Detecting Fake Coins

As time goes on counterfeiters get better at making fake coins. Lower-quality fakes are often easy to detect when compared with a known good coin or a good image of a known good coin (Museum Victoria is a great source of images of known good coins; Forgery Network maintains a database of fake coins and NGC posts regular articles on new counterfeits) as minor details won't match or the coin just doesn't "look right". If you have physical access to the coin, make sure the weight and diameter are correct, and use any rules of thumb to determine the alloy (e.g. use a magnet to make sure it has the correct magnetism; use the tissue test to check if it is silver). Coins which are not meant to exist (e.g. previously unknown years or year and mintmark combinations) should also be viewed with suspicion.

High-quality fakes are now a real concern and can often only be detected by the presence or absence of small details or marks on the coins. All moderately expensive coins should be viewed with suspicion as high-quality fakes of high-grade common-date coins are known. This page will attempt to list the diagnostics for high-quality fakes but cannot and will not be comprehensive. Constant vigilance is required as counterfeiters regularly visit this page.

Australia

1911 Shilling

Scrape below first downstroke of N in IND and behind the King's shoulder on the obverse, rim cud above N on IND on obverse.

1914 Shilling

Scrape below first downstroke of N in IND and behind the King's shoulder on the obverse, rim cud above N on IND on obverse.

1915 Shilling

Scrape below first downstroke of N in IND and behind the King's shoulder on the obverse, rim cud above N on IND on obverse.

1925 Shilling

Scrape below first downstroke of N in IND and behind the King's shoulder on the obverse, rim cud above N on IND on obverse.