Platinum has a very high melting point, and was not a common metal in the early 18th Century perhaps putting it out of the counterfeiters' reach. Its also much harder than gold which has made it recognized as a difficult metal to coin. Its an intriguing puzzle - the coin is the right diameter and about the right weight, given its apparent state of preservation loss of 0.1g from the anticipated range of 8.3 to 8.4g is not unexpected if the coin was indeed genuine. Its colour is not unlike some shipwreck gold, but if the coin has been in the family for a long time - which shipwreck might it have come from that didn't require modern techniques to recover it. If the coin is genuine, perhaps submersion in seawater could be responsible for the loss of much detail. But I don't think that's the answer. Given its dimensions and weight, that suggests that it is at least gold. I would think any pawnshop could verify whether or not it is gold and what carat fineness - should be just less that 22k (and recheck the weight). The rim is wrong, not bearing milling, but could be like this due to having been filed down for its miniscule amount of gold. The top right sceptre is interesting in that it is clearly broken in the middle. Seems an odd detail for a counterfeiter to bother with. Also, interestingly, there seems to be something going on under the U of DUX. Again, why would a counterfeiter bother? And yet the general presentation of the coin, with its clumsy detailing and textured looking fields gives the overwhelming impression of being a low quality copy. If you are going to get a reputed coin dealer to have a look at it, I'd suggest a personal visit rather than sending the coin through the post. Interesting - please do let us know how you get on with verifying the coin. Hi just thought I'd give you an update.I took the coin into a dealer in Manchester, he took the coin in it's bag and felt the weight in his hand and declared it was the wrong weight and not gold. Now I may sometimes not look the brightest but he was actually claiming that he could tell the coin isn't the correct weight when it's only 0.1 of a gramme light!! So off to another Manchester dealer who was excellent - he could not help with authentication of the coin but he did a 'touchstone' test and delared the coin to be pure gold. I now believe I may have a rare coin that is a 'good un'. I've since contacted a chap who used to work for the Royal Mint and advertises on the net as doing authentications - unfortunately he's not doing them at the moment, Any ideas where I should go? Regards Kevin