Hello all. I purchased a Northwest Territorial Mint 1 Troy oz silver round the other day and have a few concerns. Generally when i get a new coin or round i always do the Rare earth magnet test and the Ping test and also weigh the item. Well this round passed the weight test weighing in at 31.1 Grams and also passed the magnet test but when i did the ping test it sounded very flat and didn't ring at all?. This is the first silver coin / Round that i have had this issue with. I also noticed that the edge of the coin on the rear (scale side) is very rough and if you were to press your finger hard on the edge and apply pressure it would eventually cut your finger! , i tried lol. So my problem is - Is this coin Genuine? I have looked at similar rounds and they seem more sharply struck , any help would be very much appreciated and will stop me from worrying as it is bothering me quite a bit. Here are 2 pictures of the Round in question. Any help will be very much appreciated , the coin just feels very cheaply made - especially with the rough edges which is at the tip of the reeding at the edge of the coin but only on one side the other side is smooth. Anyone who is familiar with these rounds please help - Does yours ping?. Thank you. Jimbo.
Some legit silver coins don't "ping" exactly right but they can still be silver. I have had some silver Maples that I "pinged" before and they did not sound right at all but I knew they were legit (1989's that came out of their plastic sheet). I know the Chinese have made fakes of other products from the NWT mint, but I have never seen any like the one you pictured. I would bet it is legit. Where did you buy it? The NWT Mint website says they are 39 mm in diameter. If yours matches that size (plus you said the weight is right), I would say for sure it's legit. Jim
Hi Jim Thank you very much for the reply , it was actually from an ebay seller but he is reputable in regards to feedback etc. I only normally purchase from large companies but these silver rounds seemed quite nice , i hope it turns out to be ok as i purchased 10 in total . The unusual thing is that the coin seems very cheaply made with the rough edges and i compared this one to other NWTM examples and it doesn't seem as crisply struck - i am probably looking into it too much but it is very unusual that it is the only coin / Round i have that sounds flat when pinged. I knew about the Canadian Maple leaf coins but i guess where this coin is sloppily made and has the ping issue it just rang alarm bells. And it is horrible when you have that unsure feeling when it comes to a certain coin or Round in your collection . Hopefully someone might be able to shed more light on it , however your input is very much appreciated and respected. Thank you.
As you're concerned about the ping test, the "Bullion Test" mobile app may interest you. I cut the below from the Play store. "There is also a "generic" feature wich supports ALL .999 1oz silver coins with diameter 36-42mm. Just enter the diameter of your coin, and the app will automatically calculate what it's resonance frequencies are." That feature seems to be on the paid version. More info here: http://forums.silverstackers.com/to...sonance-test-to-detect-fake-silver-coins.html
Thank you for that link , i have heard about this app - my phone is literally Fred Flintstone era so i am unsure that the app would run on it , i should probably buy a new phone instead of all the silver but i just have silver fever so badly. However The coin is indeed 39mm in diameter so i am feeling slightly more confident. Weight good - Size good - Magnet slides down it nicely. It is just the dead ping and the very jagged edges - if you were to run your finger around the coin on the top edge it would cut it. I almost drew blood. It would be great to know if someone has the same silver round and if it sounds the same. Really appreciate the help chaps.
Here is a picture of another similar round , but notice the crisp detail on this one. Did NWTM issue 2 versions? perhaps mine is a later more recent issue definitely not as nice as this one?.
Turns out it was Genuine , i also did a Gravity test aswell which passed fine. Apparently so i've been told NWTM re-issued these rounds with a less detailed design on (which mine has) - they didn't like it so they then decided strike them again with their more detailed design on - apparently 500-600 got struck with the weaker design on that i have on mine. So i guess it might be slightly more collectible?. If anyone can varify this story that will be great. But either way most important thing is that it's Genuine Silver - No idea why it doesn't ring though?!. Thank you for the helpful replies it was very much appreciated. Kindest regards - Jimbo.
Jimm, You are brave buying rounds like that, considering the Chinese have been counterfeiting many of the US brands who make private rounds/bars. Even though I know the ones I see now locally are real generally speaking (I have seen and unfortunately purchased a few fakes in the past), when it comes time to sell someday when silver finally goes up in price, I believe generic rounds/bars are going to be shunned. If silver ever gets up in price, these fakes are going to be even more plentiful since higher profit margins. Fortunately the gov minted stuff has more complex designs and such that make faking them much harder. It seems now the Chinese are putting out fake one ounce bars in soft plastic sheets of ten, like the real producers. They know people have caught on to the single bar plastic cases. Be careful out there. http://www.aliexpress.com/item/nort...ilver-clad-Bullion-20pcs-lot/32316695470.html http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Seal...lver-SilverTowne-Bullion-Bar/32237056062.html Just my opinion. Jim
