Fake? Silver Eagles. How do you spot them?
GreyOwlStudio
Posts: 5 ✭
My 87-year-old dad recently bought a bunch of Silver Eagles off Ebay, claiming he got them really cheap, less than the spot price for silver. He won't listen when I tell him to check the spot prices before he buys, because no one is going to sell silver for less than what it's worth. He thinks people just get desperate and want to drop the silver even if they have to sell it for less, which is nonsense because they can get more than the spot price for real Silver Eagles.
Anyway, I was immediately suspicious of these five coins he bought, so I examined them. They look like the latest Silver Eagle designs, year 2023, there's nothing about the design or striking that stands out to me as wrong. The metal looks to be silver under a 10x loop, not that it's easy to tell. However, the coins only weigh 1 regular ounce rather than a troy ounce. Also, they are only 39.85 mm in diameter rather than 40.6 mm.
I have another Silver Eagle that is authenticated and it's exactly a troy ounce and 40.5 mm.
Can anyone recommend further tests? Or tell me what these coins might be? Are they cheap Chinese fakes? Could they be real silver but just a smaller amount? Or are they silver-plated?
Thanks for your help. I don't want my father to waste his retirement money buying junk.
Michael
Comments
They're fake. I am sorry for your financial loss.
In honor of the memory of Cpl. Michael E. Thompson
I appreciate the response. But could you go into a little more detail? I understand that they're fake Silver Eagles, but are they not silver as well, or silver plated?
No real silver eagles will be sold for or less than spot. Mostly silver plated, some in counterfeit slabs. Your best diagnosis comes with a good eye. If you are a continuous buyer, invest in the SIGMA precious metal verifier (PMV). it has gotten me numerous ebay refunds.
The government is incapable of ever managing the economy. That is why communism collapsed. It is now socialism’s turn - Martin Armstrong
The smaller diameter... and weight.... are all you really need to know to know they are fake. Any real silver in them is likely silver plated.
Genuine silver eagles are pretty liquid.... even if someone was hard up for money, real ones can be sold quickly for melt or more Sorry that your dad got taken. I recommend you try to keep him off of ebay, if he really thinks silver is selling that cheap.
BTW... not sure when he purchased.... but you may be able to file a claim with ebay and get reimbursed. Not sure what the deadline is for that, but ebay tends to favor the buyer in any dispute.
My father paid retail money for 3 silver eagles from a seller in Canada.
The package came in a china type looking bag.
2 of the 3 were magnetic... SILVER DOESN'T STICK TO A MAGNET.
All were under weight.
We filled the rim on the Non Magnetic one and the inside color is brass.
I suggest you do the basic tests...
Magnet test
Weight
Diameter
Thickness
Metal verification if you have one OR take a trip to the coin shop that can verify.
Take your Dad so he better knows what he's buying.
Definitely get the money back from the seller of fakes on eBay.
Good luck.
Did your father pay by credit card? If so, call his credit card company and request a charge-back.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Ice cube, real eagle should slice through it with the conductivity absorbtion.
post a link to the auction
https://www.coinworld.com/news/precious-metals/edge-notches-on-american-eagles-moved-in-2022-2023
I TOO GOT SUCKERED ON THIS DEAL.
WEIGHT...21.86 GRMS..SHORT OF 31.1
REAL SILVER RINGS LIKE A BELL WHEN DROPPED....THESE JUST THUD
VERY, VERY SLIGHTLY MAGNETIC...DIFFICULT TO NOTICE
THEY LOOK VERY GOOD AND WOULD EASILY DECEIVE
Usually when a deal is too good to be true, it is.
The government is incapable of ever managing the economy. That is why communism collapsed. It is now socialism’s turn - Martin Armstrong
I was at a city impound auction a few years ago.
They had some random coins and some slabed.
All the slabs were fake.
All sold at near retail prices with a 15% buyers fee.
I asked the auctioneer if they authenticated the coins and they said it wasn't their job.
Ultimately it is the responsibility of the buyer to decide whether to buy or not. The saying "Buyer beware" has been around for centuries for good reason.
In some sense, the auctioneer may be right. Just like ebay, they are the mechanism/venue by which the items are sold; they are not the owners of the items.
There are ways to test that silver is real at home.
You can do the weight and diameter that you already did.
You can use a soft wooden dowel to ping test the coins and have an app on your phone test the frequency that the coin rings to see what it's made of. "Bullion test" is the name of the app on Android.
You can use a magnet slide to see if the coin is silver as well.
Between weight, diameter, ping and magnet slide you should get a pretty good idea of what the coin is.
The substantial truth doctrine is an important defense in defamation law that allows individuals to avoid liability if the gist of their statement was true.
Balance your ASE on the tip of your finger next to your ear and then tap it with a wooden pencil. Silver will have a very distinctive melodious ring unlike any fake ASE that's not silver.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Since it was ebay, I hope you filed a dispute/return to get your money back.
For tests, they have been mentioned....
Weight, diameter, ring test, magnet...those are the ones I would do after examining them closely with a real one.
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
If the coin is not in a slab you can do a specific gravity test. Simple to do at home.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw-2kqjtEdI
here is a link:
bob