I collect gold sovereigns and half sovereigns on the gold dips and found a fake half sovereign in my most recent order from a very reputable UK seller. The bullion dealer replaced the coin without any hassle whatsoever but how many people might have received something similar and not know it ? What is also kind of worrying is how the bullion dealer let this slip through the net unchecked. The seller confirmed my suspicions using an XRF test. What do stackers like us rely on to check and how did I know immediately this coin was a fake ? Firstly the weight of the coin. A half sovereign should weigh 3.98 grams and expect worn coins to weigh about 3.96 and newer coins up to 4.01 grams. Typically the range is 3.98 to 4.00 grams. This coin was evidently well underweight and it's condition was very good considering it was dated 1909. If a coin is underweight it requires further investigation so I took a thickness measurement using a precision micrometer. Measuring thickness is not so straightforward as coins have cameo / raised patterns but also rims that can vary. Taking a centre measurement it was obvious that the coin was marginally over 20% too thick. That is a big difference so not only is the coin underweight it is too thick - volume increased to make it heavier. This means the density is wrong and the coin is therefore not 22 carat gold. Not sure if this simple formula is applicable but if the coin is ~20% larger in volume then 22ct / 1.2 = ~ 18 carat Maybe the fake is 18 ct gold alloy ? A nice looking coin but no longer in my collection so buyers should ALWAYS weight their coins especially if gold.
Jewellers copy maybe? Or one of the Italian/Lebanese counterfeits? There are more of them around than people think. Dealers may unwillingly (or perhaps willingly) pass them on to clients. Pity dealer didnt pass on the results of the XRF, but well done for being vigilent and picking this up.
I know of them being passed in Australia from a dodgy dealer with an XRF. Always worth getting them checked - weighing is the simplest thing as a precautionary measure. Bugs me a little as a dealer when customers want their straight-from-the-mint 1oz gold coins etc weighed in front of them, but with historical gold it should not be an issue to be done before leaving a dealer.
So people ask you to take them out of their capsule and weigh them (lunars and kangaroos)? Have you come across fake gold lunars?
Occasionally. I usually accompany the exercise with a quick rundown on the seriousness of counterfeiting legal tender in Australia to imply "why would we be such idiots to sell you fake gold when we're an official distributor", but hey, it's the customer's peace of mind at stake. Never. Seen the dodgy fake silver dragons on Alibaba, that's it.
Do you have Half Sovereign which is 100% genuine? If you compare sound of both coins you will find if it is fake or not. Just spin both coins on a table and record the sound. See the picture below (original Krugerrand and a fake one). Source: http://goldentimes.pl/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/rys-3.png And here is an instruction, how to use Audacity for recording: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZdxf655fe4[/youtube]
