Southern Rhodesia 6 pence (194?) - strange error coin

Can someone please give me an idea of what coin error this would be classified as? There is a strange distortion near the top (6d), and along the spears, and the last number of the date is missing / barely visible (possibly a 4?). The reverse seems normal.

Sorry, I notice on the revers a strange protrusion from the lip of King George VI and some other distortion in the area.

Not sure, because the quality of the photos doesn't allow to anlarge a lot, but it might be overstruck on an older coin.

From what I see,

It looks like a contemporary counterfeit. Maybe you should check for silver content.

Thanks for the input. I'm not sure that it could be contemporary as it has been in a box of coins in a safe for 30 odd years? I've ordered a digital microscope and will try to improve on the image quality.

Contemporary counterfeit generally means a counterfeit that was made around the time the original coin was made.  For instance, a contemporary counterfeit of your coin would have been made within, say 5 years of the original.

"Modern Counterfeit" implies one that is made well after the original coin was minted.

Exactly.

So when you see a contemporary counterfeit, like this one post about a tin Indian Rupee from the 1940's, it was made around the time for actual use. Modern counterfeits, like silver Tael from China that have never existed, are minted for collectors who don't know the difference between the real and the fake.

Thanks guys, still learning the lingo. I'll upload a better image when I get my digital Microscope so we can have a better look!

 We know your huge assorted coins have now arrived (still waiting to identify one or two - or maybe more - lol) but has the aforementioned digital microscope arrived also?  

Hi ZakUK! Very busy sorting my new coins. I've recieved my digital microscope so I'll try to get a better photo of this coin soon. As for help with identitfications... I'm putting all the coins I can't identify in my special ZakUK Pile! I'm making good time with including my new coins onto my Numista coin collection, so I'll be starting to pester you soon to identify the ones I'm stuck with!

Hi there

The coin to my eyes is a 1944 King George VI 3d or "tickey", I very much doubt if it was a fake, just one that has really been through the mill. The reason for my saying this was that a tickey, wasn't really worth much, even in those days, so the rewards for counterfeiting one were very small.

In 1963 though, a number of half-crown counterfeits were made out of solder using hand-made moulds and I believe, plumbers solder. The culprits were tracked down to a Mrewa where two Malawians by the names of George and Mafait had a little foundry going. They were arrested and charged. About 200 fake coins (1948 and 1951) and corrosponding moulds where presented in court. The two counterfeiters were convicted and received sentences of three months each.

No-one knows what happened to coins but they would be an interesting addition to any collection.  

Bill Mauseth

dont believe  my eyes - is he smoking???