Info wanted on an coin: 1901 2 Lire from Italy....(Updated)

Oney

A hobby shop just got this coin in from a collection but the only reference I found to this coin was in a work coin book. It is an 1901 2 Lire. Mintage says 72K .......value in XF is $2K.. can this be right. The coin is in XF/AU condition. Looks like the coin below on 2 Lire of course.

Update: The dealer sent the coin to NGC. It came back authentic and graded AU53! The dealter just sold it for over $4,000!

coinpictures

Be VERY careful!!! These are heavily counterfeited. I have one made of "Italian Silver" (.500 fine) that I picked up for about $10.

Weigh it and see if it's the correct weight. Then, since you're dealing with a local dealer, ask him to submit it to NGC/PCGS for authentication....

Too much money to take chances.

Edit: Sorry, I thought you were referring to the 5L shown. Even so, caution is advised.

newsman

I would never buy one of those raw for anything approaching the catalog price. Maybe for melt but not more than that. If someone offered me that coin, I'd offer to buy it only on the condition that it comes back genuine from PCGS or NGC.

It's very likely that the counterfeits outnumber the real coins of that type.

coinkat

Have the Dealer submit the coin. I would advise against buying it raw.

CIVITAS

Without being able to see the actual coin in question, it's hard to make a judgement. However, the advice already given is sound about getting the coin certified/authenticated. Modern Italian rarities (both silver and gold) should be assumed guilty until proven innocent.

Oney

Updated original message!

Update: The dealer sent the coin to NGC. It came back authentic and graded AU53! The dealter just sold it for over $4,000!

Stork

Woohoo--I'll bet that guy is happy!