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How To Title: How to Test Gold & Silver at Home: 5 Proven Bullion Testing Methods Just about all bullion investors worry about counterfeits. Those concerns are magnified when someone is buying for the first time. Stories about fake coins from Asia and gold bars drilled and filled with Tungsten have been in the headlines recently. But the truth is, counterfeiting is just about as old as the concept of money itself. Before diving into all the ways that fakes can be detected, the first and best protection is to work with a reputable and knowledgeable dealer such as Money Metals Exchange. Recently voted "Best in the USA," Money Metals has high quality control and internal screening standards, plus it stands behind the metals that it sells to customers. Fortunately, making phony coins or bars isn’t easy. The equipment involved is significant – it takes far more than a color printer and the right paper. And making fakes good enough to pass a few simple tests is darn near impossible. Some testing equipment, such as mass spectrometers and sonogram machines, are expensive and impractical for the typical person to use. However, there are some lower budget ways you can determine whether or not the bullion you hold is genuine. Here are 5 proven methods for testing your gold and silver: Test 1: Size and Weight Gold and silver are extraordinarily dense metals – much denser than just about any base metal (even lead and mercury in the case of gold). That means just about all fakes that weigh correctly will be too large in diameter and/or thickness. Or they will be underweight in order to achieve the right diameter and thickness. Simply comparing the diameter and thickness of the coin in question with others known to be genuine could be enough to put you at ease. If not, an inexpensive set of calipers and a jeweler's scale are a good way of checking. Every coin or round is produced with close tolerances in terms of diameter, thickness, and weight. You can find these dimensions on the “Specifications” tab on our coin and round product pages. Using a Fisch Tester to Reveal Counterfeit Gold Coins Investors might also consider Fisch Testers. Genuine coins will be both small enough in diameter and thin enough to fit through a slot in the tool, while remaining heavy enough to tip the tool on its fulcrum. Simple and very effective. Test 2: Sound or “Ping” Testing Authentic gold and silver coins chime when struck and the difference is notable versus base metals. (For more about the melodic Ring of Truth you hear in Sound Money, read Guy Christopher’s essay "Sound Money and the Ring of Truth") Base metal coins will sound duller and their ring will be shorter -- much like the difference between clinking crystal versus glass champagne flutes. Try balancing the coin on your fingertip and strike it with another coin. This video provides a good demonstration: Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 2.
#2. To: srp1598 (#0)
Cool. I'd like to try those methods. Could you send me some gold and silver and I'll get back to you with the results.
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