The Very Highest Quality Coins...

Chinese Fakes Pound Coins IndexChard 24 Carat Home Page
Contemporary Counterfeit of 1820 Halfcrown
Obverse of Fake US Dollar (non-existant type)

Immitation Sovereign with Arabic Counterstamps
Reverse of Fake US Dollar (non-existant type)

1800 Fake US Silver Dollar Obverse of Fake 1800 US Silver Dollar

1800 Fake US Silver Dollar Reverse of Fake 1800 US Silver Dollar

1885 Swiss Fake Obverse of Fake 1885 Swiss 5 Francs

1885 Swiss Fake Reverse of Fake 1885 Swiss 5 Francs

Beware Chinese Fakes
The existence of fakes has always been a problem in the numismatic hobby. Customers have offered to sell scores of crown-sized pieces to us recently on more than one occasion. However, many of these have turned out to be fakes, presumably from China.

Fake Factories
Fake coins are produced on an industrial scale in China, thanks in large part due to lax local laws which do not prohibit the production of fake coins, only the fraud of trying to actually sell them as genuine coins. It is quite common to see these fakes for sale as bulk purchases on Ebay from sellers based in China and Hong Kong, accompanied by disclaimers which state that they are not genuine coins and that the buyers should not try to sell them as such (although it is difficult to think of any other reason why significant numbers of people would want to bulk purchase fake coins).
Fortunately, these fakes are not very convincing, but the customers who had purchased them originally for an absurdly low price (sometimes for the equivalent of just a few pence a coin). Some of the pieces we have received are illustrated on the right. Apart from looking 'wrong' (porous surfaces, weak design, non-existent types etc) most of these examples are severely underweight. These are what some people in the trade might call 'screaming fakes'.

Advice
The fakes we have seen are not particularly convincing to us. However, we have seen a lot of coins over the years and should know more than the average laymen about what is a 'screaming fake'. However, for those who are not as experienced, we would advise that if you are buying coins, it would be best to buy from a reputable dealer (us for example!) and remember that if a price for a coin seems ridiculously low for what it purports to be, you should be extremely cautious. Things that are too good to be true usually are.

Type Chart of Every Pound Coin Design

More about the Welsh Dragon

World Pound Coins
We have a page listing £1 Coins of Other Countries.

If you want to find the value of a coin you own, please take a look at our page I've Found An Old Coin, What's It Worth?

Questions They Ask Us


...at the Lowest Possible Price

32 - 36 Harrowside, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY4 1RJ, England.
Telephone (44) - (0) 1253 - 343081 ; Fax 408058; E-mail: info@chards.co.uk
The URL for our main page is: https://24carat.co.uk 		Web Design by Snoop