China has had money for thousands of years. In this long time, there are no fewer than several kinds of coins, including rare and common ones. It is said that "things are rare." Generally, people who collect coins always want to get precious coins that are rare in the world. This psychology is just used by those antique dealers, and the fake products appear. Therefore, whether collecting or studying coins, the first problem to be solved is how to get rid of the false and keep the true. This paper wants to make a systematic introduction to several methods of counterfeiting and identification of coins, as well as some knowledge that should be possessed in identifying coins.
1. The main methods of counterfeiting ancient money
(1) Turning sand.
turning over sand is the main technology of coinage in ancient China. Before Sui Dynasty, Qian Fan was mostly used to cast coins. Since the Tang Dynasty, mother money was used to turn over sand. No matter which casting method, except for some historical periods, overall, it pays more attention to the technological quality of coins. The texture of coins is generally close and meticulous. Up to now, the surface naturally produces a layer of patina with dark brown color, which makes people feel that the anger is exhausted and the color is soft. The casting process of counterfeit goods is generally sloppy, which makes the money loose and makes people feel very angry. Although the sand holes and pores on the money surface are polished, they are not as smooth as natural wear.
Generally, counterfeit money is made by casting mother money, and it is rarely used as counterfeit money. In ancient times, when casting money, there was not one mother money put into the sand box, but the whole box. Because it was a whole box of sand molds, the pressure of the sand molds was uniform, and the thickness of the coins cast was consistent. However, counterfeiters generally only carve a mother coin, not a whole box of sand-turning molds. Therefore, it is also a mother coin casting. Because the number of mother coins is different from the casting process, the thickness of the coins cast is different due to deformation.
In ancient times, the coin blanks taken out of sand molds were often tree-shaped and needed to be processed and polished. Because the shape of ancient coins was round with square holes, the coin blanks turned and cast were strung on the same square bar and polished at the same time, and the file marks left on the edge of the coins were not straight, but curved, parallel to the edge of the money. Even so, some big money in Xianfeng money in Qing Dynasty can be vaguely observed. Even so, due to the long age, the edge of the money. On the contrary, the forger only knows to file the blank repeatedly to make the money edge smooth, and the file marks on the money edge are chaotic or linear, which makes people have a brand-new impression. However, it is worth mentioning that the processing method of Wang Mang's cloth coins is different. Although they may be strung together in dozens when being processed, because they are not round in shape, the traces of filing are either perpendicular to the money surface or oblique to the money surface in a straight line. Counterfeits generally do not pay attention to these, and most of them leave a model line.
When identifying coins, it is also a place to pay attention to, that is, the square hole of coins, which is often overlooked by counterfeiters. After ancient coins were added to the field of commodity circulation, people used tools such as ropes to string them together. Therefore, with the increase of the circulation time of coins, the natural wear and tear of money is no longer as angular as that of newly baked coins, and some even cause the money to be deformed. Fake money, on the other hand, is square and angular, leaving traces of new files.
because the counterfeiters use real money to make sand molds with uneven force, not only the thickness of coins is different, but also the characters of coins are likely to be different, which is rare in real ancient coins.
Because counterfeiting by sand-turning method will bring so much trouble and be easily identified, counterfeiters often add some copper rust to confuse them, which requires us to have various identification knowledge, not just from sand-turning.
(2) engraving method.
This method of counterfeiting is more important, that is, an ordinary coin is changed into a precious coin after being processed and engraved. There are several ways to change engraving:
One way is to use copper to change engraving. In ancient times, when casting coins, due to technical reasons, the surface of copper coins would leave copper liquid crystals left over from casting, which was called flowing copper in the coin industry. The existence of flowing copper is nothing remarkable, but it has become an object that can be used in the eyes of counterfeiters. These flowing copper are often carved into stars or moons, while others are carved into characters. These carved stars and moons or characters are generally out of position.
one is to engrave characters directly on the surface of coins. Most of the coins with intaglio characters are two kinds: half-taels and five coins. Forgers often engrave some auspicious or obscure symbols, numbers and characters on the surface of coins, and some engrave some patterns on the edge or meat of coins. These characters, symbols, numbers and patterns attached to coins are often out of harmony with the whole coin because they are engraved later, giving people a sense of redundancy.
one is to carve the original Qian Wen. This kind of engraving can be divided into two types: first, the engraving of coins; The first is the engraving of the back of the coin.
