Italy Umberto 1 5 lire 1879

Hi,
Umberto 1 5 lire 1879

Anybody tell me if this is worth anything as it looks mint to me. I have seen the coins going in worse conditions for around £250. How do I tell a fake?
Any help is well appreciated..
TIA

Looks fake. Fakes are known and it is just plain too good to be true.

First of all test it with a magnet. Most fakes are made from a cheap alloy which unlike silver is magnetic.

If it doesn't stick to a magnet, check the specs. It should be 37mm across and weigh 25 grams.

Thanks for the response..it is 37mm diameter,  non-magnetic, but weighs 23.56.

I have enclosed a comparison with a picture of a genuine coin taken from the internet and taking into consideration lens distortion I can see that the neck differs. It seems to be a glaring mistake . What do you think? Different mint perhaps?

Cheers

I'm sorry, but I'd go towards fake.

If you look at the angle of the neck just before 6'o clock the distance from that point to the beading on the border is markedly different.

The weight difference would be understandable in a worn coin but I'm not too sure how uniform the weight tolerances were in 19th century Italian mints.

A couple of red flags but they don't necessarily mean it's a fake. I would think the coin is at least worth getting a local dealer to appraise it. They should do this for free as long as you don't need a written valuation.

You could also try to test the density to determine the silver content. I believe there are several methods discussed elsewhere and a Numidoc on the subject.

Thanks,  Will try that... Maybe I have got the genuine one and everybody else the fakes.

Цитата: bam777I'm sorry, but I'd go towards fake.

I would, but I cannot get my head round why somebody would produce a fake of such quality with such obvious mistakes! This is intriguing.

The plot thickens....It would seem that there is an umberto coin minted in 1878 which design matches mine..
It seems that the number 8 has been changed to number 9?

Could it be that the same design was used to mint the 1879 version but the mint then changed the design at some point?
The game is afoot as Sherlock Holmes would say!

bump

Hi,
I measured the Density and it calculates to 6. Oh well, can't win them all. My guess is that it a replica and that's why the date is wrong.  
Thanks for our advice.

Blobby, Blobby, Blobby...that's a shame. Hope you aren't too much out of pocket.