Counterfeit Gold Question
MoneyCollector
Posts: 451 ✭✭✭
I know this is useless without pics but my pics are useless so here it goes -
My wife brought me back a gold Sovereign from her latest trip to India. She bought it at a large jewelry store there. It is a 1915 and looks fake to me. The reverse is poorly struck and the date looks wrong based on pictures I found but it still "feels" like gold. It also appears to be whizzed to shine it up a bit.
They are supposed to weigh 7.9881 grams and my scale shows 8.04 grams. I checked my scale and a SAE weighs 1.0085 oz so maybe my scale is off slightly. 7.9881 * 1.0085 = 8.056 so my coin might be .01 or .02 grams light or at most 0.2% - pretty close.
Were any of these counterfeited using gold? Bullion coin with no numismatic value. Assuming its not gold, how could the weight be so close? I guess it could be larger in diameter or thicker and still weigh the same even with a less dense metal? I would need to compare it to a real example for a size comparison.
Any thoughts?
Randy
My wife brought me back a gold Sovereign from her latest trip to India. She bought it at a large jewelry store there. It is a 1915 and looks fake to me. The reverse is poorly struck and the date looks wrong based on pictures I found but it still "feels" like gold. It also appears to be whizzed to shine it up a bit.
They are supposed to weigh 7.9881 grams and my scale shows 8.04 grams. I checked my scale and a SAE weighs 1.0085 oz so maybe my scale is off slightly. 7.9881 * 1.0085 = 8.056 so my coin might be .01 or .02 grams light or at most 0.2% - pretty close.
Were any of these counterfeited using gold? Bullion coin with no numismatic value. Assuming its not gold, how could the weight be so close? I guess it could be larger in diameter or thicker and still weigh the same even with a less dense metal? I would need to compare it to a real example for a size comparison.
Any thoughts?
Randy
0
Comments
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
Why counterfeit with gold? - I had read that but don't understand why.
<< <i>I'll see if I can take a pic. I think we'll all agree it looks wrong.
Why counterfeit with gold? - I had read that but don't understand why. >>
I would venture to guess that a counterfeit sovereign made from 90% gold would actually be worth more than a real one, assuming we are talking about worn, common date pieces.
<< <i>I'll see if I can take a pic. I think we'll all agree it looks wrong.
Why counterfeit with gold? - I had read that but don't understand why. >>
Easy way to convert gold bullion into a form that is easily recognized and easy to sell or trade with. Also, the sovereign is worth a small premium over melt.
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