View Full Version : For those of you that invest in gold/silver coins...
With inflation, big gubment, a runaway fed, etc... buying some silver coins (namely quarters) is looking like a decent option. I looked on eBay and saw some of the pre-64 quarters were going for ~$6. Not too bad.
Here's my question: how do you know if they're real? May seem simple, but if people can create fake Aimpoints, a stamped piece of metal has got to be 10x easier. And, being as low in price that they are (for now), it doesn't seem like something that'd be that high of risk.
So, is there some specific way to tell if your gold or silver coins you buy are real after receiving them?
Post 64 quarters get a copper/bronze discoloration on the edges. Real silver won't do that.
Post 64 quarters get a copper/bronze discoloration on the edges. Real silver won't do that.
I'm more concerned with the counterfeit aspect of it. Is there a danger of it, specifically with the pre-64 quarters?
FromMyColdDeadHand
03-17-11, 16:34
Silver quarters are 6.25g
New quarters are 5.67
I would have thought that the silvers were lighter, they definitely 'ring' differently- kind of like they are aluminum or something. I worked in a hardware store in the 80s and a cashier called me over and said she thought someone had given her some counterfeit quarters. Someone had given her 8 pre-64 quarters. I 'bought' them for $2. Like that old SNL skit about the bank, we make money on making change ;)
Check this out. http://www.komonews.com/news/local/115789384.html#129854115131275&if_height=261
Buy from someplace reputable. Wanna stay off the radar. Take $20.00 to the laundromat, search through it, reroll them and take them to the bank.
ForTehNguyen
03-17-11, 17:13
With inflation, big gubment, a runaway fed, etc... buying some silver coins (namely quarters) is looking like a decent option. I looked on eBay and saw some of the pre-64 quarters were going for ~$6. Not too bad.
Here's my question: how do you know if they're real? May seem simple, but if people can create fake Aimpoints, a stamped piece of metal has got to be 10x easier. And, being as low in price that they are (for now), it doesn't seem like something that'd be that high of risk.
So, is there some specific way to tell if your gold or silver coins you buy are real after receiving them?
the ring test
silver makes a distinct sound when its hit with another object or other coins. If you handle some real coins and hear the noise they make, thats a pretty dead giveaway. The larger coins and bars are the ones you have to check if they are fake or not, i doubt its viable to try to fake quarters. Silver has a brighter sound to it vs the thud clad coins make
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBGbsr3AGnU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl9xWtphiK8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYmj-e621Ss&feature=related
dont bother trying to find pre 65s in circulation, youre rarely going to find any, they have been picked clean for decades
dont bother trying to find pre 65s in circulation, youre rarely going to find any, they have been picked clean for decades
I spent 4 hours sorting through change one day just to see how many old quarters I could find. I found one in a giant pile of change. I decided to take it all to the bank.
the ring test
silver makes a distinct sound when its hit with another object or other coins. If you handle some real coins and hear the noise they make, thats a pretty dead giveaway. The larger coins and bars are the ones you have to check if they are fake or not, i doubt its viable to try to fake quarters. Silver has a brighter sound to it vs the thud clad coins make
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBGbsr3AGnU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl9xWtphiK8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYmj-e621Ss&feature=related
dont bother trying to find pre 65s in circulation, youre rarely going to find any, they have been picked clean for decades
Yeah but it's the cheapest way IF you have the time. I got a silver Roosevelt dime back in regular change last month.
ForTehNguyen
03-17-11, 19:28
if you want some easy money, go trade in for any year nickel, nickels are worth near 7 cents in melt. Talk about a low risk investment, it can never be worth less than what you paid for it (not like your paying for it, just exchanging). The day will come when they have to devalue the metal in this, once that happens, people keep them like pre 1982 pennies and pre 1965 coins. Pre 1982 pennies are easy to find in circulation about 10-15%. If you want to get serious into this tho a sorting machine can help. Lot more work but works good if you have the machine
www.coinflation.com
I save the pre 82 pennies whenever I find them.
--
with regards the OP question
don't buy on eBay. Buy from a reputable source. I used bulliondirect.com when I got a few things several years ago. Lots of other places that do this for a living with whom you have some recourse.
Or buy in person so you can check them out.
bulliondirect has the pre 65 coins. They call them 90% coins.
It is illegal to melt coins down for the metal content. No smelter would touch them.
www.apmex.com is gtg, fully insured, signature confirmation required though.
So, is there some specific way to tell if your gold or silver coins you buy are real after receiving them?
Look for someone with an XRF analyzer (http://www.niton.com) who will test them for you. You get positive results and it's non-destructive. I can help you find someone if you like. I do it for a living.
ForTehNguyen
03-18-11, 23:41
It is illegal to melt coins down for the metal content. No smelter would touch them.
its worth more when they are in coin form because they are of known identification, metal content, and weight. If you melt everything down into a big bar how can someone trust that
Yep. But there are many that consistently bring this up. I guess it's just proof there are plenty of idiots out there.
Find a reputable local coin dealer and buy. Sorting through rolls of quarters and dimes? The chances of ever finding a 90% silver pre-65 coin still in circulation is pretty slim.
Yep. But there are many that consistently bring this up. I guess it's just proof there are plenty of idiots out there.
According to most legal experts I've talked to, it's actually only illegal to melt down current-circulation pennies and nickels. The misconception comes from the "defacing currency" laws. Those laws only apply to those who are defacing money with the intent of counterfeiting it. This is the same reason why penny-crusher machines at amusement parks and carved/painted coins are still around.
A law was (relatively) recently passed to specifically bar pennies and nickels from being melted down because they're still in wide-enough circulation and cheap enough to cash out (1 dollar = 100 pre-82 pennies) that doing so would create a national shortage of pennies and nickels. Silver quarters et all are fair game; melting them wouldn't cause any issues whatsoever with quarters in circulation. That said, it wouldn't make sense to melt down a silver quarter for the reasons outlined above, but it's not illegal.
Why not just buy round blanks from a bullion dealer?
ForTehNguyen
03-20-11, 08:56
pre 1965 US silver coins can be had at spot or sometimes below, and they are highly recognizeable, bullion depending on the mint, not so much. These will have a slight premium also.
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