How To Distinguish 0.500 And 0.925 Silver?

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Author	Replies: 6 / Views: 2,141
Aragorn78 New Member Bulgaria 27 Posts	Posted 03/08/2022 08:43 am Hello, I saw a silver coin from Portugal 5 euro 2003 which is either KM #749 (0.500 silver) or KM #749a (0.925 silver) - wherever I checked I saw both were 14 grams and 30 mm, there is nothing visible that can help you distinguish them. Is there any simple way to find out which one is it? Here are links for both coins: https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces14635.html https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces17422.html Report this Post to the Staff

hfjacinto Pillar of the Community United States 7273 Posts	Posted 03/08/2022 08:56 am If the coin is proof it's .900 silver. My Slabbed Dansco 7070 with Gold Page My Slabbed IHC Set My Slabbed 20th Century Type Set Report this Post to the Staff
Albert Pillar of the Community United States 1911 Posts	Posted 03/08/2022 2:12 pm The most simple way for me to tell is that .500 silver about 9.665 to 9.68SG and .925 silver is about 10.25 to 10.36SG. This is the reason I spent the big bucks for an analytical balance as one of my Counterfeit Detection tools. Report this Post to the Staff
Aragorn78 New Member Bulgaria 27 Posts	Posted 03/09/2022 03:53 am I think it is not a proof coin, just a regular UNC but both types have UNC (despite 0.925 are in sets only as I saw). Sorry for the stupid question but what is SG? Report this Post to the Staff
Albert Pillar of the Community United States 1911 Posts	Posted 03/09/2022 04:55 am SG is Specific Gravity. When it is determined, it is a good way to tell if a coin is good coin silver or not. It can also determine the difference between ....say...0.400 or 0.500 silver and 0.900 or 0.925 silver. To do so, in my case, it was required to spend some money for good equipment. But Counterfeit Detection is my hobby. And it has other useful purposes. Report this Post to the Staff
sel_69l Bedrock of the Community Australia 21786 Posts	Posted 03/09/2022 06:27 am For .500 fine silver British and British Commonwealth threepences, sixpences shillings florins and halfcrowns in worn condition, they are easy to tell apart from their .925 sterling silver cousins. The .500 fine silver blanks consisted of what the Mints referred to as 'quaternary metal' - a mixture of 500 parts fine silver, 400 parts copper, 50 parts nickel, and 50 parts zinc. After the blanks were cut out, they were blanched in acid, then rinsed clean with water and dried. The blanching with acid was to enrich the silver in the surface of the coins by leaching the copper, and thus obtaining a more silvery appearance as newly minted coins. After extensive circulation to fine or less condition, the poorer alloy underneath shows up in the higher areas of the design which appears greyer than the surrounding less worn parts of the coin. Additionally, the ping tone of the .500 fine silver coins is higher than that of the equivalent .925 fine silver denominations. That is despite the fact that the dimensions and weights are the same for equivalent denominations. No need for specific gravity testing. Edited by sel_69l 03/09/2022 08:44 am Report this Post to the Staff
tdziemia Pillar of the Community United States 7933 Posts	Posted 03/09/2022 9:10 pm If they are the same mass and diameter but different silver content, the thicknesses are likely to be different (unless the relief is different). If the 0.500 coin is 2.5 mm, the 0.925 coin should be 2.3 mm. Report this Post to the Staff
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