers, even the sophisticated ones, seldom get the serifs and so on right.

Aethelred

Unusual World Coins is a great book, I have the 4th edition and have used it quite a bit. I'll be sure to buy the 5th edition when it comes out.

There is even a section on the coins of Middle Earth.

TwoKopeiki

Bitkin has a great catalog for Russian Imperial coinage. When dealing with Russian coinage, you'll encounter Bitkin Numbers quite often.