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Doing an article on how to authenticate bullion coins.....
CaptHenway
Posts: 34,186 ✭✭✭✭✭
...and would like to hear some anecdotal stories on the use of electronic testers, which I never used while I was still working in the coin shop because I did not need to use one. However, times have changed.
Any recommendations for good brands/ models/ whatever?
Thanks.
TD
Professional Numismatist, Retired. 55 year member ANA. Former ANA Senior Authenticator. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and ANA Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner of the PNG's 2026 Robert Friedberg Award for "The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922," Available now from Whitman or Amazon.
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Sigma Precious Metal Verifier is a must have. Reads through slabs and plated bullion. Note that it verifies what you ask it to verify. It does not identify a chunk of bullion, you have to tell it what bullion is to be verified. Weiss has posted many pictures of it in use, check the PM BST threads.
"Money does not care about speeches on morality. Capital asks whether the rules will remain the same tomorrow. With inflation, people assume price is the problem, and propose regulation—but price is simply the message." - Martin Armstrong
Thank you.
Has anybody here ever done a specific gravity test on a precious metal coin or bar?
Yes ... I do SG testing routinely.
See http://www.doubledimes.com for a free online reference for US twenty-cent pieces
@CaptHenway...Please let us know when and where your article will be published. I am interested in PM verifiers ... though they are a tad costly for an occasional user. Cheers, RickO
I have done SG tests on coins, and other materials
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb, Ricko
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
This may not be what you are wanting, but I use an app on my android phone called Bullion Test, and you can test various issues of bullion by doing a "ring test".
Please tell me more about the phone app.
Have used ring tests for years, but sometimes the owner of an item can rightfully object to you using it.
I downloaded it because I had purchased a couple Pandas from eBay sellers and they didn't seem right. Sure enough they were bogus and I was made right so no problem. I had a few other bullion items such as Maple leafs, ASEs, Libertads, and had a little fun with them and found that all of my other stuff was good. These were items which I bought from dealers I trusted and see them at shows I frequent occasionally.
The app is easy to use, you just make the coin ring a little and the phone "hears" whether it is of the right frequency. Kinda cool. It's been a while since I had used it so I went and checked it out again. Now it is telling me I have to upgrade for $3.49 to be able to use it... so I guess you only get so much time for free. No surprise there!
Fascinating!
There's some good You Tube videos showing bullion authentication techniques including sliding a neodymium magnet down the side of a silver bar while measuring the rate of descent and another test using the rate of melting of an ice cube on a heated silver bar.
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
Saw something on here about a simple balance beam that also has a rectangular gate to pass the coin through to check diameter and thickness. Anybody got a link to one of those?
Cool thread. I am also interested in the article when its published.
Thefisch.com
"A dog breaks your heart only one time and that is when they pass on". Unknown
Specific gravity tests are probably the most full-proof unless you have an XRF device. The test can be a pain to perform but are very accurate.
Sigma Precious Metal Verifier seem to work pretty well but I still haven't been sold 100%.
The fische devices are good but can only be used for particular coins, so unless you spend a lot of money on all the different gov't bullion coins it won't cover everything...and the devices are pretty expensive. I think I spent $65 on the ASE fische (used) a while back and ended up selling it for the same amount. Check out what they cost new!!!!!!! https://www.thefisch.com/ordernow#pricing
The ring app, I would stay 100% away from. A) I don't feel like damaging my bullion, it doesn't work on bars and I am skeptical of the "technology" behind it.
Accurate scale, accurate calipers, a loupe and the internet are pretty good resources when authenticating bullion coins.
@CaptHenway I saved a write-up from a guy on another forum on how to perform the SG test if you're looking for one. It's a long write-up but I would be happy to post it if you're interested in it.
Thanks, but the article has already been submitted.
Yes, I too do it when needed. No electronic yet for me.......sounds a bunch easier that water and scales.
bob