Hungarian 1908 100 Koronas

[John316]

Hi Tib,

I have some 1908 100 Koronas that at read direction of the edge inscription some angels are up and on some the emperor is up (photo attached). I was trying to determine how to tell an original strike from a restrike when I found this forum searching online. I sent two coins to NGC to be graded that the angels are up when reading the edge inscription. NGC labeled them as restrikes, when I questioned them asking if the edge inscription had any significance in determining an original strike they couldn't really give me an answer. I was wondering if you or any one on this forum would recommend getting a second opinion from PCGS or if NGC is more than likely correct in labeling them as restrikes?

Thank you,

 

[ChrisSilver]

@John316 Thank you for your question, I have moved your post/question to a new topic as not to hijack another members topic.

I am also tagging in @Tib as your question was also aimed at them  hopefully they can help or another member can post in this new topic and help answer your question.

[John316]

@ChrisSilver thank you! I appreciate it!

[CollectForFun]

10 hours ago, John316 said:

Hi Tib,

I have some 1908 100 Koronas that at read direction of the edge inscription some angels are up and on some the emperor is up (photo attached). I was trying to determine how to tell an original strike from a restrike when I found this forum searching online. I sent two coins to NGC to be graded that the angels are up when reading the edge inscription. NGC labeled them as restrikes, when I questioned them asking if the edge inscription had any significance in determining an original strike they couldn't really give me an answer. I was wondering if you or any one on this forum would recommend getting a second opinion from PCGS or if NGC is more than likely correct in labeling them as restrikes?

Thank you,

Hi John, personally, I didn't know that the orientation of the edge inscription, which Tib mentioned on that other thread, could be used as a differentiator of the original from the restrike. Although I assume there may be some validity to it if he has experience with these coins.

In any case, as I noted on that thread, unless you knew your coins were originals (which should have been apparent at least from the acquisition price), you should assume they are restrikes, especially as a lot of them was produced for the US market. My way of telling the original from the restrike is looking at the detail of the ornament and the stars on the edge, so if you could post images of both sides of the coins and that particular detail of the edge, that would be helpful. Based on your photo above my first guess would be that it is a restrike.

Edit: Actually, I found this photo of the original strike on which you can see there is a noticeable difference in the quality of the edge strike from your coin. Also, it can be seen that on this original strike, the orientation of the edge inscription is such that the emperor is up, so Tib's rule clearly isn't quite correct. But if you could still provide more photos of your coins for comparison, that would be great.

Edited June 11, 2023 by CollectForFun

[John316]

Hi @CollectForFun, thank you for the info! I have gone to a few coin shops in my area and no one seems to have a lot of knowledge on these. I received them from a family member & am not sure when they were acquired.

It looks to me like the edge strike is struck deeper into the coin on the original strike photo you uploaded. Most of mine don't appear to be struck as deeply. Here are some detail photos of one of my coins that the edge strike appears to be a little deeper struck than most of the others. 

Thanks again for the info!

[Leonmarsh]

@DuncanWylieWilson maybe able to shed some light very knowledgable about all things world gold 

[DuncanWylieWilson]

43 minutes ago, Leonmarsh said:

@DuncanWylieWilson maybe able to shed some light very knowledgable about all things world gold 

Thank you for the tag.

There isn't actually clear and freely-available literature as to how to delineate originals and restrikes of this type. I am yet to find conclusive literature on this subject.

[CollectForFun]

On 11/06/2023 at 22:25, John316 said:

Hi @CollectForFun, thank you for the info! I have gone to a few coin shops in my area and no one seems to have a lot of knowledge on these. I received them from a family member & am not sure when they were acquired.

It looks to me like the edge strike is struck deeper into the coin on the original strike photo you uploaded. Most of mine don't appear to be struck as deeply. Here are some detail photos of one of my coins that the edge strike appears to be a little deeper struck than most of the others. 

Thanks again for the info!

Thanks for the photos! Whether original or one of the newer strikes, it is still a magnificent coin!

Anyway, the best way to distinguish the strikes I am aware of is the shape of the stars on the edge - as you can see on your photo, the "rays" of the stars get noticeably thinner towards their tip and overall their strike is "finer". While the original strike is more "coarse" and the rays have almost the same thickness for their entire length. I found this great photo of the original coin which hopefully illustrates this difference quite well:

   

[John316]

@CollectForFun Thank you! And thanks for sharing your knowledge on these, helps a lot!