1972 Bahamas Proof Silver Coin Weights

The calibration of the scale is not in question. It has weighed all my other coins correctly. Here is the scale showing the weight of an American Silver Eagle, for example.





For what it's worth, my guess is that I just happened to receive a batch of underweight coins for whatever reason. Usually counterfeit bullion is really easy to spot. For instance, if you look up pictures of fake ASE's, they inevitably get some details obviously wrong. I'm not sure why anyone would take the time and effort to produce counterfeits of obscure bullion coins and match all the details perfectly, when they can't even do a halfway passable job on one of the world's most recognized bullion coins. But it's always good to be vigilant with stuff like this, which is why I weigh all my silver coins.

They are Franklin mint productions. Not so sure about their coins, but in the 1980s they made a lot of chintzy collectables like plates, vases, metal gee gaws and like the junque made by Bradford Exchange now. Many were not as described and lower quality than expected. By 1992 they were forced out of the NZ market due to a sea of complaints.

My guess, is they are 100% real, but the Franklin mint scrimped on costs and probably deliberately made the coins 5% smaller to save on silver bullion costs.

Back in the 1970s they issued a lot of these sets for newly independent and 3rd world countries, who had no policing of them - like wallpaper stamps, they got some money and a few sets for the right and the rest was sold marked up as heck to collectors with FM keeping the profits. Most of these countries, they did not make standard coins, just these collector sets. Also back in the 1960s and 1970s, most people did not have digital scales weighing that accurately more like the bowl type ones, so only now people are picking up this scam.

Back in the 1970s - especially before the silver bubble of 1979 - 1980, silver was relatively cheap and minting silver proof sets was not that expensive and FM made these classy looking coins with polished surfaces and people ran out and bought them, thinking they were valuable when in fact your set is quite good as it has more silver than most. Take my PNG set it has one sterling silver coin, one 50% silver and the others are all base metal.

Your Bahamas set may have used around $15 of silver in 1970s prices, but cost the original buyer probably $40 or more. The cases are usually toned and stained like the fabric and the rest is just some silly certificates of authenticity on cheap good paper and the like. FM made a killing from this stuff and now most of it sells near or below melt.

Sorry to depress you, but your coins are legit and proof that FM was scamming buyers and the countries that issued these sets.