5 rouble gold fake ? should I still use it as a ballmark? -- update: it might be real :)

Hyperion

this is a coin I currently use for a golf ballmark as a reminder of the dangers of raw ebay gold..


This guy is 18mm, 4.3g, but it's size does not match the description in the world catalog for the 5 rouble. the size is almost spot on for the 3 rouble, but is too heavy.




it's edge isnt reeded but is flat with a strange repeating design (which i couldn't image)

is this a fake or real? I found an ebay auction for the exact same item. also a fake or did I find the wrong item in the world catalog ?!

Link to ebay auction

Hyperion

odd. my coin has the identical edge to the auctions linked.



Ive emailed the seller asking about the source of his catalog information since it's not what Im seeing in the world catalog.

funky.

lordmarcovan

Nice ballmarker, anyway. I don't know what to tell you.

If it were fake, and had a hole in it, and I had money, I would buy it for my Holey Gold Hat, just for the "bling" factor.

But I wouldn't have the nerve to drill it unless I was 100% certain it was fake, and even then, drilling my own holes is "cheating"- not something I do.

Hyperion

hey LM, you're wise in the ways of metals... how could I go about determining it's actual metal content? I think there are devices which can measure content correct?
I guess a jeweler would be the way to go there. I think the markings on the front have to do with the alloy, if it is at least partially gold. probably not that high content if it is.

lordmarcovan

There are specific gravity tests and that kinda jazz- I am afraid that I am NOT so wise in the metallurgical arts as you might think me- the limit of my testing would consist of merely weighing the coin on a digital scale and comparing it to the published weight of a genuine piece, which you seem to have already done. 'Fraid I don't know blooey about specific gravity or whatever they use to test stuff like this.

A jeweler might have some idea.

Hyperion

you're destroying my image of you... I imagined a hobbit like creature scurrying through the underbrush, metal detector in hand, sniffing the air and detecting in the same direction, only to immediately dig up a treasure. you take a small taste of themetal and you tell the year (+/- 2 years), metal content, and a brief history of the coin and the last 3 people to hold it

(at least from your great stories I image you could do it)

lordmarcovan

Oh, well, send me some gold and I'll be more than happy to do a taste test!

A Roman aureus would be particularly tasty right now.

DCH

18mm should be the correct diameter for this piece(KM#62). Picture in the 5th edition Krause is undersized....

Hyperion

hmmm. Just looking @ taxfreegold

5 Roubles 1895 - 1911 18 (mm) 4.3013 (g) .900 .1244 AGW

Link to chard

DOH! it looks like this guy might be real Im really glad I didn't give it away or anything !
DOH!

Im looking at the world catalog and Y #62 is what Im looking at and the size and weight are off...

what am I doing wrong ?!?

thanks for the help everyone.

jonathanb

I had a fake 1899 10 rubles. There were a lot of differences, including the jawline and the distance between the top of the crown and the rim. Yours seems to be correct in those areas. You might still have a fake, but at least it would be from a different source than mine was.

brogine

The 5 looks just like mine. Can they fake edge lettering/patterns? Incidentally, the inscription on the obverse is similar to those on Western European monarchies' coins: something like ' By the Grace of God, Nikolai II, Imperator of all the Russias.' Nothing about the material. Also similar, on the reverse, is the crown capped by a cross. Divine Right. And the letter after the year is just an abbreviation for - guess! - year.
One more thing - I seem to recall that edge pattern is called a Greek something-or-other. Does anyone know?