Modern Fakes and Fantasies - II
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Latest update: 02 November 2016 |
The phoney ageing of fake/fantasy notes is usually easy to spot - with random splodges of too bright, too deliberate looking staining, or with ghost images of the edges of other notes when a group have been tea stained (or similar) together. Scratch marks to poorly replicate wear, and unlikely folds.
Occasionally however some of even the less successful modern fakes and fantasies appear with convincing aging, fooling dealers and collectors when perhaps a less successfully aged or 'uncirculated' example would not. This aging process is apparently being carried out both by dealers (and possibly the producers of such notes?) in China, and by dealers overseas - some no doubt attempting to pass on their own buying mistakes.
Occasionally however some of even the less successful modern fakes and fantasies appear with convincing aging, fooling dealers and collectors when perhaps a less successfully aged or 'uncirculated' example would not. This aging process is apparently being carried out both by dealers (and possibly the producers of such notes?) in China, and by dealers overseas - some no doubt attempting to pass on their own buying mistakes.
Below: This fantasy note is listed as a 1927 China Farmers Association Credit Union Currency Notes $2 Chuan (and also known as a "1927 China Hubei Provincial Farmers Bank 2 Yuan"). The seller of this particular example is most likely unaware - or at least the bulk of what is sold is certainly genuine.
Despite the flaws in the design, this specific item is a good example of how a cheap fantasy/fake can be made to look convincingly like a well circulated, old note. General grubbiness, the odd faded stain, edge wear and repeated folding - much of this is probably due to someone handling and 'using' the note over a significant period of time. Plus on this example the printing is off-centre and even the serial numbers are slightly wonky, all of which adds to the apparent authenticity.
However this is indeed a known modern fantasy that has been around a few years now. The front vignette is copying the main part of the back vignette from a 5 Yuan of the Central Bank of China of 1941 (P 235), showing a hilltop pagoda and temple near Chungking (Chongqing). The font used for the year date of 1927, is completely out of keeping with the style of this note and those of the period generally.
Despite the flaws in the design, this specific item is a good example of how a cheap fantasy/fake can be made to look convincingly like a well circulated, old note. General grubbiness, the odd faded stain, edge wear and repeated folding - much of this is probably due to someone handling and 'using' the note over a significant period of time. Plus on this example the printing is off-centre and even the serial numbers are slightly wonky, all of which adds to the apparent authenticity.
However this is indeed a known modern fantasy that has been around a few years now. The front vignette is copying the main part of the back vignette from a 5 Yuan of the Central Bank of China of 1941 (P 235), showing a hilltop pagoda and temple near Chungking (Chongqing). The font used for the year date of 1927, is completely out of keeping with the style of this note and those of the period generally.
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Right: (upper right) the front of a modern fake of a Peoples Bank of China 20 Yuan of 1949, and below right, a genuine example (SCWPM 820). The fake note is crumpled, with some heavy repeated folding, some discoloration and slight staining, and corner wear. A pretty good try though less logical than the example above as the folds are more random. What gives this note away however is the heaviness of the printing and more importantly, the serial and block numbers. The roman numerals are too neat especially at the tips of the letters and the font of the serial is not the same; the numbers themselves are too narrow and too closely spaced together. Sometimes even small things can reveal a fake when a small, poor quality picture is provided by a seller - and good to remember even if viewed in person. |
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Left and below: an example of the more obvious (or not) faked ageing commonly encountered especially on auction sites. It looks as if the effect has been achieved by scraping the note across a dirty floor, which may well be the explanation. The note is a cheap modern copy of the 1949 50 Yuan of the Peoples Bank of China. 
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