Detecting Counterfeit/Fake Gold Coins

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Author	Replies: 4 / Views: 2,333
mdpmedia Pillar of the Community United States 3546 Posts	Posted 08/22/2010 12:51 am Hi, What other economical devices exist for determining the authenticity of gold coins besides measuring the gold coin's surface with a Xray Fluorescence machine by a friend at a lab, using the Fisch scale, using a weight scale and calipers, and/or measuring specific gravity? Thanks Report this Post to the Staff

johnny54321 Rest in Peace United States 4849 Posts	Posted 08/22/2010 12:57 am The best way is to send it in to a TPG such as ANACS, PCGS, or NGC. Many gold coins are counterfeited using real 90% gold, so you will only get so far verifying the actual metal content with specific gravity measurements etc. Also, reading diagnostic books in regards to counterfeit gold will help. Report this Post to the Staff
daviscfad Pillar of the Community United States 4541 Posts	Posted 08/22/2010 01:54 am as johnny said the TPG is the best way to know. A member on the forum just got back a counterfeit that he bought off ebay. Report this Post to the Staff
wd1040 Pillar of the Community United States 3098 Posts	Posted 08/22/2010 4:04 pm haha just joking around, but you can always use your teeth! People used to bite gold coins, but if it left a mark, that meant it was fake. Apparently most fake gold coins back then were made of lead or some lead compound, instead of gold alloy, which is harder (any kind of alloy is harder than the original two metals). So if a bite left deep marks, that meant it was lead. Report this Post to the Staff
Americanamafia Pillar of the Community United States 672 Posts	Posted 08/22/2010 4:07 pm I would weigh it. That would knock off most fakes and measure diameter (if they changed the size to account for metal diffrences) Those two will protect you from most fakes. But if you were buying a coin over spot, by a large margin, I would get it slabbed as others have said. Report this Post to the Staff
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Detecting Fake Gold Coins