Testing 'Sterling Silver' Nothing Happens.

does your kit have acid for testing 18K gold? If you "streak" silver on a touchstone and drop 18K acid in it it will fizz a blue color.

How is your silver test supposed to work? some of the ones I've seen only turn green if it's bad but do nothing if it's silver.

An acid test on any silver proof coin will permanently stain it, and reduce it's value to bullion level only.

Cupronickel and silver proofs of the same denomination and design are easily seen apart. Silver has a much whiter appearance.

@silverhawk...watch out for cobalt too when checking white gold. Usually marked 18K and it will hold under the acid.

Just weigh the coins and compare them with a known weight for that issue in silver. Also, if the weight is accurate you might want to use calipers to check and make sure the coin is the proper thickness. Using an acid on the coin would mark it and destroy numismatic premium.

"silverhawk....Do they use any of the electronic testers at your new job?"

Only for diamonds. Rub the stone clean if it does not test positive, then it should there after....

I saw on Hardcore Pawn where Less Gold actually forked out 16 grand for a gold purity testing machine, and it got rid of there rock an acid, ad all his girls love it. He borrowed it to start to see if they likd it an if it was worth the money, and it saved him a couple hundred on an item they would have bought that was fake, and he was in like flynn after that, lol....

Less will spend 16 grand, if it saves him 16,025 dollars within a certain period, lol....

OK, but is 18K acid? That's not its chemical name.

"There are also trade-named metals used by jewelry manufacturers, like Precium (Ag/Pd alloy), Opulux (over 16% pure gold with a mixuture of alloys), Valerium (non-precious metal consisting of jeweler's alloys), Lustrium® - A non-precious metal alloy that is silver in color), Yellow Lustrium® (yellow in color because of coating with 23 karat yellow gold), Solaris Elite™ (yellow 6K metal alloy), Silver Elite® (77% silver, 3% platinum, and 20% other metal alloy), ad nauseum."

Now there is 30 to 40 years worth of learning an info in one paragraph, very nice info. I butcher most of it, as it is all to new to me, and I try an cram a lot of info in a short time, and I mess up on the key important DETAILS. But, I will get it all figured out, I just need to go through the motions a bit more on buying G an S. We have had some business an good items added since I started. But, being early Jan before most have gotten tax returns, not many have much extra cash right now to spend....

That is why it is tough to buy in the dead of winter when prices fall, as you have Christmas an holidays first, then bills an less income in many cases. So again this is all just factored into the system IMO, from so called economic experts who have enough influence to get the people in position that has the power to push the buttons they need pushed....

I don't consider that a dark "conspiracy theory", but they do have an agenda, and I think their agenda is simply what they think is best for the country.....

My last point there, someone or ones control those lines, and again historically you can see many patterns that are similar. Now, there are many exceptions to that, as this new year ahead is a new finger print so to speak, and really no way to say what exactly the future will bring....

And that is why we call it speculating instead of investing as MK would say....

Maybe for 16k you could get a good tester. There are cheap ones that run on a battery and you put a paste on the ring, and they're a big PITA.