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 Replies: 17 / Views: 2,556 |
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New Member
Canada
11 Posts |
I want to get a digital scale to help identify counterfeit coins and keep them out of my collection. Does anyone have any recommendations?
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Valued Member
United States
194 Posts |
Here is a digital scale that you can carry in your pocket, I don't have any experience with this scale but I do have a digital calipers from the same company and the same manufacturer of the item and it is accurate and very nice. They are very cheap price wise also, only $12.99!  http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ct...number=93543 Jser Edited by Jser
05/11/2008 3:53 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1703 Posts |
The digital reloading scales used in ammunition reloading work exellent for coins also. The US SCALE MAGNUM DIGITAL sells for around $50.00 at Cabelas and other places and is a great compact scale.  |
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Moderator
 United States
6563 Posts |
Quote:
to help identify counterfeit coins and keep them out of my collection Sometimes they can be worth something. Feel free to always post pics if you are not sure. We have several members that are experts in that field |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
860 Posts |
The main specification needed for your purpose is the resolution, how small a difference it will measure. To detect counterfeit coins, since a Morgan is about 27 grams, a 50 gram maximum scale such as jewlers use ( 250 carats)should be sufficient, but should have a resolution of .01 grams, or even better .001 grams if you are doing serious work. If a balance has a .01 gram resolution ( sometimes labeled as d=.01, it should tell tell the difference between 26.73 and 26.74,26.72). Also it is important to have a reference wt included such as a 25 g weight to calibrate, as they do go out of balance. The instruction manual should tell you how to calibrate. Do not lose that manual or weight  Jim |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
2049 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
860 Posts |
Coinhunter, It should do well at that purpose as the copper is 3.1 and the zinc is 2.5, well within its resolution, but that is a large percentage difference, close to 20%. If the difference in the true coin vs the counterfeit for the same grade was .06 grams, then that scale might round it to either side. Like I said, it depends what a person needs with it. Your balance is perfect for the purpose you use it for. I use the harbor freight micrometer all of the time.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3234 Posts |
I agree that a good scale should be accurate to 0.01 grams. I don't own one yet, but I keep my eyes open for one that won't cost a fortune.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
860 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
619 Posts |
So would the 50 gram max handle all American coins? Double eagle runs about 33 right? ASE's about 31. That huge silver Panda thing would max it out I guess. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3234 Posts |
Thanks, Jim. I'll try to keep this in mind when I start hankering for a scale again. At the moment, there's nothing I need to weigh, but I think that first one would work out pretty well.
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New Member
 Canada
11 Posts |
I am reluctant to buy something like this on ebay, since I have no way of telling the quality of the product before buying it. I have seen many cheap digital scales out there which were designed to look good, and nothing more. You do get what you pay for most of the time, unfortunately, so I guess I'll be looking at the ones which come from established companies and with warranties. Thanks for the feedback. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
1231 Posts |
Here is a site that gives an independent review of many digital scales. It really goes into detail about some of the companies and their practices. There is even a fraud alert section about scales http://digitalscale.com/brands.htmEdited by onejinx
05/12/2008 7:02 pm
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Valued Member
United States
204 Posts |
I bought my 80g digital scale from Oldwillknots and it has worked out very well. I went with the higher weight limit because some of my coins weigh more than 1.5 ounces (one ounce silver is roughly 31 grams). I also recommend you get a variety of empty containers (flips, plastic containers, etc.) as the Tare feature allows you to measure weight without removing a coin from it's container, assuming you have an identical empty container.
I highly recommend everyone to get a digital scale - they're lots of fun. I also recently bought a digital caliper as well - also lots of fun (and cheap)!
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Valued Member
United States
96 Posts |
I used to sell small digital pocket (US Balance) scales on ebay...they are really cheap now...too cheap to pay ebay fees (and too competitive), I have maybe 60 left out of a case of 100, they are 100 gram maximum and .1 gram incremental accuracy. They work PERFECTLY! and use 2 AAA batteries that are included. I use mine to detect Morgan (26.7 grams) counterfeits. If anyone is interested in them let me know I can get them to you for my original cost @10.00 each Thanks Eddie Image:  us100.jpg15.6 KB Edited by fasteddie
05/18/2008 07:41 am
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Pillar of the Community
United States
619 Posts |
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Replies: 17 / Views: 2,556 |
Posted 05/11/2008 3:08 pm
us100.jpg
