Counterfeit Chinese Coins

[GaRebel1861]

I recently was given these coins and I do not know anything about counterfeit or foreign coins. Can you tell me anything about them? When they were made, why, and do they have any collector value? What are they called had they had been authentic? They sound like silver when dropped on a counter top but they also stick to a magnet. They are about the same size as a U.S. half dollar.

 

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[Noah_D]

Here's a link to a thread I started... http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/coins/639982-silver-chinese-coin-token-id.html

The coin I have looks a little different but you might want to read Red-Coat and Yang Hao's responses.

 

[bradyboy]

didn't realize Chinese coins were worth counterfeiting
brady

 

[Red-Coat]

These are not the same coin types as referenced above, apart from being provincial Chinese coinage. Several provinces issued them and yours are Yun-Nan Province as stated on the coins. They don’t carry a date but were struck from 1908 until probably 1911 and carry a denomination based on a traditional system of weights. A ‘candareen’ is one tenth of a ‘mace’ (approximately 378 milligrams) and the combination of weight together with the fineness of silver used aligns the coins to the dollar. For example, the 7 mace and 2 candereens coins contained the same amount of bullion as the silver dollar and the 3 mace and 6 candareens coins (like yours) contained the same amount as a half-dollar. The actual fineness varies from .800 to full silver according to the issue.

However, fakes abound… and if any of these coins are attracted to a magnet then they’re fake I’m afraid.

 

[GaRebel1861]

These are not the same coin types as referenced above, apart from being provincial Chinese coinage. Several provinces issued them and yours are Yun-Nan Province as stated on the coins. They don’t carry a date but were struck from 1908 until probably 1911 and carry a denomination based on a traditional system of weights. A ‘candareen’ is one tenth of a ‘mace’ (approximately 378 milligrams) and the combination of weight together with the fineness of silver used aligns the coins to the dollar. For example, the 7 mace and 2 candereens coins contained the same amount of bullion as the silver dollar and the 3 mace and 6 candareens coins (like yours) contained the same amount as a half-dollar. The actual fineness varies from .800 to full silver according to the issue.

However, fakes abound… and if any of these coins are attracted to a magnet then they’re fake I’m afraid.

Thank you for the reply. All ten of them like the magnet.

 

[Yang Hao]

This is a very good question. In the past I did read a few Chinese language forums about this subject. As Red-Coat mentioned they talked about using a magnet. Also they talked about the sound some Chinese coins makes when "gently" dropped onto a hard surface. When I get an opportunity between semesters I hope to look into it. Not just online research but talking with local Chinese coin collectors. However, for the most part, when a Chinese coin is found by detecting in North America it is from the Qing Dynasty or later. In the future I hope to see a post from a North American treasure hunter digging up an authentic Ming dynasty coin. As they say in Chinese 加油 jiayou. The literal translation is add oil but it means to cheer on (sports team, studying student etc.)

 

[unclemac]

the Chinese are making beautiful fakes, EBAY is loaded with them. I have bought a couple just to look at them, they sell for about a buck a piece and are clearly marked as not genuine. In reality they should be marked as "copy" if sold in the US, but you know EBAY... These Chinese counterfeits are not exclusive to Asian coins either, there are thousands of hard to get dates and issues all over the world. If you have the time look for obscure coins on ebay sold by sellers with zero or very few sales... Many of these coins are coming out of China via eastern European sellers.