1 oz Gold Eagle- FAKE vs REAL

**ALERT** Three fake 1 oz Gold American Eagle coins came into the shop and they were very good counterfeits. We DO NOT handle items like this. This video is made and published so that consumers can educate themselves on real vs fake. These were shipped to us from Massachusetts. Please be careful and buy from trusted dealers.
***AN UPDATE TO THIS VIDEO CAN BE FOUND AT THIS LINK: • FAKE GOLD EAGLE UPDATE...

[@Sparkitus805]

Check for chocolate inside

[@Ap-zh7xe]

This is serious stuff but gotta admit that made me lmao lol

[@proudtobewhiteprivileged9530]

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

[@jimkirkwood4930]

LMOA !!!!!

[@DPhasely]

Hahaha!👍

[@MarkMphonoman]

You made me laugh out loud. 👍

[@fastfingers110]

so what's the point of that expensive gun if it only reads the surface???

[@Cryptoversity]

It doesn't, it reads depth I can assure you. Other brands/models use connectable variation of wands for various size/thicknes bars and coins. He needs to recalibrate or he is not using correctly. My one can detect which metal, and % purity, and if a coin is plated it fails.

[@charlesmoore5954]

Cryptoversity what gun do you use

[@abraham3981]

@@Cryptoversity I doubt it will catch an insert inside an 100 Oz bar.

[@Cryptoversity]

@@abraham3981 I agree but I also think it is silly to own bars unless you saw it smelted.

[@UltimatePowa]

@@Cryptoversity Unless you buy directly from the the mint

[@Schmevel]

This is the scariest video I've ever seen.

[@bullion79]

Watch a video about Peak Oil.

[@everythingsports1267]

Schmevel I know

[@jasonlewis130]

This is a job for the secret service, it is there department after all

[@teller121]

US Govt would like to scare people out of gold. They couldn't care less about this. Besides, all fed resources needed to continue "Russia, Russia, Russia" investigation.

[@StupidTVclips]

Well, you're an idiot!

[@sj1260]

Wow I never thought that the weight and dimensions would be the same as a real one. But I'm glad that I have very good hearing and also use that as my guide.

[@golden2399]

In the first six or so years of production, gold Eagles had the dates in Roman numbers. I would think these years would be the least likely to be counterfeited as it would require even more detail. Just a thought from a nonexpert.

[@charlesclements4350]

Just out of curiosity, find out what the density is with the two types of coins. I am wondering how much the fake is off.

[@parttimepreppers9907]

The face in the fake looked zombie like thanks for sharing!👍

[@CapitaineBleuten]

To me, the texture of the flat background gave away the fake. It’s more “flakey” rather than satin smooth like the real one.

[@Skandalos]

If the dimensions and the weight are correct it can only be tungsten inside.

[@silverstackerkidonyoutube5092]

Why did you buy them? And how much did you buy them for?

[@danndeelion]

That skeleton face was horrendous!! The second you tilted it upwards it looked like one of those pictures where you turn it and it goes from normal face to skeleton. Creeped me out.

[@harrisquicksilver6595]

Once u see the face on the real gold eagle u can tell right away. The fake wasn't sculpted by the same artist. The nose is an instant give away. The real liberty nose is way too unique to forget.

[@Theholyrosary1989]

Thanks for posting this. I definitely stick with known reputable dealers.

[@macforme]

WAIT A MINUTE... THE 2002 coin wasn't completely in focus, at the beginning, when the question was asked!!!!

[@ecklar123]

After all this time, another comment on your fantastic video. When you looked at the coin under a loupe or microscope, did the letters and numbers look dramatically different on the fake when compared to the genuine coin? Good lighting and a little magnification can real shine light onto a opossum.

[@MarketHarmony]

The date is set higher than genuine. However, the font was pretty similar.

[@mironyuk]

Rare earth magnet will stick gently to a fake coin, because of the tungsten inside

[@fredvalencia2205]

Just asking not trying to be a smart ass but you said 3 fakes came into the shop so why do you have them did you buy them or did you take them away from the customer or did the customer give them to you for a youtube video.

