Six Questions for detecting fake silver coins
- Does the silver coin look right?
- Any coin authenticator (highly experienced) will tell you that they often can’t tell you why a given specimen is fake. All they can say is that it doesn’t “look right.” Learn what the genuine silver coin looks like, and when you get that little red flag waving in your head that something looks wrong, trust your senses and don’t buy the coin!
- How much does the silver coin weigh?
- Most fake silver coins are made from alloys that weigh less than genuine silver. If the weight is wrong for the type, don’t buy it! Even overweight coins are problematic, because they might be silver-plated lead.
- How does the surface of the silver coin look?
- Fake silver coins may or may not have a silver-plated finish on them. Although high-quality struck fakes might look pretty convincing if they’re plated, many fakers don’t even bother to plate the coin! Silver has a distinctive sheen to it that is neither too harsh nor too soft or “soapy” looking.
- How does the silver coin’s edge look?
- If the coin edge should be reeded, and isn’t (or vice versa) this is a colossal red flag, since mint errors of this type are very rare. Also, if the coin has a seam around the edge, a bit of a protrusion on the edge that could be a casting sprue, or file marks indicating a sprue or seam was removed, don’t buy the coin!
- Does the silver coin pass a magnification check?
- Although the methods listed above will usually enable you to rule out most fakes (especially the weight test,) sometimes close examination under a strong magnifier settles the matter. Look for silver plating that failed to fill into tiny spots and crevices. Look at the edge of the coin to see if the plating is visible where the rim meets the side; also look between the reeding. Sometimes just looking at the fields under 10x is enough to condemn the silver coin as a fake, because the fields may appear rough, or have spots of copper or other non-silver impurities.
- Does it pass the silver coin ring test?
- Silver coins have a distinctive ring when held on the tip of a finger and tapped with another coin. Be careful doing this test, though; you don’t want to ding or damage the coin, or drop it onto a hard surface, so use some judgement. The ring test can be helpful when all other easy methods of checking are inconclusive.
Related Silver or Coin posts:
Mintmarks used by the coin producing facilities
eight that are, or have been, a part of the US Mint: "CC" Carson City, Nevada "C" Charlotte, North Carolina "D" Dahlonega, Georgia "D" Denver, Colorado (this facility was started long after Dahlonega closed, there is no problem identifying if the coin came from Dahlonega or Denver) "O" New Orleans "P" Philadelphia (because it was a primary mint used no mintmark for
SilverCoinAnd.com and Google
The top 20 queries in which SilverCoinAnd.com appeared silver dimes fake silver silver clad silver dimes 1964 1804 silver coin fake silver coins 1804 silver dollar ancient silver drachma 1946 silver dime buy silver coins charles 1 silver coins coin dealer association roosevelt silver dimes new silver coins byzantine silver coins silver coins history 1964 us dime fake silver eagle coins 200 reis 1964 dime The top queries from which users
Glossary: Letter C: Numismatics to English
C the mintmark of the U.S. Mint at Charlotte, North Carolina cabinet friction faint rub on the highest points of coins, usually caused by sliding around in a tray cameo a coin that has frosty devices and brilliant fields cameo contrast a measure of how frosty the devices are versus how deeply mirrored the fields are Capped Bust a
Constantine silver ruble: The rarest Russian ruble
The rarest Russian coin is Constantine silver ruble. Russia has never had Emperor Constantine but it has his coin. The fact that this coin exists prove the dynastic crisis in Russia after death of Alexander 1st. He had no son and the throne was inherited by his brother. As he
Silver-Niobium Galileo Coin: Year Of Astronomy (2009): Austria: 25 Euro
2009 has been designated "The International Year of Astronomy". To honour this title the Austrian Mint in Vienna has chosen to dedicate its silver-niobium coin this year to this fascinating theme. The new bimetal coin displays a three-quarter portrait of the famous astronomer and mathematician Galileo Galilei and scope with