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Do any of you use an electronic scale?
PerryHall
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With all the talk of fake ASE's, morgans, silver bars, etc I've been thinking about getting an electronic scale to help authenticate bullion coins and bars. There are many on Amazon that are very inexpensive and that are very accurate. Any suggestions as to what brand and model to buy? I notice that as the capacity goes up the accuracy goes down. The scales that weight up to 100 g are accurate to 0.01g while the scales that weight up to 1000g are accurate to 0.1g. Any suggestions, experiences, observations, etc would be greatly appreciated.
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"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
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.01g
With a standard 100g weight
That was accurate to .01g
<< <i>Do not confuse 'accuracy' with resolution. When you state "The scales that weight up to 100 g are accurate to 0.01g", what you really mean is that the resolution is 0.01g. Notice that it is the same resolution for the higher mass scale, which is simply a percentage of the whole. Accuracy is an entirely different issue, and must be determined by comparing known masses with the measurements displayed. Inexpensive electronic scales typically have lower accuracy than balance scales. >>
Good information and thanks. I guess you are trading convenience (portability and ease of use) and expense for accuracy when choosing an electronic scale over a balance scale.
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
Absolutely true. Certainly a triple beam balance scale is not portable, and does not lend itself to use on the bourse floor, but in terms of accuracy, resolution, and repeatability of measurements it is the best option. Also, for making specific gravity tests, for determination of authenticity, only a balance scale can be used. I use the O'Haus Cent-O-Gram 311g and have had great results with it.
it is right on accurate. My 100g weight (verified on my triple beam) reads 100.01 on this scale. Very
pleased.
bob
These are not expensive and can be found readily on ebay.
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<< <i>If you can find a 1 troy ounce weight, that would even be better, but I didn't locate one of those. >>
I use a Maple Leaf but a Eagle would work I would think.
[In the interest of complete disclosure, any ice cream or frozen treat stick would work; it is not necessary to use a Popsicle® stick.]
<< <i>If what you are looking for is simply an inexpensive and easily transportable method of determining the correct weight of ASE's, Morgans and silver bars, I am reminded of a clever method offered years ago by a collector seeking to determine which of the 1982 Lincoln Cents were of the copper composition, and which were of the copper clad zinc composition. Knowing the precise mass was immaterial; he was merely seeking to make a distinction between the two compositions. What he offered was an elegantly simple method using just a pencil and a Popsicle® stick. He took two known masses, in his case two copper cents, and balanced them on the Popsicle® stick using the pencil as a balance point. He marked the Popsicle® stick in the precise center, where the two copper cents were in balance. He then substituted an unknown 1982 cent for one of the known copper cents to see if it would balance. If it did, then the unknown cent was copper. If it did not balance, then the unknown cent was zinc. Despite the somewhat crude appearance of such a device, I see no reason why this simple balance, suggested in the response by Ambro51, would not serve to confirm the proper mass of any unknown. It would fit easily into your shirt pocket, although it would require you to carry with you known masses of the coins and bars of interest. Then you could leave your balance scale at home, for positive confirmation.
[In the interest of complete disclosure, any ice cream or frozen treat stick would work; it is not necessary to use a Popsicle® stick.] >>
I find such a method really useful when balancing my checkbook/checking account.
When needed, I just have a cheapie that I bought at a flea market. Works fine for me. For calibration weights, I just use jacketed bullets and convert grains to grams. 7000/453.59 gives you 15.4324 grains per gram. A 180 grain bullet is 11.664 grams. Good bullets are spot on and uniform in weight.
Also, it comes in handier as a postal scale than it does a coin/metal scale.
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
<< <i>
[In the interest of complete disclosure, any ice cream or frozen treat stick would work; it is not necessary to use a Popsicle® stick.] >>
It depends on whether the mass of the frozen treat stick is evenly distributed. It could be one end of the stick is heavier than the other. Probably it would be better, if children were involved, to make the bottom the stick is little more dense than the top. In that case the balance point might not be in the center of the stick.
Of course, any discussion that involves both frozen treats and coins is by definition a good thing
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
<< <i>I have one but it is currently not working. It would weigh grams fine but it was way off with troy ounces. >>
Are you sure that yours was supposed to read troy ounces and not avoirdupois ounces?
pharmacist- at least here in New York, all pharmacies used to carry certified weights
for the balances before the advent of electronic weighing- or if you just have an
occasional coin , just ask them to weigh the coin for you
It would not matter whether or not the distribution of mass in the stick was uniform, as it would be self-calibrating. The first step in using such a device would be to balance the 'scale' using two copper cents, and then mark the balance point with a pencil for future reference. It would not matter whether or not the balance point was in the precise center of the Popsicle stick or not. It would merely be the point where the scale was in balance with two identical masses.