During the Warring States Period, the three-character Dao of Qi State was found more, which was not precious, but the six-character Dao of Qi returning to the country was not, which was found less. Therefore, the counterfeiters took advantage of the psychology that the six-character Dao was hard to get and the collectors were eager to get it, and carved it into a six-character Dao to fish in troubled waters. At first glance, these fake six-character knives are regular in shape and conform to the characteristics of Qi Dao in the pre-Qin period, and some characters are the same. However, if you look closely, you will find that the characters are crowded and the knife marks left when they are changed. Some people change the inscription on the face of coins by shoveling out the words, for example, shoveling out the word "heaven" of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with its sacred treasure and small flat money, making it a horizontal reading of Taiping with its sacred treasure. Another example is to shovel the word "Xi" from Kangxi Tongbao into a simplified Chinese character "Xi", and so on. Among the coins to be engraved, there is one that uses the old bare-backed copper coins to grind away the inscriptions for engraving. For example, there is a coin with a straight reading of half a penny, which looks quite good in rough appearance, production, rust color and patina, but it is doubtful to read the words. The word "half a penny" is as flat as the face of the money, which basically does not exist in the Qin and Han Dynasties. If you carefully taste it, the word "half a penny" is artificially carved.
It is said that there are some bizarre ways to carve coins, such as using bronze mirrors to carve coins.
All of the above methods of engraving have a fatal weakness, that is, forgers often apply fake rust in order to keep the engraved place from showing traces. Because this fake rust is fake, it is different from the real rust naturally generated by coins, and it is easy to peel off, giving people a feeling of affectation, which is extremely incompatible with the whole coin. However, special attention should be paid to some imitations of carved mothers in the Qing Dynasty. Because the Qing Dynasty is not far away, most of the carved mothers have no rust, which gives counterfeiters an opportunity to make fake rust like other coins. How to distinguish the authenticity of a carved mother? All genuine carved mothers are carved with fine copper, with warm and golden color, smooth knife marks, natural and vivid characters, but counterfeit ones are not. Not only are the copper materials chosen inferior to the genuine ones, but the carvings are rough, and because they are imitations, the money-faced characters always seem dull and lacking in spirit, especially full of words. We should pay special attention to those carved mother imitations from the hands of carving craftsmen of the Qing Dynasty Money Bureau. Some of the fake carved mothers are made of sand, which is easier to see through.
(3) embedding method.
Embedding is another important method of counterfeiting coins. The traditional methods of making fakes, such as digging and mending, spelling and making and spelling, can be summarized as embedding and mending.
Ancient coins often have some special editions due to mistakes or changes, such as the combination of styles. This edition, which is caused by the negligence of casting craftsmen, is generally rarer than ordinary coins, and it is also an indispensable variety for collectors. Counterfeiters take advantage of this, either grinding two coins very thin and sticking them together, or taking half of each coin and sticking them together, making it a rare folded back or face. Coins forged in this way seem to be impeccable in terms of words and rust color, but when they are gently thrown on the table or on the ground, the sound is really a drop in the bucket compared with real coins such as folded backs. Some thick meat fakes are made in a similar way.
It's a common method of embedding. This method has the feeling of stealing the beam and replacing the column, that is, digging out a word or two in the money, and then replacing it with Qian Wen on other coins to make it a rare coin. For example, in the Northern Song Dynasty, Xiao Ping Qian was a rare treasure, so the forger removed the Yuan character of the ordinary Sheng Song Yuanbao Qian, and then took off the Tong character in other Qian texts with similar writing style to Song Qian and stuck it on the Yuan character position, thus becoming a Sheng Song Tongbao. Another example is to gouge out the word "Tong" of "Qingyuan Tongbao" and embed it with the word "Wu" of "Hongwu Tongbao", which becomes a "Qingwu Yuanbao" and becomes a fake. The method of mending and counterfeiting is easy to leave the following traces: first, the embedded characters are inconsistent with other coins; One is the clues left by the place where the text is embedded, or covered with fake rust. The former is easy to identify as long as you are familiar with the calligraphy style of a coin character in an era, while the latter can be identified by modern technology flaw detection instruments in addition to traditional methods.
besides the three main methods of turning over sand, engraving and embedding, there are other methods for counterfeiting coins. For example, using corrosion method, the outline, perforation and characters of coins needed are outlined with paint or wax on a piece of copper, and then they are put into corrosive agent and taken out after a period of time. Coins forged in this way are rare. Modern people not only use traditional crafts, but also use modern scientific and technological means, such as computers. Although this method has not been seen in ancient money counterfeiting, it is said that it has been found in silver and copper coins and should be paid enough attention to.
