Italy 5 Lire (Counterfeit) 1914

Genuine 1914R 5 lire coins are worth a bundle! But there are thousands of fake 1914R 5 lire coins out there. They were made in the 1960s by a crooked artist who did a good job imitating the real coin. Genuine coins weigh precisely 25 grams. The first test for a fake is when a jeweler's scale gives a different reading.

Don't be fooled by counterfeits. Many people are. Deal only with people you know and trust when buying or selling rare coins. Catalog values for genuine coins run like this:

worn: $2500
average circulated: $9000
well preserved: $12000
fully uncirculated: $18000

The picture below shows a side-by-side comparison of real and fake Italian 5 lire coins. The genuine coin comes from Baldwin's in London where it sold for $11000 US dollars in a 2014 auction. The fake coin is worth zero.

In addition to the not-so-obvious design features shown at the yellow arrows, the overall quality of the counterfeit coin is low and lacks detail.

CoinQuest thanks Baldwin's for use of their coin image. It is a beauty!

For 1 and 2 lire coins with this same pattern, see this CoinQuest page .
cqLastNotify