Thoughts On US Gold Coins - Coin Community Forum

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GR58 Bedrock of the Community United States 11951 Posts	Posted 08/13/2013 08:09 am I have been watching for good buys on small gold coins lately. Knowing that there are a lot of fake ones. I have been checking them out as much as possible before purchase. Yesterday I picked up a 1915 2 1/2 gold Indian. It felt and looked right. On the scale it weighed 4.2g (the scale is to the nearest tenth) RedBook shows correct weight at 4.18g So I felt there was no problem with this coin, and bought it. Do the experts have anything they look for ... to check if it may be a fake coin. Also I may have a opportunity to have my gold coins checked with a Infared X-ray machine. If the coins came back 90% gold and 10% copper .. would that mean they are genuine? I guess I am asking.. would counterfeiters use the exact mix of gold ... Any opinions are more than welcome. Edit .... I was just reading my copy of PCGS Guide to grading and counterfeit dectection. Their write on fakes for the Indian series seems to be very informative. But I do think I will try the Infrared X-ray machine .... Just to see what in can tell me. Edited by GR58 08/13/2013 12:05 pm Report this Post to the Staff

solotime Pillar of the Community United States 2311 Posts	Posted 08/13/2013 12:39 pm You could post a picture as well. I hope your coin is real though. Report this Post to the Staff
GR58 Bedrock of the Community United States 11951 Posts	Posted 08/13/2013 8:01 pm I can post a picture of the latest coin .. But that is not really the conversation I was looking for .. I was hoping the experts would share the types of things they look for when buying gold coins Report this Post to the Staff
D0ubl3Eagle Pillar of the Community United States 5854 Posts	Posted 08/13/2013 11:03 pm Even if a gold coin is of the correct composition and the weight within tolerances, it doesn't rule out the possibility of counterfeit though if they are off without a reasonable explanation(e.g. underweight because of a hole or severe wear)then that would rule out the possibility of being genuine. Due to an exception for numismatic gold coins in the executive order in 1933, many pre-1933 gold coins were selling for between 2-3x melt. Many counterfeits came from the middle east during the 1960's and were made to the correct mint specifications. Some things to look for, which likely have been mentioned in the PCGS guide, are weak/mushy details, repeating depressions, and tool marks. On indian $2.5 and $5, check the back of the neck to make sure there are no tool marks. Make sure there are no depressions which look like marks but has a similar luster as the rest of the surface and lacking the sharp edges of a mark that was created by a blow from another coin or object. Report this Post to the Staff
GR58 Bedrock of the Community United States 11951 Posts	Posted 08/15/2013 12:38 pm I help out at a local coin shop, and just picked up their copy of United States Gold Counterfeit Detection guide By Bill Fivaz This seems like a really eye opening book. One customer walked in this morning with a 1882 $3.00 gold I check this book, and it states the year coin is the most faked for all the $3.00 gold coins. It goes on to state that ANACS estimates that 90% of this date coin that come into the are counterfeit. I told this coin should be sent into NGC. At the he said he really did not want to sell, he was just wondering what it was worth. Seeing all theinformation in this book, I can see why a lot of coin shops pay back of melt, when a coin is not slabbed. Another customer called in and is suppose to be bringing in a large collection of $10.00 Liberty coins, it should be a interesting afternoon. Report this Post to the Staff
westcoin Pillar of the Community United States 9792 Posts	Posted 08/15/2013 1:58 pm Bill Fivaz's book is excellent. There is no way to tell a real gold coin from a counterfeit just from composition alone. I have had gold $2.5 liberty's that were the exact same fineness of gold as an original. Many times the fake coin will look even better than the real coin, that was the case in one quarter liberty I had. ANACS (early before slabbing) showed me tooling marks that proved the coin was fake, but overall it looked amazingly close to a real one. I melted it down with a blowtorch, first time I every tried that! "Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013! ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1981, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC) & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS), USMex, Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector. See my want page: http://goccf.com/t/140440 Report this Post to the Staff
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