I'm seeking an opinion about this coin, perhaps with some input from someone who has others in this series.
A few months ago I picked this up in a batch of coins I bought. It is supposed to be a silver plated brass or silver plated copper-nickel proof. It is very scuffed up and some of the "dirt" actually turned out to be the plating flaking off. It is a little mysterious because it doesn't appear in Krause 2001-2011 5th Ed., which is the latest Krause I have access to. However, it does appear on the NGC site as KM# 131 - a number not existing in my copy of Krause.
My question is this: Is this a real coin belonging in the 2005 Endangered Wildlife series, or is it a fantasy that is part of a fantasy "extension" of that series. What follows is the evidence I have to present.
Reasons it might be real:
- It is listed on NGC as silver plated brass. (https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/world/malawi-10-kwacha-km-131-2005-cuid-1197868-duid-1461920)
Reasons it might be a fantasy issue:
- It doesn't appear in my older Krause with the other coins in the Endangered Wildlife set.
- It is underweight by 1.14g going by the NGC figures, and by between .64g and .14g relative to the other Endangered Wildlife coins listed on Numista.
- The surface of the coin had not aged like silver does. It has this crufty white stuff sticking to it that looks like a base metal oxide of some sort.
- Numista and Krause both say the Endangered Wildlife coins are silver plated copper-nickel. Where the plating is wearing off my coin, I can see brass underneath. HOWEVER, NGC says this coin is silver plated brass, as are its brothers, KM# 130 (crocodile) and KM# 132 (corner - whatever that may be). NGC says the other coins in the set are silver plated copper-nickel.
- This thing's manufacture is very rough. You can actually see milling machine marks in the inscriptions on both sides, as if the die masters were cut on a CNC machine.
Now, you may say that my answer is right before me and, indeed, everything suggests to me that what I have is not, in fact, a genuine Malawian coin. But then, why would someone bother to create a fake version of a coin that is only silver plated base metal?
One possible explanation is that someone decided to copy the Malawian Endangered Wildlife series, and then extend the set a bit themselves. Later Krause editions include these fantasy coins mistaking them for part of the original set, which is how it landed up on NGC.
Another is that the original issue of silver plated copper-nickel was followed up with a cheaper series made of silver plated brass and that NGC's info is accurate.
Interestingly, I note that the coins in this series on Numista appear to have two distinctly different qualities in their pictures.
This one is very nice and looks like a real coin: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces92169.html
This one looks cheap and horrible, like mine: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces84792.html
Both of these are part of the original set, which is listed in my copy of Krause.
I'd really appreciate some input on this from anyone who has specific knowledge of these coins, or perhaps a more recent Krause than I do.
Andrew
