Wednesday, May 4, 2011

British India fakes - I


Victoria rupee, 1879
fake victoria rupee 1879
fake victoria rupee 1879
Edward rupee, 1906
fake edward rupee 1906
fake edward rupee 1906Fakes are highly prevalent in the British coins domain, and the above coins are just a couple of instances of the forgeries. The Victoria rupee is minted in silver, and the Edward shown here is not in silver. A good percentage of the fakes can be identified with just basic knowledge, like the date on a George coin should not be in the 17th century, or sometimes the coin is so ugly that anyone can tell its a fake. But there are some fakes which are made with the help of an original coin and are hard to identify. This is because all the details of such a coin are correct. A die is first made from an original coin, and then the fake is forged from this die. But the experienced person would still know how to differentiate the original from the fake. Here are some pointers:

1)If a coin has been circulated, the wear and tear is always at the highest point. In the forgery, the edges are raised, though sometimes in the original also they can be raised. Remember that if a coin has been used, then its edges are bound to be worn out as they are the highest points.

2)Sometimes a coin which has been worn out to some extent is used to make a die and then a fake is forged. If the original coin is worn out, then the coin forged through this process would also be worn out. If the coin you are looking at is worn out(like the ones shown above), but still looks new and lets say has some luster also, that means its a forgery.

3)If the coin is kept on a glass table face down and then given a spin, and it does spin, that means its a fake. This is because the central part of the coin is the highest point and in the original that part is bound to be worn out. But if the coin is freshly minted, then the centre is a high point and it spins or rotates.

4)If the metal is silver, it can be tested for purity very easily as silver makes a distinctive clinking sound when tossed or when it hits the ground. If the metal is not silver and we are aware that the metal should be silver, then its safe to say that its a fake.


P.S. ujala test and all such things are just bullshit. They use some chemical to turn the blue water colourless and say this coin is original. Do not be fooled by such stupid claims. Also note that I have given the logic for telling the fakes as well. If you start thinking in this manner, then you would not be fooled.

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