[@7356205]

this video is awesome. I got two gold eagles from the sketchiest place possible. according to the video the coins appear genuine. please make more like this! maybe Krugerrands or gold buffalos? thx!

[@jamiek1714]

This is scary. A normal person probably can't tell the difference. Silver doesn't have this problem.

[@waynestewart1054]

Great video

[@mike7gerald]

Why didn't you show the weight of the fake gold eagle on a micro scale?

[@volcanoimagec.a.5881]

Gold is hard to fake. Thete is only one other metal that has the same density of gold which is Tungsten. Tungsten is very hard and has the highest melting temperature of all the metals at 6192 F It would not be cost effective to make any coins one ounce or under out of tungsten. It could be very well that you may have a counterfeit but made of pure gold. Take a knife and cut off a small piece. Pure gold is soft enough to cut with a knife whereas Tungsten is too hard.

[@hugostiglitz4215]

The dead giveaway is the thud and you'll also notice that the stars are more spaced from the outer circumference of the coin, the real coin shows the stars hugging the edge all the way around. I have to ask though, why did your wand say that the fake coin was 99.8% gold?

[@daviddavey1727]

I prefer the Canadian Gold Maples for their anti counterfeiting feature.

[@coincollectingfun]

Thumbs up and subscribed! I've watched this video a few times and at first I couldn't tell, but now I can see how awful the fake looks compared to the genuine coin!

[@RichardsWorld]

I noticed the fakes look like the have many micro-scratches on the surface, they looked to have a fatter border also. Your must have been 24K gold plated, and your machine can only read the surface. That makes the machine much less useful.

[@TheDigitalPillars]

Is the sound the coins make easy to counterfeit?

[@sureshot556]

Another thing I noticed is the branch she is holding. The leaves on The branch the real coin go right up into the stars. The fake coin almost looks like the leaves on the branch are trying not to touch any of the stars. It comes close to one star on the fake coin but the real coin fearlessly has the leaves go right up close around the stars. Does anybody else see that or am I crazy?

[@spacewolfnorte2768]

( YOU ) SHOULD MAKE A VIDEO OF THOSE COINS WITH THE GOLD TEST AND THE SCALE ! ,,,,, and the exact results !

[@mieyg53]

Its been said many times before.....beware of e bay private purchases of gold.Most are better served by purchasing from a well known dealer.

[@tattoobillyband7725]

What are the fakes worth

[@calebdoner]

Are these typically brought in by people trying to pass known fakes or by suckers who got dumped?

[@MarketHarmony]

Typically it is people who have been duped already and then bring these in to liquidate. However, I have had to deal with scammers directly contacting the shop who try to see if they can get one over on me

[@MrPillowStudios]

This is terrifying and scary.

[@desmondpaul1326]

Thanks for the information it was very informative and eye opening but better yet it just shows the corruption of man's heart.

[@BJ-ze8hn]

I don't know if I would've spotted these as fake right away, but if someone said, "which is a fake?", I think I would've caught these. The face of the fake didn't look right. It looked like a cast fake. And the color was too gold. And the sound...

[@mikegentilini5361]

Excellent video. Thanks for sharing!

[@الفاتحلل]

it is good

[@User-z3d]

The publisher of this video doesn't seem to be answering questions posted here but I'll try anyhow. A gold dealer is insisting that by using The Fisch, he assures me the gold american eagles he's selling me are authentic. This video says the fake is about the same weight and size. So then, that would beat The Fisch, right? That's important to know if that instrument can be dupped. So...can it? Can I buy one of these fakes from you and test it myself?

[@Garen1]

So do u call the cops when this happens? What do u do in a situation like this?

