1920 China Yuan Shih Kai Brass or Copper Pattern???

[NickM]

Another coin I can't ID, please help! This was a gift from my father, he got it from a friend prolly in the 70's, who had a large collection of these silver dollars. This one isn't silver, the first giveaway was the brass smell when handled, so i got curious and scratched the edge on my testing stone (I know ) Left a gold/brass mark (can't remember now if i acid tested ) all i know now is it's not silver. It has a reeded edge, inside border is different than regular yuan shih kai dollars. weighs about 22 g. I know this is a common fake, but in yellow brass? Also I have heard of other Chinese dollars in brass and copper patterns that are worth quite a bit. Any ideas?

 

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[dejapooh]

It looks like it is Cast to me. Do you see the rough, bubbly surface? If it were struck, that would be smooth. The bubbly appearance is uniform throughout the coin, only worn on the highest surface. I have SERIOUS doubts as to it being a pattern. Patterns are generally struck... The lack of detail on the design along with a lack of evidence of wear is another clue.

 

[NickM]

Thanks for the input, makes sense. Don't know if I'm gonna scrap can it yet though, any other opinions? I'm tempted to polish it up to bring out that gold color! Maybe I'll wait a little longer.

 

[dejapooh]

I would wait to hear from people who know a lot more than I do about Chinese coins. It is a VERY hot market, so it is worth finding out.