Most Popular
1. Banking Crisis is Stocks Bull Market Buying Opportunity - Nadeem_Walayat
2.The Crypto Signal for the Precious Metals Market - P_Radomski_CFA
3. One Possible Outcome to a New World Order - Raymond_Matison
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
5. Apple AAPL Stock Trend and Earnings Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
6.AI, Stocks, and Gold Stocks – Connected After All - P_Radomski_CFA
7.Stock Market CHEAT SHEET - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.US Debt Ceiling Crisis Smoke and Mirrors Circus - Nadeem_Walayat
9.Silver Price May Explode - Avi_Gilburt
10.More US Banks Could Collapse -- A Lot More- EWI
Last 7 days
Stock Market Volatility (VIX) - 25th Mar 24
Stock Market Investor Sentiment - 25th Mar 24
The Federal Reserve Didn't Do Anything But It Had Plenty to Say - 25th Mar 24
Stock Market Breadth - 24th Mar 24
Stock Market Margin Debt Indicator - 24th Mar 24
It’s Easy to Scream Stocks Bubble! - 24th Mar 24
Stocks: What to Make of All This Insider Selling- 24th Mar 24
Money Supply Continues To Fall, Economy Worsens – Investors Don’t Care - 24th Mar 24
Get an Edge in the Crypto Market with Order Flow - 24th Mar 24
US Presidential Election Cycle and Recessions - 18th Mar 24
US Recession Already Happened in 2022! - 18th Mar 24
AI can now remember everything you say - 18th Mar 24
Bitcoin Crypto Mania 2024 - MicroStrategy MSTR Blow off Top! - 14th Mar 24
Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - 11th Mar 24
Gold and the Long-Term Inflation Cycle - 11th Mar 24
Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - 11th Mar 24
Two Reasons The Fed Manipulates Interest Rates - 11th Mar 24
US Dollar Trend 2024 - 9th Mar 2024
The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - 9th Mar 2024
Investors Don’t Believe the Gold Rally, Still Prefer General Stocks - 9th Mar 2024
Paper Gold Vs. Real Gold: It's Important to Know the Difference - 9th Mar 2024
Stocks: What This "Record Extreme" Indicator May Be Signaling - 9th Mar 2024
My 3 Favorite Trade Setups - Elliott Wave Course - 9th Mar 2024
Bitcoin Crypto Bubble Mania! - 4th Mar 2024
US Interest Rates - When WIll the Fed Pivot - 1st Mar 2024
S&P Stock Market Real Earnings Yield - 29th Feb 2024
US Unemployment is a Fake Statistic - 29th Feb 2024
U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - 29th Feb 2024
What a Breakdown in Silver Mining Stocks! What an Opportunity! - 29th Feb 2024
Why AI will Soon become SA - Synthetic Intelligence - The Machine Learning Megatrend - 29th Feb 2024
Keep Calm and Carry on Buying Quantum AI Tech Stocks - 19th Feb 24

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

Silver, Beware of Who You Buy From

Commodities / Gold and Silver 2010 Jul 24, 2010 - 09:10 AM GMT

By: Dr_Jeff_Lewis

Commodities

With silver attracting headlines, cult-like following, and higher prices, silver investors should be on high alert for a scam being perpetrated on the internet.  Newly minted fake coins are finding their way from Chinese counterfeiters to Ebay and then to investors who unknowingly purchase $20 rounds that are in reality only a few dollars worth of metals.   As prices tread higher, these scams will only continue to grow in their influence.  Here's a simple guide to evaluate silver, and whether or not it is indeed real:


Does it Look Right?

Any coin shop owner or worker should be able to tell immediately whether or not your coin stacks up as a real silver coin.  One of the best ways to see if it is in fact silver is to flick it with your fingernail. For larger, 1 ounce coins, the silver coin should set off a high pitched ringing nose.  Now smack your fingernail against another coin, preferably one of nickel-clad.  You'll find the noise is short, not as high-pitched, and about as dull as the metals in it.

What Does it Weigh?

Counterfeiters are in the business of making look-alikes, but not perfect coins.  One of the most fool-proof ways to see if your coin is legitimate is to weigh it.  Coins that are counterfeited will have a weight that varies greatly from standard.  Measure it too, as the coins size may be too thick or too thin to be issued by a mint.

Check the Edging

Many national mint coins have a reeded edge; that is, they have bumps all around the edge of the coin.  Those coins that don't should be inspected more intensely, especially those that are not supposed to have the reeded edge.  Without the reeding, it is far easier to counterfeit a coin.  Look for edges that imply the coin was stamped out of two halves – which is an instant red flag and a popular process among counterfeiters.

Know Your Source

Of the three above tips, none is more important than to know the person from whom you're buying your silver.  Most, if not all, fraudulent silver coins have been sold anonymously over the internet.  Brick and mortar sellers don't have the same leisure of anonymity and aren't interested in losing their business and credibility over scamming a few hundred dollars, whereas fraudsters can open new businesses for a fraction of the benefit of one fraudulent sale. 

You should also be privy to the mint or operation that is making the silver rounds you wish to purchase.  Previously, investors could be sure that small coins and rounds were free of impurities or cheaper metals due to their size; however, as silver explodes in price, so does the opportunities for profit in making fraudulent silver coins. 

As with any financial instrument, you're best to purchase face to face from someone you know and a vendor with an established reputation for quality products.  While most scammers operate online, not all online vendors are shams, and most with their own dot com are in it for the long run, which means a clean operation.

By Dr. Jeff Lewis

    Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, in addition to running a busy medical practice, is the editor of Silver-Coin-Investor.com and Hard-Money-Newsletter-Review.com

    Copyright © 2010 Dr. Jeff Lewis- All Rights Reserved Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.


© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in