[@MarketHarmony]

If fraud is involved, then yes, you call the appropriate authorities. In this instance, the coins were sent to me from a seller in Massachusetts, who had purchased the coins from another person, who had purchased them from the fraudster. Simply reverse the chain of custody as far as you can and then it is on that person to handle the claim with the proper authorities. In this case, it was only 3 transactions deep. If you deal with reputable people, then it makes it much easier to trace the counterfeit to its fraudulent past... The chain of custody has less hurdles as good people will work to resolve the problem through mutual trust. The Secret Service is the proper authority to contact when counterfeit coins are used to defraud. I did not need to involve the Secret Service because the person sending the coins to me did not intentionally try to defraud me. He did not need to involve the Secret Service because the person who sold to him did not intentionally try to defraud him. However, that person WAS intentionally defrauded and therefore contacted the Secret Service to find the fraudster. This supports the advice that you should find a reputable dealer and do business with them because some significant financial risks can be eliminated by only dealing with the right person.

[@Garen1]

Market Harmony Thank u for the detailed explanation!

[@goldenrod8861]

Her face gave it away immediately for me.

[@dundeeecroc]

Fake one looked like Lady Liberty was smiling LOL

[@nikhilgoyal007]

thanks ! very good work, much appreciated.

[@michaelmiller5600]

a great video. Excellent service to the public

[@pmh1nic]

The color gave it away immediately.

[@basketballspinner]

Do you call the police when someone comes in with a counterfeit

[@tallgoofyb]

Roderick Lee should call the Secret Service

[@vabbe71]

May I asked what it weights? Anyways it's a give away immidiately, the matted area which should be blank is obvious fake right away

[@MelloGee33]

I only buy my American Gold Eagles on eBay from vendors over in China.

[@Mister_Hassan]

Thx for the heads up great work

[@winomaster]

Market Harmony (Mike) posted about the face of the counterfeit looking awful. I have read with regard to paper currency that the faces on the bills are part of the counterfit detection system. It turns out that human beings have PHD eyes with regard to faces. We possess brains that are very smart in examining faces. So its very challenging for a counterfeiter to get the faces right. So in looking for fakes, the face is really something you should want to study.

[@dennistoadvine9672]

So how did they get the fake ones. Someone came in and sold it to them? What they scared them off by saying better get out of here before I call the cops, sounds fishy, sounds like they got duped

[@edmondtm]

When you drop it on the table, the one that gives the thud sound is coated tungsten. That explains why the weight is very close to real. Gold should ring when gently dropped on the table. When you rotate and see how the light reflect, the one which is stamped (real) shows a circular reflection. Because the surface is compressed when stamped. Electroplated one shows a dull reflection. (fake) XRF (X-Ray) which uses a 50kV x-ray tube can only penetrate surface 10-15 microns. To fool this gun, you needed a plating more than 15 microns. Not difficult to do.

[@stefanschleps8758]

Your my new hero!! Thank you.

[@rayancash338]

i dont mean to be so offtopic but does anybody know a way to log back into an Instagram account? I somehow lost my account password. I love any tricks you can offer me

[@franklinalonzo3657]

@Rayan Cash instablaster ;)

[@rayancash338]

@Franklin Alonzo I really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and I'm waiting for the hacking stuff now. Seems to take a while so I will reply here later with my results.

[@rayancash338]

@Franklin Alonzo It did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. Im so happy:D Thanks so much, you really help me out !

[@MatthewJerabek]

like to see someone be held accountable for these fakes!

[@jmy7622]

The Chinese used to do DVD's now gold coins ,they always fake something.Customs caught a shipment of coins coming to my area ,I just wish they could get them all ,I'm scared to buy any coin now ,even silver.

[@EverydayLayman]

Silver is still good. Just need to know if they use nickel.

[@2011blueman]

Claus Vlogs, silver coins are actually faked far more than gold coins.

[@Joalse]

alexander44444 they even fake honey

[@teller121]

I wonder if Pandas sold by Apmex in sealed packets are fake?

[@AUniqueHandleName444]

I'm surprised weight didn't come in. It's clearly something gold-coated per the spectrometry. There aren't a lot of materials that can fake gold in terms of density etc. What I found really interesting is how obvious the difference in resonance/sound was. Gold and silver both have a distinctive sound to them. That makes me more confident in that it seems the easiest test works the best.

