Counterfeit sovereign / half sovereign - How often are they gold?

12voltman

I know sovereigns have been counterfeited as long as the denomination has been around. Some are full weight and are not meant to deceive collectors or cheat anyone but rather to resemble familiar currency when they're otherwise unavailable. But for those that are made to cheat people and trade at face value, are they mostly gold plated or are they underweight gold? There must be a lot of cumulative experience here from which we can get close to an answer. Thanks

SaorAlba

One determinate factor in whether they are really gold or not is where they came from in the first place. The source for a lot of counterfeit sovereigns in the 1950s -1960s appears to be Lebanon - and they were very close to if not full weight - some have even been a bit overweight. They were created to fill a void for very discerning customers, so they had to be proper fineness and weight. The Middle Eastern counterfeits were serious enough that the British Royal Mint got in on the act and started restriking some of the 1925 dated George V coins - remember this is the Middle East and people don't want coins with women namely Queen Elizabeth on them - this was done in the late 1950s. Of course they also started striking 1958 dated sovereigns with QEII on them for distribution into some markets.

If they are not up to snuff in fineness and weight then they were created to part of a bonafide fraud attempt - and were likely made beginning in the late 1960s early 1970s when things really started coming unraveled in Lebanon and Syria.

Exbrit

Counterfeits come in many different forms, under or over weight, size difference, gold content and so on. I've seen variables in size and weight and I have questioned more than a few. I've talked to a few folks that are specialist regarding what size and weight variance is acceptable, but have not obtained a clear cut answer. Some of the considerations might include where and when the sovereign was minted and the amount of normal wear. No easy answer. I am considering purchasing a gold tester that will test the karat content of the gold. The only problem is that most of them use a small amount of gel which they claim is harmless. There is one that does not use the gel, but I haven't heard any good or bad reviews on it.

The link below is a good article on counterfeits, but it doesn't answer all of my questions.

http://www.ngccoin.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?IDArticle=3382&Counterfeit-Sovereigns

This really does not answer your question, but I hope that it inspires others to comment.

Sapyx

<< <i>Some are full weight and are not meant to deceive collectors or cheat anyone but rather to resemble familiar currency when they're otherwise unavailable. But for those that are made to cheat people and trade at face value, are they mostly gold plated or are they underweight gold? >>


Slightly debased gold seems to be most common. Sovereigns are supposed to be 22k gold. Many of the Middle Eastern counterfeits I have seen - they could perhaps be called "replicas", since they're really intended as private bullion rounds rather than as outright frauds - are the correct weight but made of 21k gold - at least, that's what the jeweller has stamped on them. If they sell even just a few of them to unsuspecting customers as 22k coins, there's enough profit to justify their manufacture. Example posted on CCF.

Gold is almost unique in its high density. Most other metals of similar density are either scarcer and more valuable than gold (like platinum) or are fiendishly difficult to work with (like tungsten). This makes making a fake gold coin out of fake gold that is both the correct weight and the correct thickness virtually impossible; either the weight will be right (and the fake look twice as thick as the genuine) or the thickness will be right (and the weight only half that of the genuine).

Exbrit

Interesting link Sapyx. It's nice when they stamp them.

12voltman

Thanks for the answers, I knew there would be plenty of experience with these on these boards.