Sorry, but it's a fake. And it's not really trying to pretend otherwise, either. "WRL" are the initials for Westair Reproductions Limited, whose reproduction ancient and mediaeval coins can be found for sale at many history-themed tourist traps in Britain.
They're usually sold in little folders clearly labelling them as reproductions, and including a bit of history about the genuine coins.
It might not be "Other World Coins" to some of you, but it is to me: the British colony of Virginia, ½ penny 1773 - the only Crown Coinage issued on behalf of any of the Colonies which would one day become the United States.
The Barony of Schonau was a tiny German state near Aachen, in what would be far western Germany today.
Back in the days of the Holy Roman Empire, a nobleman or city had to be formally granted the right to issue coins by the Emperor, a right normally granted to those who had done some service to the empire. And people with such a lowly rank as Baron were rarely granted this privelege.
In 1755, Baron Johann Gottfried got it into his head that he didn't need any silly old Emperor's permission to issue coins. All his neighbours were issuing coins, so he thought he'd join in the fun.
His neighbours, however, were incensed at this tiny upstart state issuing coins of its own without the permission they'd all worked hard to obtain, so they got together to put a stop to it. Their solution: invade Schonau, dethrone the Baron, annex the Barony and shut down the mint. The copper 4 heller was the only coin ever issued by this ephemeral state.
Here are some 1700's coins from my OFEC collection.
Windward Islands, 12 sols 1731. The Windward Islands were the French possessions in the string of islands on the Eastern edge of the Caribbean. At the time this coin was issued, France owned everything between Guadeloupe and Grenada.
It is indeed. The coin is part of a "federal republics" series of coins depicting symbols of the member-states of the Russian Federation; this one is for Tatarstan. The Coat of Arms of Tatarstan is a winged snow leopard.
Following on from the success of the "State quarters" series, which finished last year, this year America is issuing a six-coin "mini-series" of different quarters for six of America's "non-states": the District of Columbia (the federal territory where the capital city Washington is located) and five island territories: Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa. The first two territories are in the Caribbean, the latter three are in the Pacific Ocean.
I like it when old silver coins look like that - it gives them character, kind of a "poor man's cameo", with the details stand out better on the black background. Removing it might make it look "cleaned", which would definitely affect the value.
It depends on what the black stuff actually is. Take a good, close look at the black areas with a magnifier, particularly looking at the transition areas from black to metal. Does it look like the black areas are smooth and flat, like a discoloured part of the metal itself? If so, then it's silver tarnish, and nothing will remove it that won't give it that dull, "cleaned coin" look.
If, however, it looks rough and uneven, like the black is kind of adhered to the surface, then it's dirt, grime and goo the coin has picked up from people's grubby hands in circulation. Soaking it in acetone, alcohol or even soapy water should remove it, without causing undue harm. The coin might, however, look "shiny" underneath the grime, creating the reverse effect of what you see now, with shiny metal in the fine detail and dull tarnished metal in the open fields.
Indo-Sassanian. Don't know much about this coin, but it is apparently minted between 850-940 AD. It is a Drachm, with a stylized bust on the obverse, and a fire altar with attendants on the reverse. Mint is Gudhaiya.
Apparently, there's not much known about these coins. Zeno.ru has them filed here, under "unattributed Indo-Sassanan". This one is described as being struck by "Gurjara-Pratihara Feudatories in the Marwar region". Whatever that means.
Why does it have 1333 on one side and 1335 on the other?
1335 is the year the coin was actually struck. AH 1333 (1914 AD) was the year Egypt seceded from the Ottoman Empire (with British help) and therefore the "accession year" of Husayn Kamil, sultan of Egypt.
For me, British coins of the Victorian period are a favourite. The "Jubilee head" halfcrown is a coin that looks superb in mint state... ...and almost as good when heavily worn.
Edit to add: pictures from CoinArchives (top) ad WCG (bottom).
I wouldn't have assumed it was fake; I would've assumed it had just gone swimming for a couple of months. But I wouldn't know. What does pool chlorine (or salt water) normally do to euro coins?
Yep, that looks like the same crest that appears on the Black Mountain Coins coins. I'd suggest e-mailing BMC and ask if they know what mint made them.
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