[@docthebiker]

Because of the ugly face I was doubtful of the one on the left, but the real coin looked to have less definition (until you moved them) also the real coin the buildings windows are undefined and the twig thing looks muddled up into the stars pattern. Also the clarity of the date on the fake looked better first glance. Gives a whole new meaning to "Too good to be true".

[@JohnsonOyeniran]

exactly. I too was deceived into thinking that the one on the left was real because of the details which triumphed the real on for the most part.

[@jfdomega7938]

docthebiker twig thing = olive branch* :)

[@AsG_4_]

The boobs are different too

[@hugostiglitz4215]

If anyone has ever watched the movie The pianist with Adrien Brody, you remember the part in the restaurant where the man asks Adrian to stop playing the piano so he could drop gold coins on a table to get that distinctive sound, a few of them had the thud, a few of them had the ring to them. Caveat emptor, buyer beware.

[@jasonbarker5955]

Thanks for this. I just did a major purchase from a retailer I can trust but wanted to double-check anyway. Now that I know what to look for it seems pretty obvious which is the fake. Fortunately, my coins passed the test. The biggest giveaway for me was the thickness of the raised rim in the fake. I'm guessing that's how they add the extra material to make the weight correct.

[@themanginaman]

Just because she's fake doesn't mean you have to insult her (flat nose, flat forehead).

[@leemcbroom4708]

+themanginaman YES YOU DO. IT'S NOT INSULTING LADY LIBERTY, IT'S INSULTING AHOLE COUNTERFEITS.

[@themanginaman]

Lee McBroom No, he was insulting Lady Liberty directly.

[@benjaminbong9214]

+themanginaman no its the counterfeits that insulted lady liberty

[@kotjmf1968]

+themanginaman Quit your whining!

[@sw2938]

themanginaman flat nose, flat forehead...say that and you’re a racist. Hahahaha

[@SilverBearAgAu]

I thought the FBI got involved with counterfeit government issue gold. What exactly happen, and how did you get them from the person? Btw, thanks for showing

[@limelorax]

The Secret Service deals with counterfeits. That's the sole reason for their existence. They were shipped from Massachusetts

[@jesusyeshuaelelyonelshadai6295]

Fake coin has more gold??... You need to melt it see whats in it

[@MarketHarmony]

Matthew Kuraja The Fisch would most likely be fooled by these fakes. However, I'm not 100% certain of this because I did not use a Fisch to test these. The weight of the fake was exactly the same as a US Mint 1 oz Gold Eagle, and though I did not use calipers to precisely measure the width, the fake and the genuine did have matching diameters when stacked together. Check the molecular density of Tungsten and Gold... you will see that they are nearly identical. Therefore, gold and tungsten would be nearly identical in volume and mass. i.e. there are ways to fool instruments designed to test for these properties (which is what the Fisch offers). Train your eye and ear to the sight and sound of the precious metals.

[@TCDF22]

I have to agree about sound. Even an untrained person can quickly recognize the difference given a few minutes with the real thing vs a chinese fake. I find the silver clink to be more obvious, but the gold ring is also very distinctive.

[@User-z3d]

Another question. I was always told one of the merits of gold as money instead of diamonds is that it's uniform in appearance. Meaning, its luster is the same from coin to coin. But the coins I have vary noticeably. Some look quite dull and some have a bit of a shine. Much like the image above. I bought them from a big (assumingly reputable then) dealer who told me the coins slightly vary in appearance because they were minted in different years. Also, I bought a scale and weighed them. The scale goes to the thousands place and the coins vary at the thousands place. Note, the scale reads the coins' weights consistently but some are consistently different than others. When I google for the weight of a gold eagle, I'm given a very specific weight that goes much further out in fractions. I still don't know anyone else that owns coins so I can't see if these observations I just listed are normal or not. 

[@ainatobias6189]

+Matthew Kuraja Hi

[@my3dviews]

Gold may be 19.3, but that's if it's pure gold. Eagles are not pure gold, but have a composition of 91.67% Au 3% Ag 5.33% Cu.

