| Author |
Replies: 68 / Views: 9,313 |
|
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
6514 Posts |
@Bret. Would this scanner pick up on a tungsten core surrounded by gold? I think that was the OPs biggest fear.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1913 Posts |
Absolutely. Scanners tell you the exact metal content of the entire object. I first saw one used at a coin show when I was selling a couple of 1oz gold bars. We agreed on a sale at spot, the buyer got out his scan gun and he scanned both bars. I've since seen them used by the bullion buyers/sellers on several occasions.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2023 Posts |
I believe this is false -- scanners only analyze the surface. Plating of sufficient quality and thickness would fool any scanner.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4901 Posts |
From SD Bullion: Quote: The Precious Metal Testing Scanner has many advantages: Can be used with any metal.
Reads the metal bulk—not coatings and plating.
Can read through packaging.
Very fast—1 second results.
No wet chemistry, no consumables, no scraping or filing.
Inexpensive to buy and use.
Detects and prevents precious metal fraud.
Can assist in determining numismatic authenticity.
Easy to use, easy to program for additional sample types.
Portable—long battery life.
Durable—no maintenance required. https://sdbullion.com/gold-and-silv...a-metalytics
Edited by Foxwoods Man 05/16/2018 3:02 pm
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2023 Posts |
Okay, this is a different type of scanner than XRF, which is what I was thinking of. XRF comes up often in these threads -- this one is new to me. Thanks for posting that!
|
|
Pillar of the Community
Canada
586 Posts |
Still think sending to PCGS is cheaper. Whats this device cost, 10 grand...
|
|
Moderator
 United States
189203 Posts |
Quote: Still think sending to PCGS is cheaper. I agree. Quote: Whats this device cost, 10 grand... Twice that.  Of course, if you are a big buyer or dealer it is probably the better investment since you need confirmation more immediately.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
4901 Posts |
Click on the link provided..$750
|
|
Moderator
 United States
189203 Posts |
I did not see your link earlier. I thought we were referencing the one in Bret's video.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1913 Posts |
Guys, this is simple. You can get free scanning if you have a hot wife or girlfriend. Take her to the coin show with you. Look around and find a bullion dealer with a scanner and then get her to ask him to scan the coin(s) to verify that they're real. 9/10 times, they'll do it for free. Of course, your wife or girlfriend might find some jewelry that she wants, so that might ruin your cost. On second thought, perhaps it's better to just ask if they'll scan it for you and pay a few bucks if necessary. Or, as previously stated, send it off to an authentication service. Don't forget that you'll need to pay shipping insurance both ways.
|
|
Forum Dad
 United States
24170 Posts |
Quote: Absolutely. Scanners tell you the exact metal content of the entire object. I first saw one used at a coin show when I was selling a couple of 1oz gold bars. We agreed on a sale at spot, the buyer got out his scan gun and he scanned both bars. I've since seen them used by the bullion buyers/sellers on several occasions. I used to think the same thing. Not true. Had it proven to me at the last FUN show CCF set up at. Guy had a Chinese tungsten core plated gold gar that was cut in half. Plated about 20 microns. Read as gold all day long on the plating with a 17K hand held XRF scanner.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
6514 Posts |
That makes more sense to me. The scientist in me was trying to figure out how a scanner could possibly scan the entire mass of an object.
Check out my counterstamped Lincoln Cent collection: http://goccf.com/t/303507
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
1913 Posts |
bobby, not questioning what you saw. It just doesn't make sense to me how they could sell a scanner to anyone if it only scanned the surface. I don't see people investing thousands upon thousands of dollars in them for what would basically be no return on investment.
A scanner can scan the entire mass of an object just the same as it can scan a few microns in to the same object. Think about how a CAT scan machine works. It can tell you density all the way through an object to create a 3D image. The frequency of the rays that reflect back to the scanner let it know which metals have been detected.
|
|
Forum Dad
 United States
24170 Posts |
Well, The guy that showed me was selling them. His name was Mark Fashian. He told me portables go 8-12 microns at best and that depends on the metal because some metals resist/deflect the rays more than others.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
2023 Posts |
Here's a manufacturer of XRF scanners: https://www.olympus-ims.com/en/webi...r-regulaton/Quote: Question: You mentioned XRF is surface technique? What is the depth of measurement? Can you analyse metal under the paint or anodized layer (aluminum alloy)? For light plastics or light organic materials, penetration is on the order of mm or cm. For heavier plastics (like PVC), or plastics with metallic additives (like Ti, Zn), or aluminum alloys, penetration is on the order of a few mm. For heavier metal alloys (Ti, Fe, etc) penetration is on the order of 100s of um, and for the heaviest metals (gold, lead, etc) penetration is a few 10s of um. The "X" in "XRF" stands for X-ray, and like most forms of light it cannot penetrate metal very far. (Think: why bones in X-rays are white -- the film is not exposed to the rays that did not penetrate the bone.)
|
| |
Replies: 68 / Views: 9,313 |