What's wrong with this Indochina coin?

The year is 1902 but silver content is 68%, what am I missing?

Fake. A 0.680 silver 20 cent coin was not made in 1902.

I don't think so because those who faked this coin could have also fixed the date or weight. I don't think they would be so stupid. Perhaps it's a version not yet added to this site yet?

You may be right but the 0.680 version in Numista and SCWC has dates that don't include 1902. I think you coin is a forgery and 1902 was used as a date to make it different from a real one.

The reason why I'm so confident is that this coin was pitch black with nothing readable, I cleaned it with sulphuric acid and now it very clean. I'm sure you would know that sulphuric acid does not react with silver

Never said it wasn't silver.  You want to know what's wrong with your coin (besides the date)? 

That's the mark (wing) of Lucien Bazor, General coin engraver from 1931 to 1958.  A 1902 coin would have the mark (torch) of Henri-Auguste-Jules Patey, General coin engraver, from (1896-1930).  A coin with 1902 and a wing mark is more evidence that it isn't genuine.  

Bonjour,

Je suis d'accord, on voit également que la corne d'abondance de la Monnaie de Paris manque de détails, elle est trop écrasée.

Les pièces d'Indochine sont des pièces réputées pour être copiées depuis des années, il suffit aujourd'hui de voir sur Aliexpress par exemple.

[Edit: Les 20 centièmes frappées de  1898 à 1916 sont composées d'argent 835, les 20 centièmes frappées de 1921 à 1937 sont quand à elles composées d'argent 680. Votre pièce a donc l'avers de la version 1898-1916 et le revers de la version 1921-1937 ]

Not the first time we've seen this:

1903 Indochina 20 Cents BUT... .680?

rsirian1

Never said it wasn't silver.  

But then why would someone make a fake with silver? I mean someone uses a base metal to make a fake coin and sell it as silver, that makes sense but what would, using silver to make a fake coin, get you?

N’est -elle pas simplement en argent plaqué? 

Polette

N’est -elle pas simplement en argent plaqué? 

Je ne pense pas, je l'ai nettoyé avec de l'acide sulfurique et il en est ressorti indemne.

There are many fakes of this series of small value coins, likely a cheaper alternative to the actual coins that would be worn on some traditional wear.