Greetings all: Just joined this interesting forum. As a modest stacker I do not buy new pure silver rounds, as there is a premium I do not wish to pay. I consistently see rounds for spot +1 or 2 on CraigsList, but I have not done it. I venture into silver coins of common dates and types, rarely going over 90% of the value of the silver in them. You can sometimes snag some on ebay or coin shops (odd, but some coin shops underprice their foreign silver coins) or pawn shops or flea markets. I also get foreign coins, such as the >80% types from Cuba, Panama, France, Switzerland, England etc. With some hesitation I will get some of the 50% silver English coins, but only at good prices. It's kind of fun to always be looking for something new or a deal, and every type of coin is a work of art in its own way. Also commemorative coins are usually in very good condition (no past use as money) and not much demand, and sell for decent prices often. My question to those who have more experience, is where is the line of safety in such coins, and how does one avoid frauds once one goes over the safety zone? I am presuming that dimes and quarters are pretty safe. I have heard of fake 1/2 dollars, but apparently these were of numismatic value. Is it safe to presume that most any bullion type silver coin worth under $15 is genuine? Or have there been fakes in this size, US or foreign? For larger coins, should any silver dollar or crown size coin, even if just bullion silver value, be suspected? I have a scale, and a magnet, and I think i know the sound of dropped silver. And I can look at a coin carefully and compare it to known pictures. But still I suspect there are forgeries good enough to get past me, especially if a coin is rather worn, which means less detail and often recent cleaning and perhaps not much in the way of obvious silver sheen or old toning. I guess I should add specific gravity testing to my tests; some videos on Youtube show how that is done. I have a vague feeling that a significant portion of the Peruvian Sol coins on ebay are fake, based on the fact that I have read Peru, like China, makes a lot of counterfeit coins. Also there is a large supply of them, and most seem rather similar in toning. And there is plenty of information about China making fake US dollars. Anyway, does anyone have information on the infiltation of forgeries in these crown size coins of plain bullion value: US silver dollars Older French 5 francs British crowns Peruvian Sols Dutch 2 1/2 Guilders Older Egyptian 10 Piastres etc. The larger commemorative coins of any country If so, any useful methods of detecting the forgeries? Thanks in advance to anyone who replies. GTW
Old US dollars are commonly faked - but I don't know the prevalence of these in the USA, they seem to be more of an Asian country thing - so I wouldn't buy say a Morgan dollar off eBay from Thailand or somewhere. Don't count on the "sound of silver" to give away a fake - unless you're comparing two examples of the same coin. Different sized/thickness silver coins have very different sounds - I have a Canadian Maple that was bent, and it makes NO sound when flipped in the air! Best investment is a set of digital scales - the $10 eBay variety are very accurate for the price - and weigh your purchases. Also compare to known good examples to see that you're not dealing with an extra-thick fake coin designed to weigh the same as a real coin.
Hi gtw999, As your mainly buying antique scrap very close to spot, id say that you have a low chance of getting fakes, the exception could however be pretty much any silver coin although the bigger and the scarcer the higher the chances get. India rupee, any chinese numismatic, english crowns, morgan and peace dollars, all trade dollars, australia florins .. usually its the key dates and low mintage or early years. Some are old fakes, some are cast in silver, some are modern repos from old dies and some new "aged". If you are buying as a function of spot id say your less likely to get fakes than if you are searching for a numismatic bargain on ebay (where fake predator sellers have a perfect space to con and rip fellow ebayers) as Pelican said its usually thailand (for me also), china.. and from there anywhere worldwide if a person is able to source the fake items. Scales, jewellers loupe, a big collection and experience all help. BTW.. good investment strategy.. i have always liked the sound of striking it rich by getting bulk lots with a decent upside potential, i am prepared to pay premiums also for pandas, lunars, kooks and kangaroos which i feel will increase in the price i paid over spot. Quite right though not to pay premiums on ASE's and Maples.. surely that premium will be a sunk cost. 1for1
Any Silver Staker members can bring a item into my office in Melbourne and I will test them on my XRF tester.
How much do you charge for this service? I hope this is not too off topic but I've read about using nitric acid, magnets, and using specific gravity (weighing scale+glass of water+calculator) in testing silver. Are there other ways to test silver without spending more on the machine than the total value of your stack? How would you rate these tests according to accuracy/precision? Thanks.
