Is this a fake 5 oz Australian Lunar Horse ?

[GARYTHEMAN]

Hi. More help needed please ! Received today this coin, and my suspicions were quickly raised. Is this a fake ?

It passes the weight and magnet test, but it just doesnt look right to me. There is a "lip" around the rim , and the scratches on the obverse side dont look right. Am i being paranoid here, or is this a fake ? Thanks. Gary

[RoughDog]

Try gravity and ping test.

Makes a few scuffs I have on a few coins seem like nothing.

[SILVERFINGER]

If its a fake its a very good one, but why would someone treat a premium coin in that way.

[GARYTHEMAN]

I've not got the equipment to do a gravity test, but will try the ping. Thanks.

[RoughDog]

You only need scales for gravity test.  You said it passes weight test?

[GARYTHEMAN]

I dont have distilled water or a cradle for a specific gravity test.

[Seasider]

It looks as if it has been kept out of its capsule and then someone has tried to clean it with a silver polish cloth.

I doubt if tap water is going to hurt it now and some dental floss could make a cradle - Does BackyardBullion have a youtube video showing that?

[GARYTHEMAN]

Thanks for your advice. Do you think it is genuine then ? The first thing i noticed when i unwrapped it , was the "lip" of the coin on the obverse that didnt look right. It looks like it is "over-rolled" .

[Seasider]

I don't have a 5 ounce Lunar coin only 1 oz which don't seem to have any lip.  But I do have a 10 oz Kookaburra and the edge of that has a weird intermittent reeding/plain effect.  That looks as if the edge has been wrapped around the coin so that there is a sort of lip to the coin.  I don't know if that would apply to a 5 oz Lunar coin or not.

[GARYTHEMAN]

Thanks. I was drawn to it straight away. It just looks amateur.

[Seasider]

I don't think the lip is necessarily an indicator that it is fake but then I can buy a fake even when it comes in a slab from PCGS saying Genuine.  Judging from pictures is always tricky.  Sometimes just having it in hand and perhaps next to one you know is real is the best test.  But do try the tests suggested above.

Frosted coins look brilliant when they are perfect but very sad when they have been mucked around with as this one has been.   If you are thinking of returning it perhaps use the condition as the reason - eg not as described (though obviously I don't know how it was described).

[GARYTHEMAN]

Ok, thank you.

[sixgun]

i would wonder why if someone produced a fake they would then batter it so much.

[GARYTHEMAN]

Hi. I dont know. Its like i said, as soon as i saw the "rolled-over" lip i became suspicious. I've not got another to compare it with it, unfortunately. To tell you the truth, it looks like a piece of steel !!

[blackadder]

19 minutes ago, sixgun said:

i would wonder why if someone produced a fake they would then batter it so much.

Maybe someone else knew it was a fake so treated it as such,maybe not the person who made the fake.But someone down the line that's ended up with it.

Not saying it's fake ofc,Hope you didn't pay to much for it  

[HelpingHands]

It looks genuine to me.  The marks have removed some of the frosting.

I hope you only paid bullion price for that condition.

[lmwstamps]

It looks good to me as well.  In addition, I'm unaware of this particular coin being faked.  It doesn't mean that it hasn't been, it's just that the fakes tend to be of more common coins/rounds and most are of the 1 Oz variety.  I do agree with HelpingHands, though, in the condition it's in it's pretty much worth spot price.

[Silverhunter]

If you bought from a coin shop it should be ok just grav test it plenty on videos on here showing you how to do it. 

[Tingles]

I have a 5oz Horse and mine is a completely different colour / surface - yours seems ‘off’.

 

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Added 0 minutes later...

I hope you didn’t pay a premium 

[mikeiones32]

If it was me with a large coin which was damaged, no premium to re-sell and doubted it's content, I would drill it to be sure if its solid silver.

If it was, then enquire with Mr BYB who I am sure could  work his magic for some ££ and turn it into something nice

[blackadder]

5 hours ago, Tingles said:

I have a 5oz Horse and mine is a completely different colour / surface - yours seems ‘off’.

 

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Added 0 minutes later...

I hope you didn’t pay a premium 

that's what i was thinking,but i think it's down to its condition.

[Tingles]

4 hours ago, mikeiones32 said:

If it was me with a large coin which was damaged, no premium to re-sell and doubted it's content, I would drill it to be sure if its solid silver.

If it was, then enquire with Mr BYB who I am sure could  work his magic for some ££ and turn it into something nice

Surely treason to meltdown a coin of the Realm... even if it is Colonial?

[mikeiones32]

50 minutes ago, Tingles said:

Sure treason to meltdown a coin of the Realm... even if it is Colonial?

Shhhhh - don't tell anyone, if they don't see it - it never happened 🙃

[Tingles]

44 minutes ago, mikeiones32 said:

Shhhhh - don't tell anyone, if they don't see it - it never happened 🙃

Fair enough... I'm not a snitch!

[GARYTHEMAN]

Ha ha !! Thanks. I actually paid £77 for it  ( 101 dollars ) . Yes, the seller has kindly agreed to refund as i'm not happy.