Ways to Determine if Gold is Genuine
I don't think I've been had just yet, but I've seen videos of fake PAMPs and Gold eagles being pimped out by China.
Have any of you found cheap methods of determining if your gold is the real deal?
(and silver, for that matter)
I go by my local Pawn shop couple times a yr and buy a small bottle of 10KT gold acid from him. He has tons and keeps 10 , 14 etc. The 10 is good for me because just about any gold will pass it . Silver will normally be marked , Sterling or .925 , .999 and none of it should be magnetic , but most fake gold will not be magnetic because it is gold plated brass. Anything I sell I guarantee genuine , if it is gold I have tested it and if it is silver I have looked at it .Originally Posted by Son_of_Liberty90
Last edited by oyarde; 06-27-2016 at 01:32 PM.
3 Ways To Test Gold Purity
https://www.ukbullion.com/blog/3-ways-test-gold-purity/
If you have a really good scale and can measure the volume displacement of the gold, that might be a good test too.
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I have seen over the years , fake rare silver coins but were silver , fake , rare US gold coins but were gold.Most of the fake stuff out there though is gold plated , fake gold .Hallmarked means little these days in gold , needs tested anyway.
Yea I used to think magnets but since I saw a fake throw off a scanner saying it was 99% gold (due to gold plating) I started taking this more seriously.
Buying from a large, reputable dealer will reduce this risk tremendously.
There are conductivity-based electronic testers. They are what pawn shops seem to generally use. I would not recommend you buy gold from pawn shops, though. If you are an expert like oyarde, OK, but if looking to avoid risk of counterfeit, stick with only the best, established, reputable gold dealers.
So, a "ping" sound drop test, an electronic (conductivity) test, a visual examination, a density test, all these are measures to take to try to determine the authenticity of the gold content. The acid test oyarde mentioned is another possibility. If really serious, the X-Ray fluorescence test in dannno's link would likely provide the best non-destructive/invasive (no melting or boring) test of the coin. You could perhaps ask around at a local university to see if they'd let you use one.
https://www.thefisch.com/?content=home
There are phone apps too for the ring test.
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Only thing you need to do to get your gold tested is drop it off at my place. I will have the Mrs write you a receipt .
Wait, are you now a phone app, oyarde?
I used to own a junk shop and someone came in with a gold looking bracelet they wanted to sell. I told them I would give them $10 for it turned out it is 24 K and weights 1.75 oz. I think I got a really good deal.
Danke is special , he does not need a phone ap , he has my services .Wait, are you now a phone app, oyarde?
My husband owns a junk shop and we sadly steer clear of gold. I bought an acid kit, but I don't trust myself. Youtube makes it look simple but reality isn't so simple.
So a lot of the silver coins I have are failing the ping test, which is not assuring.
Keep in mind, I have 240 grain liberty lobby jacksons, a few coins from Northwest territorial, and APMEX.
Also different sizes too. I have 1/2 ozs, and the 2016 Canadian 1.5 oz silver.
I might have to hammer a nail inside each one to see if I have the real article.
That is not possible -- we all need phone apps. Many, many phone apps. I heard that it is not possible for humans to live without phone apps. Is that not true?
The ones from Northwest Territorial Mint and APMEX I would dare say are almost certainly genuine, without even seeing them, just as a rule. Perhaps it's a problem with the surface you're dropping them on, or some other testing problem. Have someone experienced in precious metals have a look at them and coach you a bit. The friendly local jewelry store is always a good bet! I'll bet if you bring in your coins and show the jeweler, you will walk out feeling a lot happier, confident your coins are true silver.
Plating is relatively easy to discover, if you know what it is you are looking at. It is difficult to do so good a job that one cannot tell it is plated. I can usually tell plated silver v. the real deal at a glance. There is a different quality to the surface that is difficult to describe, but very easy to see once you catch on to it.
Gold testing kits are good for exposing plate, but serious gold fraud - at least the way I would do it - would pass. The stooge's way of this brand of fraud is to coin the fake and then plate it. If the plating is done REALLY well, it may fool the eye, but will not likely defeat the needles. My way would be less profitable, but far and away more difficult to detect. You start with an undersize slug - tungsten would be best - and you electroFORM fine gold to, say, 0.030 - 0.050 inch. THEN you strike the coin. The slate will rub off only perhaps 0.001", if that, and the needles will say "gold". You, as the counterfeiter, make less profit per piece, but are far and away less likely ever to be discovered. By the time a coin has rubbed into the underlying faux metal, the trail to you has gone long cold. The only real risk faced at that point is that where someone shears a coin into halves and tests the internal region.
I agree with the idea of buying from large and reputable dealers. You pay more, but that little extra is the insurance that you have not been taken for a potentially very costly ride.
The electronic testers have been around for at least 30 years, but I have never used one and do not know how reliable they are.
Until recently, I would not have given silver a second thought regarding this issue. As its dollar-value climbs, which it likely IMO, the incentive to counterfeit will cross that threshold. Use of lead alloy to mimic the density of silver would be a likely route of counterfeiting.
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I have no phone Ap and live well.
Don't worry, there is an app for not having apps. Just download it and then you can have lots of apps for all the apps you've been missing. But you should hurry -- got to make up for lost apps!
I have a phone but I rarely use it . It irritates me if someone calls it unless they are giving me money. I am driving down the road in my F150 on a nice , sunny spring day while the Redbuds and Dogwoods are blooming enjoying a cigar and some John Lee Hooker , the phone in my pocket rings , ruins everything.
Maybe you need an app to make you like apps. Sounds like you are using apps far too seldom.
Ha! Thumbs-up.It irritates me if someone calls it unless they are giving me money.
I can solve this problem. I know exactly what to do. You can get an App to send you Text Twitsograms whenever someone posts an Alert about a new Pic or Meme of a redbud on to FaceyPin. Doesn't that sound great?I am driving down the road in my F150 on a nice , sunny spring day while the Redbuds and Dogwoods are blooming enjoying a cigar and some John Lee Hooker , the phone in my pocket rings , ruins everything.
Then you could just spend all your time Liking and Upvoting the Posts attached to those Alerts! No need to actually drive or actually see anything, ever. The wonders of Technology!
Last edited by helmuth_hubener; 06-28-2016 at 01:06 PM.
So I will be taking these to a local jeweler soon for inspection, but is it true that these rounds will decrease in value significantly if I made a small puncture with a precision tool like a reamer, to see if there is plating?
Yes, that would definitely decrease their market price significantly. I would hold off on doing that.
Sell it.
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