2. Methods of distinguishing counterfeit ancient money
(1) Traditional identification method
① Word identification:
China's currency culture has a history of thousands of years since its emergence, evolution and development. Writing is a tool for cultural communication. In China, when metal coins were produced, characters were cast on the surface of money, which indicated currency value, place names or names of coins. Coins without characters were relatively rare. Coin Qian Wen in different times has the style and charm of its time. Although future generations can learn from their predecessors, it is a kind of imitation after all, and at best it can only reach a lifelike level. Due to the differences in gestures, pen strokes and strength, it is impossible to achieve complete consistency. In this way, it is a very important aspect to identify the words on ancient coins. Here, we can cite some typical characters of coins in different times to illustrate them.
the pre-Qin period was a historical period of the occurrence and development of money in China. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, due to the great development of social commodity economy and the establishment of monetary economy, metal coins began to enter the historical stage. Coins in this period mainly include four series: knife coins, cloth coins, money coins and Chu coins. No matter which series of coins they are, most of them are cast with characters, which are generally characterized by thinness, fluency, showiness and casual layout. Because the pre-Qin coinage characters were directly carved on Qian Fan with a knife, the characters left obvious meaning of carving with a knife, and they were completed in one go without any trace of rewriting. At that time, because the coinage characters were made by coinage craftsmen, the characters were not as regular and rigorous as the inscriptions on bronze containers of the same era, and the layout was relatively extensive, but they were coherent and vivid. The pre-Qin coinage characters have these characteristics of the times, and even an expert who has studied it can hardly reach the level of being superb and indifferent, not to mention the forgers who are mostly snobs.
Wang Mang's coins, which are unique in hanging needle seal style and admired by later generations, are rare except for Huoquan, Daquan 5, Huobu and Dabu Huangqian. Therefore, there are more surviving fakes, and some of them exceed the number of surviving originals. Usually, there are three kinds of counterfeit goods of Wang Mang's money: cargo cloth, big cloth and yellow money, and flat money. It is also known as the wrong knife and Jin Cuodao. The genuine "one knife" is embedded in gold in the meat at the head of the ring, while the counterfeit is either not "one knife" or "one knife" is in yangwen. It is said that the word "one knife" is described with gold powder and the like, and the counterfeiting method is relatively easy to identify: although there are many surviving and archaeological discoveries, the cloth and the cloth are yellow. As far as calligraphy is concerned, Qian Wen, which is rich in money and colorful, can best reflect the charm and level of Wang Mang and Qian Wen. It is slender and powerful, smooth and beautiful, with a decent and perfect layout. The genuine product is generally spicy and sharp-cut, while the general method of counterfeiting is to copy it with the genuine product. Although the forged product has the same shape as the genuine product, it lacks the original vitality and looks dull and flat. In addition, there are still some defects in manufacturing and processing.
The identification of coin Qian Wen is not a one-off event. It needs to be experienced and chewed by contacting a large number of objects, and then it is possible to understand and master the calligraphy characteristics and styles of each coin Qian Wen in each era. In addition, it is best to have good calligraphy artistic accomplishment and appreciation ability.
② rust identification:
rust identification is another important aspect to identify the authenticity of coins.
identifying rust means identifying the rust color of copper, which generally refers to copper rust. Copper rust refers to a layer of oxide formed on the surface of copper coins due to the long casting age. Due to the different conditions of geography, geology and burial time, the accumulation degree of this oxide is not the same. This kind of small or massive copper rust, which is hard and firm in texture and emitted from the copper tire itself on the surface of the money body, is generally called "natural rust" or "hard rust". It is difficult to remove it with nails or knives, and the distribution is natural and appropriate. Because of the different chemical elements contained in the soil layer, the colors of copper rust are not the same, mainly green, red and blue.
to distinguish rust, we must first know some methods of counterfeiting, otherwise, it will be true and false, false and true, and true and false will be confused. According to the experience of predecessors, we summarize the main methods of making fake rust as follows:
A. Paint and pigment are mixed and coated on fake money, which can almost be confused, but it is easy to fall off after a long time.
B. mixing rosin or glue and pigment to make fake rust is not as effective as the first method.
C. Put counterfeit money in wet soil or semi-wet place to make it rust naturally. This counterfeiting method takes a long time and produces more real effects than the first two, but it is still easy to fall off once it is rubbed.
D. Soak fake money in vinegar and add copper sulfate to form green rust with crystals.
e. Although the counterfeit money is immersed in sulfuric acid solution, it will rust quickly, but the surface of the money is seriously damaged.
F. Mix the copper rust with adhesive and acid solution, and paint it on counterfeit money for counterfeiting. The fake rust produced by this method is firm and true in color, but it lacks expression and is easy to make people fall for it.
knowing the method of counterfeiting is of great benefit for us to identify the authenticity of copper rust. No matter what method is used to make fake rust, its * * * same characteristics are: crisp texture, because most of them are not naturally produced inside the copper tire, but by chemical reaction, so they generally float on the surface of the money body, which is easy to be removed by fingernail or knife cutting, so they are also called "floating rust" or "powdery rust". True rust is naturally formed, and its points are as follows