Spotting fake silver

[SilverPirate007]

So I have got into Silver recently. The problem is, I am rather stupid. Saying that I have heard of the ‘ping’ test, weighing it, dipping it in water and what not but really how common is fake silver? It is only 12 quid an oz. Why do fakers bother?

Saying that, I have bought some off eBay that I’m a bit worried about. It weighs like 31.2 grams. Not sure if that is normal for silver but it’s making me a bit spooked.

how do you folks get good at spotting fakes? 

[Derv]

Sounds about right. 31.1 being the legal troy minimum. 

[Varus]

My 1 Oz silver maple leafs have a weight of 31,5 g.

[Stacker2020]

1st test should probably be with a neodymium magnet. Inexpensive and a good starting point. 

If that passes you can always do a specific gravity test to get a more definitive answer. For that all you need is scales and a pot of water.

[daca]

@BackyardBullion  has made a very helping video  about how to test at home.

 

[SilverPirate007]

Yer it’s all a bit concerning as a new stacker. I guess the best think to do is not buy from eBay until one is a bit more experienced.

[AgD]

Just because silver is at about £12 an oz, you are never going to buy a 1oz silver coin as all the premium and 20% vat on top and especially on Ebay so if you have brought silver coins off Ebay for £12 then the chances are they are fake.

If I was you I would spend a but of time reading up on a lot of the great topics here in the forum 👍

[SilverPirate007]

Well my average from eBay has been 18 pounds at the moment. Not great but it’s only 9 coins.

I clocked the European mint offer and bought a couple of tubes and just managed to get a kg on here for a decent 14.5 ish pound an ounce. So not bad so far, just a little worried about those initial coins with the slight weight discrepancies. 
 

[SilverPirate007]

4 hours ago, Varus said:

My 1 Oz silver maple leafs have a weight of 31,5 g.

Really? Is it usual to be that off?

[Varus]

The weight of silver coins is not that precise.

I measured:

10 Maples = 315 g or 31,5 g per Oz

10 Libertads =312 g or 31,2 g per Oz

 

[AppleZippoandMetronome]

The best way to protect yourself is to learn about what you are buying. eBay is chock full of fake coins and someone new to this isn't going to be able to spot them. If you have purchased coins on there you are concerned about you should test them sooner rather than later especially if you still have time to open cases and recoup any potential losses.

eBay can be a great place to find bargains - I buy a fair amount on there. You do need to be educated with it though and know how to spot the fakes that are out there. Some of it is pretty common sense - if something is too cheap there's generally a good reason for that. In some cases its also very plain to see the fakes when you know how specific coins should look.

[SilverPirate007]

36 minutes ago, AppleZippoandMetronome said:

The best way to protect yourself is to learn about what you are buying. eBay is chock full of fake coins and someone new to this isn't going to be able to spot them. If you have purchased coins on there you are concerned about you should test them sooner rather than later especially if you still have time to open cases and recoup any potential losses.

eBay can be a great place to find bargains - I buy a fair amount on there. You do need to be educated with it though and know how to spot the fakes that are out there. Some of it is pretty common sense - if something is too cheap there's generally a good reason for that. In some cases its also very plain to see the fakes when you know how specific coins should look.

Very wise advice, thank you.

Where would be best to get it tested? A jewellers?

[Minnesanger]

Hello there,  I’m fairly new here but have been lurking for long time.  Weight, sizes and ring test are only preliminary tests. There are fakes around that could trick even a master.  The only way is to check the metal itself.  The first thing I did when starting was to seek a way to check my coins at home and not destroying them. And yes a x-ray spectrometry gun of way to expensive (unless you are a very serious stacker)  there are devices that check the resistivity of the sample and will give you peace of mind, specially if buying from eBay.

A lot of the guy will run away from eBay like if we’re the plague.  But I have got some pretty sweet deals there so won’t go into that.   
A good resistivity analyser will be around 1200€ (...yeah I know) again there are some in eBay around 200€ but quite simple and will require some physics knowledge just to check a sample.

 

[GoldOCD]

13 hours ago, Minnesanger said:

"A good resistivity analyser will be around 1200€ (...yeah I know) again there are some in eBay around 200€ but quite simple and will require some physics knowledge just to check a sample."

 

[GoldOCD]

Thank you Minnesanger

I'm glad you brought this up. I have been looking at this... https://buysigmametalytics.com/t/precious-metal-verifier-standalone  They don't look hard to use and you can pick one up for $569.00 USD.  Anyone know if they are reliable?  I would hate to buy this thing if it is junk.  Anyone have one of these that can chime in?

[Ranks1970]

I am also looking at the Sigma tester but the price after you put the custom charge is high but I might just bite the bullet .

Has anybody got one and are they worth the money ?

 

[Minnesanger]

I have the pro version.   This one measure sizes and is a good help with some coins that may have uncertain results. There is a company that distributes the same in Europe so no customs...

[Ranks1970]

Yes I think I have seen that site in Europe but I am sure they add VAT to the total price so just as expensive..was going to ask my family in America to buy it and send but not sure wether I will still pay duty i will have to look in to it a bit more 

[Minnesanger]

Yeah looking to the receipt now...it was 15558,60€. (259,80€ VAT and 34,80€ DPD shipment). The only thing I can say is that it’s worth every penny.

[Airhead]

On 23/12/2019 at 13:47, SilverPirate007 said:

Very wise advice, thank you.

Where would be best to get it tested? A jewellers?

A bullion dealer would be able to determine metal content quite quickly and the one I use in London (Sharps Pixley) does not charge.

[SilverTongue]

If anyone is collecting Aussie Kookaburras with a privy, please make sure you check it over carefully especially the privy mark as the fake ones have a a lower quality stamp. As you can see from the images the privy had no real detail and is quite 'blobby' as opposed to clean and crisp