[@ValleyCrewTV]

Market Harmony probably not a fake, might be a private mint round of some sort, not an original gold eagle, just made to look like one, might be real gold

[@cmsilver552]

Have you ever used the sigma metalytics and if so what do you think of it.

[@pmh1nic]

I have and it's very accurate. It will detect the gold and silver content even through a slab.

[@PinballBob1]

As a kid, I could recognize the sound of a silver quarter from a clad quarter, even several feet away. Not surprised this works for gold.

[@socialismo52]

Didn't realize eagles are 22 karat. Bought my first maple leaf and thought the eagle was counterfeit. The sizes were different and the sound was different. Scared the hell out of myself.

[@wizengy]

Market Harmony, there is a cheap app for android phones called Bullion Test that quickly does a frequency test after pinging the coin on your fingertip. It currently supports Eagles and it would be very interesting if you ran these coins through this app and posted the results.

[@divinejudge1]

Thanks for sharing, it's helps in educating the masses. I recommend your next step is to call the Secret Service since US coins being counterfeited is serious enough for them to investigate.

[@haleiwahi27]

If you want to verify what machine reads fake gold accurately, test the machine on both a known fake and known real sample, both using the machine and acid test. I have found that the Sigma PMV failed miserably in detecting fake gold and more likely than not reads real when the subject coin/bar is in fact fake.

[@jatucker6070]

Wow, thanks for the tips, you can really see the differences when shown side by side and pointed out. Crazy hair on that fake gold lady, but I can see how a non-pro would miss the clues.

[@cowtippingrocks]

if I ever buy any gold coins ill definitely be buying from a reputable dealer. too much money to risk.

[@nuttyberries4694]

Or you can just buy assayed gold bars like Pamp / Suisse.

[@AsG_4_]

@@nuttyberries4694 if they're faking us mint coins they're faking bars more

[@teller121]

I had a blind date that had a face similar to the one of fake. Yep...it WAS scary.

[@aanvals]

Interesting, never considered the alloys in US Mint gold coins as being an anti-counterfeiting feature. I was always told it was to harden the metal a bit.

[@troodon1096]

For both reasons, actually. Pure gold is very soft; mixing in copper into the alloy hardens it, and silver helps it have a brighter luster to make up for the copper dulling it a bit. But it also makes it harder to fake. The fake one in this video is probably tungsten plated with almost pure gold. The fake's surface is thus a lot more yellow than the genuine coin because of that.

[@robertbolton9450]

Tungsten metal

[@MurrayHerts]

The face and hair on the fake one are terrible

[@TheFischWorks]

The Ringer is now available. Used with the Fisch, it offers protection from counterfeit tungsten gold coins like these ones here. Go to the website www.thefisch.com for a demo of the Ringer in action. To find out more on tungsten fake gold coins, read “Warning: Tungsten Counterfeit Gold Coins” in the Latest News. Click on the link from the home page.

[@spacecoastdriver]

I call these coins, 'Dude Looks Like A Lady' Because if you think that's a woman on the American Eagle, you need to do some real homework. That's a gay French dude.

[@bennychen7433]

I am a late viewer. Would you recommend normal people to get a watchmaker loop? I have one because of my interest in watches

[@hugostiglitz4215]

In a world of deceit, why should we trust anything these days? I was looking to buy a few of these coins and I want to thank you for this video. The one thing I've learned from buying and selling silver for over 25 years is the shimmer, white Christmas lights is one of the best ways to find out if you have a real silver coin or a fake one. If you place a silver coin under a white Christmas light, you roll the coin around and you get that cartwheel effect. The cartwheel effect applies to silver bullion as well. Great video, thank you for this because I'm about to buy my first Eagle at a very high cost of $1932

[@nelsonr1467]

What if your silver has a real matte finish that won't work

[@avitasvul]

"find a gold dealer you can trust", tee hee, good one!

