§ HOW TO DISTINGUISH TRUE FROM FALSE COINS.
The young collector will not be long before he learns that a large number of the coins exposed for sale in shop windows are false, and at first he may be a little discouraged by finding that he is himself quite unable to discriminate between a true coin and a false one. But let him not despair. He will in time, by careful observation of undoubtedly authentic specimens of the class which he has selected for study, gain a kind of instinct which will enable him to detect the modern imitation at a glance, even though he may not always be able to explain his reasons to the uninitiated.
False coins may be divided into the following classes:—
I. Forgeries struck from false modern dies. Such forgeries, when the dies have been well executed by men familiar with the characteristic peculiarities of ancient work, are often exceedingly difficult to detect, especially when they are of gold. The true ancient patina and oxide which time alone gives to bronze and silver, cannot be exactly imitated.
A few hints may be of use in the detection of false struck coins.
The weight, owing to the ignorance of the forger, is generally incorrect.
The style of the art is weak, and the forms of the letters especially are timid and wanting in firmness.
II. Modern casts made from ancient struck originals. A cast coin, when in gold or silver, may always be detected by its light weight, unless this has been compensated for by making the cast thicker than the original. The lettering and the types on cast coins are also less sharply defined than on struck coins, and the surface has either a soft and soapy appearance, or else it is covered with minute sand-holes, an infallible indication of rough casting. The genuine patina of bronze coins is imitated by paint, which can be removed by spirits of wine.
III. Electrotypes. These are of necessity of wrong weight. They may also be known by the edges, where the mark of joining of the two sides separately made and then stuck together, is never concealed, unless, which is seldom the case, the electrotype is intended to deceive. Many students who cannot afford to buy originals of rare coins, supply their places by electrotypes, which, as they are exact facsimiles, do not spoil the eye, as too much familiarity with false coins undoubtedly does. Electrotypes may generally be split in two with a strong knife.
IV. Original coins which have been altered with a graving tool may be classed as forgeries, and should be avoided, as there is no telling to what extent they may have been “restored.”