Austria 20 Kreuzer (Maria Theresia and Franz) (Fakes are possible) 1754 to 1765

Stephanie sent us a picture of her neat old coin from Austria. It is a 20 kreuzer coin with annotations for Maria Theresa, Empress from 1740 to 1780. The classic double-headed eagle appears on a pedestal with the denomination (20) at its center.

There are similar coins with Francis, Maria's husband.

Although old, there were many coins made and many remain until present times. Typical catalog values run like this:

worn: $8 US dollars approximate catalog value
average circulated: $20
well preserved: $40
fully uncirculated: $100

One significant problem with coin collecting today is the blossoming counterfeiting industry. Large, well-financed counterfeiting operations are using modern technology to produce fakes of valuable collector coins. Stephanie is concerned her coin may be a counterfeit, and we believe it is.

Always deal with people you trust when dealing with expensive rare coins.

The comparison picture below shows a genuine 20 kreuzer and one that is probably fake. The yellow arrows point to obvious discrepancies in pattern.

With the noted discrepancies, the suspect coin is probably counterfeit, but not necessarily. Many variations of similar patterns were used, so exact matches in patterns do not always work for coins before 1800. Weight is an excellent indicator of authenticity. Stephanie should take her coin to a jeweler and determine its weight to the nearest 0.1 gram. The catalogs report a genuine 20 kreuzer weighs 6.68 grams.

When all else fails, seek a professional numismatic authenticator. These are professional people who make their living separating genuine coins from counterfeits. PCGS and NGC are good starting points for authentication. Look them up on the Internet.
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