Monday 3 August 2009

Defects that mark a £1 coin out as a fake

On this site, I am going to classify all of my fake coins by means of comparing them against a list of 'giveaways' that help identify a £1 coin as a fake.

Main Defects
1. Wrong year date versus design (or vice versa ie wrong design for stated year date)
2. Misalignment of Queens head when held upright between thumb and index finger and then spun to see other side
3. Poor of lack of lettering around edge of coin (including poor 'reeding', the vertical bars around the entire edge of the coin, and also the wrong latin inscription for the year of the coin).
3a. In the 'Bridges Series' this insciption is a wavy line, that would be poorly inscribed and mis-matching
4. General colour and weight of coin
5. Fake coins that are cast will have a more rounded, less defined detail about them and the Queen will look slightly chubbier (apologies Your Majesty)
6. Under the third portrait of the Queen, the letters IRB that appear under the bust, will either be illegible blobs or missing
7. Wrong Queens portrait for year date

Secondary Defects
7. Cast coins may also have crack marks on the coin where the mould is breaking up and shows up on the moulded coin copy
8. On the design side of the coin, there are meant to be 100 dots or beads around the border. If these merge or generally disappear from the coin, then its fake
9. Specifically on the Scottish design, the latin inscription that begins 'Nemo' is very often 'Decus Et Tutamen' which is the wrong insciption
10. The Welsh coins do not have the 'Decus' inscription but a seperate Welsh inscription.
11. Cast coins, under a magnifying glass, have a slightly raised edge just in from the main edge of the coin, which helps show it was cast in a mould.

This list is not meant to be complete and I welcome anyone to add to it accordingly.

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