Is this £1 error a fake?

[Smalltower52]

Hi,

I am very new to the subject of error coins. I found this £1 coin in my change this week and I have been researching ever since. I gather that most coins like this are probably a sign that they are fakes but this coin is very convincing to me, the novice. Can anyone offer me advice?

Thanks in advance.

[TomGoodheart]

Hi there. I'm afraid I can't see from your photos what it is that concerns you.

The reverse is correct for the year, which is often a tell-tale sign if it's not! And the colour does vary a bit from bright to a dull brass colour.

Modern coins aren't always well struck-up, frequently with blobs of extra metal or weak areas. Which I guess is all to the fakers' advantage I guess ...

.

[Smalltower52]

Thanks for your reply. I am just trying to work out if it is likely that this coin with the type of error it has, is real or not. What would you call this error? The image is off centre and it looks doubled.

Thanks

[Rob]

Usually, modern things that are off-centre are struck without a collar. What's the edge like?

[TomGoodheart]

Sadly quality control at the Royal Mint is poor, so off centre isn't a definite sign it's counterfeit. Double struck would be odd. Though I'm afraid I can't see enough detail in your photos to say .. a more detailed bigger pic might work?

But the bottom line is, if it is a counterfeit it's of slight interest (I still have a few really poor ones such as a coin made of lead and painted gold and some with the wrong reverse for the date and legends that don't match either side!) But it won't be of great value, except numismatically speaking and few people bother to hold on to the things.

Of course if you take one to the bank they won't give you a quid for it. Which perhaps partly accounts for why there are still so many fakes in circulation ...

.