How to spot fake coins and notes

Most fakes are caught by a few simple checks. None needs special equipment beyond a small digital scale and a magnifier.

Coins

• Weight and size. Genuine coins were struck to a standard. A silver rupee of George V or George VI weighs about 11.66 g and measures about 30.5 mm; a half rupee about 5.83 g. A coin more than a few percent off is suspect. Catalogues and sites such as Numista list the standard for each coin.
• Metal. Silver, copper and nickel-brass are not magnetic: a coin sold as silver that sticks to a magnet is not silver. (Some genuine coins, such as later steel ones, are magnetic, so check what the coin should be.)
• Surface and edge. Cast fakes show tiny pits, a grainy surface, a seam on the edge or soft, rounded lettering. Look at the edge: genuine milled (reeded) edges are even all round.
• Details. Compare the portrait, lettering and mint mark with a known genuine coin of the same type. Fakes often get the font or the spacing of the date wrong.
• Too good to be true. A "rare" coin at a fraction of its usual price, or a heavily worn key date with crisp new-looking details, deserves a second look.

Banknotes

• Watermark and security thread visible when the note is held to the light.
• Raised (intaglio) printing on the portrait and words like Reserve Bank of India, which you can feel.
• See-through register and, on newer notes, colour-shifting ink and micro-lettering.
• Paper that feels like ordinary paper, blurred printing or colours that rub off are warning signs.

Old-coin scams

Calls, messages and adverts promising lakhs of rupees for an old coin or note, in return for a "registration fee", "tax" or "RBI charge", are a well-known fraud, and the Reserve Bank of India has warned against them. The RBI does not buy old coins from the public. Mohurly never asks anyone for a fee to buy or value their coins. If you'd like to sell, see Sell your coins.

Our guarantee

Every original item we sell is guaranteed genuine. If an independent grading service (NGC, PCGS or similar) finds that an item we sold as original is not genuine, we refund it in full, including shipping, with no time limit. Each piece comes with a certificate of authenticity.