Can't weigh my 1996 sml date because it's sealed however my unsealed 1997 BU weighs 1.110 oz, 1990 Pf weighs 1.097 oz and 2002 BU weighs 1.108 oz. Sorry my scales don't do gms. Yep 40 mm across
Weighs perfect, but I have no way right now to measure it. The shiny appearance in eBay listing was due to the flash being on.
Guess I'll begin contemplating my apology letter to the seller. At least I wasn't an arse to him, just told him that it was some people on a forum saying it was a fake.
Starting to quack like a duck LOL I'll get something tomorrow to measure the diameter. Besides that, what else can I do? It weighs perfect and if it's the exact diameter, then nothing else to do but send it off to be graded after the first of the year when I send a batch of other coins, not pandas, I'm still scared out of buying ungraded coins now.
Found this test for specific gravity. Only question I don't think the water will harm the panda, but I worry about drying it off and scratching it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYdSEAm-7uI
Yep, that's the method. Water will not harm the silver.. (Any impurities in the water left to dry on the surface is another matter) To dry, simply place the coin on a (clean, soft) folded towel on the bench/table, fold the towel again over the coin, and press down firmly w/- the palm of the hand.. That's it, no rubbing, no scratching (that's how I do it, anyway...)
Wow what a difference a good picture makes! The coin looks totally legit now. Do you think it's genuine? The leaves look much better here and although the bamboo on the left still looks a little thick to me but I'd put that down to different strikes. Can't see anyhting wrong with the fur either. It actually looks better than mine and mines sealed! A good lesson to take quality pics before selling on ebay... can save alot of unnecessary stress.
I look at this way, if the seller had not taken the picture with the flash on, it wouldn't have looked as strange, more than 4 people would have bid and I wouldn't have gotten a coin for 50-67% off. I also thought I'd buy a little distilled water to do the test in, less impurities. Though I'm beginning to think the diameter is 40mm and it weighs right, maybe I just forgo putting it in water and wait till Jan-Feb for it to come back from NGC real or fake. If it is fake, the I may have the world's most perfect copy in the history of counterfeiting, which would be kinda cool on it's own. I am still grateful for everyone's time and input. It's been a great learning experience regardless of the coin's legitimacy.
He was silly because a better pic = less dodgy= more interest = more bidders = higher price for your coin! 940 got a bargain which I'm glad about, but I also like seeing higher Panda prices.
