Checking Your Silver Bullion

[Beano]

Hello guys. I'm brand new to stacking and the silver forum so any help would be greatly appreciated, and i apologise in advance if i sound like a idiot lol. But my question is, are there any chance of fake bullion online? i'm talking about basic Britannia's, Maples, American Eagles etc. i mean spot is about £11 pound an oz in the UK so i wouldn't see the point in counterfeiting it.

I have purchased Britannia's online and a couple of other 1 oz coins from well know websites in the UK. I've taken the precaution for weighing a couple and also measuring them as well. Am i being to cautious? i have no intentions of buying from sites like ebay or anything like that. Im thinking most of the counterfeits on the market are Old or Rarer coin designs?

Also what do you do when you get your bullion in the post? Do you weigh, measure, use a magnet? Or do you fully trust that the product you're getting is real? Maybe i'm be over the top, but thanks in advance to anyone that replies 

[PansPurse]

I've yet to encounter fake basic bullion aside from pandas, but there are a few checks one can make. In general buying from a reputable dealer or straight from mint are both sound

[BackyardBullion]

Just now, Beano said:

Hello guys. I'm brand new to stacking and the silver forum so any help would be greatly appreciated, and i apologise in advance if i sound like a idiot lol. But my question is, are there any chance of fake bullion online? i'm talking about basic Britannia's, Maples, American Eagles etc. i mean spot is about £11 pound an oz in the UK so i wouldn't see the point in counterfeiting it.

I have purchased Britannia's online and a couple of other 1 oz coins from well know websites in the UK. I've taken the precaution for weighing a couple and also measuring them as well. Am i being to cautious? i have no intentions of buying from sites like ebay or anything like that. Im thinking most of the counterfeits on the market are Old or Rarer coin designs?

Also what do you do when you get your bullion in the post? Do you weigh, measure, use a magnet? Or do you fully trust that the product you're getting is real? Maybe i'm be over the top, but thanks in advance to anyone that replies 

Welcome to the forum!

There are sadly fakes out there. If you get used to buying silver from reputable dealers you will quickly be able to identify by touch whether something is silver or not. Get yourself a neodynium magnet - it is a lifesaver for easy testing. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Neodymium-Magnets-Rare-Earth-NdFeB-N35-N52-Disk-Ring-Super-Strong-Craft/351416155240?hash=item51d208fc68:m:mKF1zsLYdQ9m2MJvZ2rQANQ

I have done a lot of videos on testing silver - check these out when you can. 

https://youtu.be/GH6h6GhEDjA

https://youtu.be/TeXl5Qurqik

Good luck and enjoy your stacking!

 

[Silverhunter]

It's  good to check everything you buy. The fact that spot is 11.5 ish is irrelevant everything is worth counterfeiting to someone lots of Scottsdale 1oz bars have been counterfeited is the one that jumps out. There's a YouTube channel I watch that has a lot of good info check out cybercurtaintwitcher 

[sixgun]

Certainly weigh the coins and measure them. Often either their weight and or size is off. The other thing to do is check the specific gravity. If you have an accurate scale you can do this. Recently a member sent me a coin. i did not think it was fake but i checked the specific gravity. It was gold. At the same time i check a silver plated copper round. It was not the correct specific gravity for silver.

[Beano]

7 minutes ago, Silverhunter said:

It's  good to check everything you buy. The fact that spot is 11.5 ish is irrelevant everything is worth counterfeiting to someone lots of Scottsdale 1oz bars have been counterfeited is the one that jumps out. There's a YouTube channel I watch that has a lot of good info check out cybercurtaintwitcher 

Ahhh yes i saw the video on the channel a while ago will probably drop them a sub. Funny you should say that as well, i recently brought 6 coins by Scottsdale, (very cheap) but am still reluctant to get them out and test them. Britannia's i couldn't care less about as i only buy them for weight not the appearance. Are you currently stacking? Is there a particular website you would recommend?

[Silverhunter]

4 minutes ago, Beano said:

Ahhh yes i saw the video on the channel a while ago will probably drop them a sub. Funny you should say that as well, i recently brought 6 coins by Scottsdale, (very cheap) but am still reluctant to get them out and test them. Britannia's i couldn't care less about as i only buy them for weight not the appearance. Are you currently stacking? Is there a particular website you would recommend?

All my gold usually comes from Atkinsons and silver gold bull I have silver from them but you pay the vat. If you stacking silver look at silver to go adds on here also you won't get much cheaper than buying from @arshimo2012 if you stacking

[Beano]

10 minutes ago, Silverhunter said:

All my gold usually comes from Atkinsons and silver gold bull I have silver from them but you pay the vat. If you stacking silver look at silver to go adds on here also you won't get much cheaper than buying from @arshimo2012 if you stacking

ty mate appreciate the help 

[vand]

Rule #1 of stacking: Stay away from Ebay

Rule #2 of stacking: See rule #1

[PansPurse]

Frankly I've had pretty good experience on eBay. Only ended up with a fake once and seller gave full refund

[999magnum]

Lots of good deals on ebay. Just be cautious and navigate with a fine comb and you will score nice deals from time to time.

[MancunianStacker]

Buying the newer coins with built in security features soon after release mean the fakers have less time to duplicate it. For pure stacking reasons, newer coins are good 

[Lowlow]

24 minutes ago, MancunianStacker said:

Buying the newer coins with built in security features soon after release mean the fakers have less time to duplicate it. For pure stacking reasons, newer coins are good 

Low denomination junk silver for the opposite reason ... because it would probably cost more to fake it that it is worth, so you are pretty safe there.

[STONE]

Buy from a reputable dealer. They test everything with a scanner when it comes in.

Weigh everything when you get it.

Use a rare earth magnet to check all of it.

Ice cube test on bars.

If you are going to buy in quantity invest in a Gold and Silver Purity Testing Scanner.