Australian-Coins Forum

Australian Coins, Banknotes and Exonumia => Australian Pre-Decimal Coins => Topic started by: drakesterling on December 08, 2012, 12:19:03 PM

Title: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: drakesterling on December 08, 2012, 12:19:03 PM
Looks like a (lead?) contemporary counterfeit. Interesting piece.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Scarce-1919M-KGV-Two-Shillings-/251194027820?pt=AU_Coins2&hash=item3a7c54af2c
Title: RE: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: emu666 on December 08, 2012, 02:29:18 PM
Quote from: 'drakesterling' pid='4456' dateline='1354931343'Looks like a (lead?) contemporary counterfeit. Interesting piece.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Scarce-1919M-KGV-Two-Shillings-/251194027820?pt=AU_Coins2&hash=item3a7c54af2c

Yes it is almost certainly lead. More interesting are the forgeries such as the 1928 shilling and the 1926-31 florins which are silver.
Title: RE: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: markn on December 08, 2012, 08:18:34 PM
Quote from: 'emu666' pid='4457' dateline='1354939158'such as the 1928 shilling

I've been looking for one of those for a long time.  Yours is still the only one I've seen.
Title: RE: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: robbiegal on December 09, 2012, 02:30:57 PM
nothing to do with forgeries - but how do I find the lastest post on a thread? I find myself wading through a lot of posts and still can't seem to find the latest post unless it's a small thread like this one. cheers Rob
Title: RE: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: Nevol on December 09, 2012, 03:39:40 PM
Under the Banner (top left) look for this:
(http://i46.tinypic.com/wiat5.jpg)

click on View Unread Posts and a list of all posts unread by you will come up.  In the right hand column, right click on last post  in each one, and you will be taken to the most recent post in each category.
Title: RE: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: robbiegal on December 09, 2012, 04:42:47 PM
Quote from: 'Nevol' pid='4505' dateline='1355029780'Under the Banner (top left) look for this:
(http://i46.tinypic.com/wiat5.jpg)

click on View Unread Posts and a list of all posts unread by you will come up.  In the right hand column, right click on last post  in each one, and you will be taken to the most recent post in each category.

Cheers - thanks heaps!!
Title: RE: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: enworb on December 09, 2012, 07:59:59 PM
I have a couple of the florins but havent seen a shilling.
Title: RE: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: goatieman23 on December 11, 2012, 09:34:23 AM
I have seen a Sixpence, I should have brought it, but instead I brought a 1973 50c. (16.66g, slightly deeper).
I have 13 Florins: 1914, 1927, 1931, 1934, 1935, 2 x 1936, 2 x 1938, 1940, 1941, 1942 & 1943. They vary in weight from 8.02g to 9.07g
I have one Crown: 1937. This one is cast, I had two (I gave one away as a gift). The one I still have weighs 18.93g.

I've gotta head to the gym, I'll reply later, if anyone wants to know more.
Title: RE: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: echidna on December 11, 2012, 11:20:52 PM
[attachment=623]
Anyone know anything about this one ?
Especially its method of manufacture.
Its base metal.
I've seen another example so its not a one-off.
Title: RE: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: goatieman23 on December 13, 2012, 04:09:00 PM
There are a few good articles on the net about contemporary counterfeits. There are also many about the fakes/forgeries/counterfeits & etc.

Many people who collect contemporary counterfeits will know a little about the Twible & Manders, who devised an almighty scheme which eventually saw them Twible & Manders (http://www.triton.vg/Manders.html)

Below is a great article (PDF) put together by the DrakeSterling site which has some more detail:
http://www.drakesterling.com/CustomPageFiles/Counterfeits.pdf

I'm sure you'll find lots of reading on the net.
Title: RE: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: drakesterling on December 13, 2012, 04:39:26 PM
Totally forgot about that article. I mustn't take credit for it. I believe it was written by Sydney variety expert Fred Lever.
Title: RE: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: emu666 on December 15, 2012, 08:28:50 AM
Finally found images for the 1928 shilling

Forgery
Obverse
(http://www.thesandpit.net/shillings/1928_forgery_o.JPG)
Reverse
(http://www.thesandpit.net/shillings/1928_forgery_r.JPG)
The obverse lettering does not look quite correct and the reverse is much more like a genuine coin except for the blob on the emu's leg. On worn examples (i.e. almost all), the only real way you can tell the difference is that blob.

Genuine reverse
(http://www.thesandpit.net/shillings/1928_genuine_r.JPG)
Title: RE: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: markn on December 15, 2012, 09:26:57 AM
Thanks Peter :) There's an interesting article in an old ACR about the Chinese gentleman who was travelling to Australia from China with rolls of these in his suitcase.  He'd land in Sydney and go to the nearest bank to exchange them for good currency.  This was in the 1920's/30's.  Chinese counterfeit coins are not a new problem :)
Title: RE: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: emu666 on December 15, 2012, 09:47:42 AM
Quote from: 'markn' pid='4682' dateline='1355525817'Thanks Peter :) There's an interesting article in an old ACR about the Chinese gentleman who was travelling to Australia from China with rolls of these in his suitcase.  He'd land in Sydney and go to the nearest bank to exchange them for good currency.  This was in the 1920's/30's.  Chinese counterfeit coins are not a new problem :)

These are mentioned in Vince Kelly's "The Shadow" which is about Frank Fahy who was an undercover detective in Sydney from the 1920s to 1940s. As are Manders and Twible. The book has been out of print for nearly 70 years and is very difficult to source. if you'd like to borrow my copy you are welcome.
Title: RE: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: drakesterling on December 15, 2012, 09:52:00 PM
Thanks for the book reference emu666. Just picked one up on EBay. There is one more left, if interested.
Title: RE: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: Nevol on December 16, 2012, 06:18:46 AM
Wow!  The price for that remaining book is a bit steep.  I paid $28 incl postage for The Shadow back in 2009.  

This is a good site to look for out of print Australian books, but they don't have any of this one in stock at present.  :icon_cry:

http://www.warrigalpress.com.au/
Title: RE: contemporary counterfeit
Post by: bellyflorin on December 16, 2012, 09:57:02 AM
Owell it might be a bit pricy ($28), it has sold now :angel: ,anyway something to read over  the xmas break.