Home World & Ancient Coins Forum

1959 Bermuda Crown: side by side display of genuine vs. cast counterfeit

Apologies in advance for the monster images, but size is really needed to get the most benefit from this posting. This is really for beginning collectors or those who have heard the term 'cast counterfeit' but can't really conjure up an image as to how that type of counterfeit differs from a genuine coin.

I had the unpleasant experience of winning the EBAY auction on the counterfeit last week and when the coin arrived, it was clear to me that it was not genuine. (The coin has been returned, however, I took these photos for my records and educational use)

I have several examples of genuine Bermuda Crowns (these 1959 coins are sterling silver) and like most coins, the best background for detecting counterfeits is to have a good 'minds eye' what the genuine article should look like. From the monster images, most would say, 'how could that ever fool anybody'....and it wouldn't so long as a critical eye were cast upon it. But you have to remember, cast counterfeits were not intended to be extremely deceptive, only to be good enough to pass casual inspection in a quick hand to hand transaction.

In the photos the genuine coin is on the left obviously and the cast counterfeit is on the right. The typical cast counterfeit will have a significant loss of fine detail (observe loss of detail around necklace, eye, nose, etc.), will have surfaces that can be described as 'grainy', 'pimply' or 'sandblasted' in appearance. The rims and denticles are not sharp and crisp as they would be on even a circulated coin.

I've also included a set of smaller images so you can get a better perspective of how the coins may look next to each other 'in hand'.

The weight of this counterfeit was also off. The cast coin weighed only 20.5 grams and the genuine article should come in at 28.28 g.

image

image

image

image

Greg Hansen, Melbourne, FL Click here for any current EBAY auctions Multiple "Circle of Trust" transactions over 14 years on forum

Comments

  • AndresAndres Posts: 977 ✭✭✭
    Great pics , image Greg
    How can you tell, this is a conterfeit contemporary coin from the sixties, and not a modern made chinese copy coin ?
    collector of Greek banknotes - most beautifull world banknotes - Greek & Roman ancient coins.
  • greghansengreghansen Posts: 4,301 ✭✭✭
    Frankly, most of the Chines copies I have seen are die struck counterfeits and are far more deceptive than the cast copies. I can't date the time frame for the counterfeit, I can only say the method of counterfeit production. I have a whole set of die struck counterfeit Trade Dollars which are far more deceptive and dangerous to the beginning collector. A cast counterfeit, IMO is one of the easiest fakes to spot because its method of production always leaves similar types of flaws regardless of which series is being copied. Clearly some casts are far better and not as crude as that obviously used for this coin, but I've never seen a cast counterfeit which didn't have some degree of pimply surfaces.

    Greg Hansen, Melbourne, FL Click here for any current EBAY auctions Multiple "Circle of Trust" transactions over 14 years on forum

  • AndresAndres Posts: 977 ✭✭✭
    I asked because you referred to : as good enough to pass from hand to hand in circulation, meaning imho it was ment to circulate in that time period, the sixties and the seventies.
    and I agree its not good enough to fool a collector.
    Yes, the more modern chinese counterfeit coins are all die struck and more or less of the correct weight , far more dangerous to the unaware average collector.
    I have a small collection of both cast and die struck counterfeit coins,
    great study material.
    collector of Greek banknotes - most beautifull world banknotes - Greek & Roman ancient coins.
  • LochNESSLochNESS Posts: 4,829 ✭✭✭
    Yes, great study material. It's always good to see a reminder. Even with the smaller images (when I zoomed out my browser) I can still tell the difference.

    I look for the detail in the islands, the relative distance between aspects of the design, the diameter of the coin... of course all of this is difficult when only the fake is in-hand. But the overall dull, grey tone speaks volumes.
    ANA LM • WBCC 429

    Amat Colligendo Focum

    Top 10FOR SALE

    image
  • nicholasz219nicholasz219 Posts: 1,386 ✭✭✭
    This is a great post, especially with the photographs for comparison. Thanks!
  • LochNESSLochNESS Posts: 4,829 ✭✭✭
    and the title has made it exceedingly easy to find in search result image
    ANA LM • WBCC 429

    Amat Colligendo Focum

    Top 10FOR SALE

    image
  • rec78rec78 Posts: 5,675 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Great post Greg, even us old-timers like to see these kinds of threads--to remind us to keep on our toes and never let our guard down, especially on coins that you never think would be counterfeited. It is kinda a neat counterfeit coin though. A good coin to compare. Thanks for the post-I always appreciate this kind of thread. Contemporary counterfeits are a niche in their own right.

    Bob
    image
  • shirohniichanshirohniichan Posts: 4,992 ✭✭✭
    Did the originals circulate much, or were they mostly kept as souvenirs?
    image
    Obscurum per obscurius
  • nicholasz219nicholasz219 Posts: 1,386 ✭✭✭
    Holy moley! Shiro!
Sign In or Register to comment.