Hello all! Saturday Evening Post. I've had these for a while now but never got the chance to put it all together till now. These are 2013 China 1 oz. Pandas, one's genuine, the other a counterfeit. I'd like to share my observations while comparing the fake against the real one. (In all the photos below, the real one is always on the left, or on top.) Here's an overview of both of them, side by side. The fake managed to pass the magnet test. The weights are not the same. The fake one is over 4% less than spec. Whatever material the counterfeit is made of, it must be lighter than silver and non-magnetic. So they had to increase its thickness to get the weight up. The fake is a little bit thicker (as you can see more clearly in the right hand photo, when the coins are laid side by side). The Panda's black fur has much more detail on the real one. The eyes and the claws are also a bit sloppy on the fake one. The text describing the PM, weight, and fineness are sharper and clearer on the real one. As a matter of fact, from some angles, you can't even clearly distinguish the text at all. It blends in too much. See below (fake one). This does not happen with the real one. The bamboos are dead giveaways. Lots of details lacking in the counterfeit. Now, I get to the weirdest part. In 2013, the Panda reverse changed to a sandblasted finish (I found this out during my research). The fake one still used the old reverse. Strangely, the fake one actually looks sharper, which is counter-intuitive. On the real one, ironically, you now can't even make out the characters on the sign atop the Temple of Heaven, and lots of details are mushy. But it's genuine regardless. Finally, I get to the capsules. (But this is NOT a definitive sign of a fake!) I noticed that all my hand-me-down Pandas (2017 and earlier) are in capsules that have 3 nubs (divots?) on them in the rim region, while the capsule housing the fake Panda did not. However, I think nowadays Pandas are minted in any of three Chinese Mints and the capsules for genuine Pandas no longer have the 3 nubs anyway. If you want to see what the old type capsule looks like, here it is on the left. Alrighteee... Enjoy your weekend and Happy Hallowe'en! Thanks for looking!
If you still don't have a costume for tomorrow's Hallowe'en Party, I hope this post gave you an idea.
If you're sure it's indeed fake, then I suggest what they did back in the day, chop it to reveal its core! 1. You know what the coin is actually made of. 2. Prevents inadvertently re-entering the market.
I know exactly what you mean but I can't do that. This is part of a hand-me-down collection of lots of different coins. When I looked at the couple display cases for the Pandas, this particular one stood out. You know why? Am I an expert (insert audience laughter here)? Nope. It's labelled right on the capsule! LOLOLOL. See: For sentimental reasons, I wouldn't chop it up and there's no chance of it being redistributed since I won't part with this collection or any of the others. I'll just pass it on when my expiration date is up. In fact, if he had destroyed it, I wouldn't have gotten the chance to research and educate myself. Some of the Pandas go back to the 90's.
Thanks for the post and information. Boy, the counterfeiter(s) is/are taking a big chance as I understand that while China condones and actually approves of counterfeiting, it is the death penalty for those caught counterfeiting Chinese money.
Thanks. When I first saw the counterfeit in its marked capsule, admittedly, it looked good to my untrained eye. But after doing all the comparisons, I'm a bit wiser. I can only hope that all counterfeits are so easy to identify. I haven't seen any 2021 ASE Type 2 counterfeits yet. They'll find a way to take care of the reeding feature I'm sure, but I wonder if they would be careless enough to leave the "WA" initials on the hem of the skirt.
