FAKE COINS

I recently came across coins with date of 1616 and also 1939 written on it! Apparently the faker forgot the period for which the East India Company ruled India. We know that 1616 was in the Jahangir era and the East India Company did not rule India then, though it did set up trade. And in 1939, we know very well that in 1939, George VI was the emperor of India and India was very close to getting its independence. So there is no way these coins had been in circulation in the East India company era, that is established beyond doubt. The deities on these coins are worshipped, but the East India Company never had any reason to mint coins having these deities on them , and never did so.

There is a big fake coin market in Johri Baazar Jaipur. Few years ago I purchased some coins which looked like Mughal era. There was a coin of Mughal king AZAM SHAH which I bought with few other coins. I showed that coin to Mr Shatrughan Jain of Twins Stamps & Coins Ahmedabad and Mr Avinash Ramteke of Nagpur. I was shocked that they told me it is fake. The original coin is rare and worth Rs 25000. Similarly I was again cheated when I purchased Tipu Sultan 2 Mohur silver coins and found that they were made of iron. There are British India coins Of the year 1939 which are also fake when you see that the king is GEORGE V or EDWARD VII. These fake coins are circulating in the market. The original coin of 1939 GEORGE VI IS valued between Rs 100000 to 150000.

If you guys are serious about coins then the first step would be to invest in a 'Krause Catalog' or some other good guide to coins. Start reading and you will find out all that is to know about coins. BTW Imsong, the hanuman, snake, monkey , Kali, etc etc coins of east india company are not coins but temple tokens and curios mostly manufactured in early 1900's and still being made for tourists who can be fooled easily. The East India company never minted any such coins!

These coins which have images of lord Hanuman & Rama are temple tokens and are known as Ram tankas. Those which bear the dates 1808 and 1818 are fakes and are abundantly available in India, the British never issued such type of coins. Talking about smoothness of coins, the fake coins which are made of silver are rough and have sharp edges ( you will find these in fake mughal & princely state coins and their weight differs either more or less than the original one ). These coins are made of different metals and some type of chemical treatment is done to make them look blackish and old. PLEASE REFER TO KRAUSE PUBLICATION BOOKS TO KNOW THE EXACT WEIGHT AND METAL OF COINS AND ALSO HOW THE COIN LOOKS , SO THAT YOU CAN COMPARE WITH THE COIN YOU ARE BUYING FROM THE COIN DEALER.

Never buy old coins from people who sell them on streets, because most of them are fake. Buy coins from a genuine dealer who has a shop and participates in coin exhibitions. If you have doubts about the genuinety of coins then go to a good reputed coin dealer and show your coins to that person, but also bear one thing in mind that if you have a rare coin and you don,t know anything about it the person you show your coins may say it is a fake and buy it from you at a low price. This thing happens, so before buying any coin study about that coin on the internet or refer to books which give you information about the coin you want to purchase.

If you want to share your experience or want more details about coins, please mail me to soselva@gmail.com