Opinions on Silver I bought on eBay

I bought a few silver pieces on eBay prior to joining SS and there's one set I just haven't felt right about. It was a set of six 20 gram silver bars with coloured Pandas on them, some of you may have seen them at the time.

So the seller claimed in the listing that he didn't know if they were .999 or not, despite the images clearly showing "Ag.999" on the bars. My critical thinking told me something wasn't right, but that was overruled by my desire to buy silver and the bargain price.

They are beautiful pieces but I just can't shake the feeling that they're fakes, so I'd like to get some opinions/perspectives. I've tried to get some pics to upload but the terrible lighting makes them look crappy, I did manage to find a pic showing them on a different eBay listing though:


Source: http://cgi.ebay.ph/Six-Pandas-colored-silver-bars-Chinas-National-Day-/370473586822

This is not the person I bought them from, and given the price and what they come with (I only got the bars) they seem genuine. Mine look exactly the same though.

The seller I bought from is still listed on eBay but is not currently selling anything, which again makes me wonder about the legitimacy of mine.

So what do you think?

 

I think it would help if you posted pictures of yours to get the silver gurus here to inspect them. People cant really comment if yours a fake from a photo of someone else's.

Cheers

 

Cut one. Get the hacksaw out and satisfy your curiosity. Better to have 5 nice bars and one cut in half and know they are silver, than have 6 pretty bars worth f%^k all.

If you cut it and it's undisputedly fake, you can call the police and have them prosecuted for selling fakes. Getting the police involved will scare the hell out of the seller.


Just another reason to buy coins with a currency on it - forging currency attracts a much bigger penalty than forging metal by itself.

 

Would it be worth drilling a small hole in the back of one, see what colour the swarf is?? That way you wouldn't spoil them too much?

 

Well I discovered that a camera with specific settings for close up shots works much better than a camera in a phone, here are my actual bars.


Front:


Back:



Given that they are all unique, I'm hesitant to damage any of them to test them. Taking them to W Davis and Son would be the preferable option but it's just not practical in terms of time and fuel cost.

 

No need to damage them by drilling or cutting.
Perform a specific gravity test.
If its less than 10.2 its not what it claims to be

Visual inspection is insufficient - as it could have been plated with silver.

 

How exactly does this work? I've never heard of gravity testing.

 

Someone did a thread and did it really well with pics and stuff.

So best to search for it.

Essentially you fill a container with water and put it on the scales and than you dip the
bar into the water so that its fully submerged.
with the dipping you must be carefull with what you are using to suspend the bar into the water.
Fishing line would be good or even tweezers but dont get too much of the tips into the water.
Make sure no bubbles.

The weight that you get should be aroudn 10.2-10.5 less than what the bar weighs on its own.

 

Without being absolutely sure, I would say the bars are fake.

They look basically the same as many bars on this site.

http://www.china-mint.info/fake-coin-images.html

First of all, and the easiest test..... Do they weigh 20 grams each???

 

If you like, send one and a SSAE to me and I'll test it out for you.

Ck.

 

Sounds simple enough, thanks. Now I just need some scales precise enough to measure that, I think the only thing I have at the moment are bathroom scales.

I actually tried google to see if I could find mine were fake, I couldn't find them even on that site but it has certainly put me off buying silver from China ever again.

And as above, I can't actually test the weight myself at present.

Mate, you're a legend. That would be great. PM me your details and I'll try to get that sorted out. Thanks.

 

I really hope those are not fakes.

Chinese silver already has such a shocking reputation. I can't even bring myself to buy a couple Pandas at the moment I'm so paranoid about the stuff.

So many chinese fakes out there!!!

 

ditto on the chinese stuff. I just don't care to bother with it because so much of it is faked very successfully.

 

take them to a reputable Chinese dealer, preferably with a Chinese friend. Weigh them, according to the weight as told on the bar.

if all else fails, try and sell them to a Chinese

 

First up, put them on a set of digital scales and see in grams what they weight. If they weigh what they claim too its a good start. Your scales come in handy for the gravity test also. Watch this youtube video on specific gravity testing and you get the idea:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYdSEAm-7uI

 

+ 1

 

See how it reacts to a magnet.

Silver is not magnetic of course

Will rule out some other metals

 

I tried that shortly after I got them, I used the strongest magnet we have in the house and there was no reaction.

I kind of wish it did react, then I'd know for sure.

 

How much you paid for these bars? If the price is reasonable and the weight is right I would say they are legit.