[@69goldtop14]

Jewelers of Los Vegas lol

[@rustyshackleford2719]

Another giveaway is that the date is way too easy to read for a Gold Eagle. I often have a lot of trouble making out the year on gold eagles and the 2003 date is way too clear and prominent.

[@stefanschleps8758]

Thank you so much. It is disturbing and very, very sad. That our government has not been motivated enough to have this sort of fraud halted at it's source. You know who the culprits are. It is at minimum three different nation states, with parallel agenda's. Write your respective Congressmen or women. And your Senators as well. (Send snailmail. It is much more dfficult to ignore in D.C.) And do not let up on the pressure until more is done. Good luck. Peace

[@FinalAffliction]

if you can sell it for spot then its as good as real.

[@housephone8646]

Thank u for making this video

[@tomkrause7882]

You didn't mention that between the rays on the fake coins looked rough, as opposed to looking smooth, like the rest of the real coin. I noticed that right off. The rest is good to know, it's hard to tell what's real and what's not, just looking at them. I imagine the guy trying to sell the fake coins was arrested, since you have the coins, and you wouldn't have been dumb enough to pay for them.

[@Mrbenz-dr8zu]

all that glitters is not gold

[@UltimatePowa]

Not all those who wander are lost.

[@philbrown5033]

The real one is 22 carrot and the fake probably has pure gold clad.

[@bitTorrenter]

Or Gold Leaf Spray

[@donmcatee45]

Looks just like the tungsten replicas you can buy online, yes from China. Alibaba.com looks like they sell for around 500.00 each

[@VicGreenBitcoin]

I picked the wrong one, that could have been a expensive lesson for me. Thanks for the video Market Harmony, Vic From The Netherlands

[@wilfriedvomacka1783]

Wow, great video. I really appreciate your effort and knowledge you put into this video. You helped me alot today. I am your new subscriber.

[@LegacyStacker]

Hi Market Harmony! I just subscribed to your channel! Nice! 😎

[@MarketHarmony]

Thank you! I was once monetized but lack of new videos in the last few years has killed that... I hope to make more videos of better production value in the future. Stay tuned!

[@Mself27]

What happened with the XRF? I was going to get one but after seeing this, I’m questioning whether or not I should. Was it plated with a high fineness Au?

[@johnnybowman4653]

Mike Smith if you watch the video he puts the xrf on the real gold coin and then said he’s not sure why it came up 99.8 real gold duh cause you didn’t put it on the fake one

[@troodon1096]

@@johnnybowman4653 The real one wouldn't come up 99.8% real gold; it's an alloy of gold, copper, and silver. The fake one came up almost pure gold because it only read the outermost layer, which is likely nearly pure gold plating on another metal (quite likely tungsten).

[@Chrisinsocal]

These kind of videos are very important! One bad buy can ruin someone’s stack

[@netterstyl]

Things I noticed as a complete neophyte were: 1) The tone and color and finish of the fake, 2) The skeletal face on the fake...and 3) The angle of the eagles' heads on the rear. Of course this is with the benefit of a side-by-side comparison.

[@gooney0]

I would be extra cautious buying a coin you can't compare to a known good. If I was buying an AGE I'd bring one with me to compare side by side. I wouldn't buy an unknown coin from an unknown seller.

[@MarketHarmony]

sound advice, pun intended

[@suryanax7085]

All coins fake, Gold is not available in the world... Gold only available in Heaven!

[@JOHN-6-45-i-dont-belong-here]

Please, do a coin balance and pocket pinger test on the both of those ...

[@greg20067]

Something cheaper then a 1000 dollar x-ray gun a bolt cutter and nitric acid

[@democratictotalitariansoci1462]

lol, facts

[@israelt.3739]

Dear friend ! Can You please show what the scale shows with both coins?

[@nathanryweck3137]

I bought some gold on ebay that was a scam so thankfully someone had complained and ebay blocked the transaction.

[@MarkMphonoman]

At first I couldn’t see the differences. However, the more I watched your video the more I realized there were many signs of counterfeit. Thanks for the tips.

[@jh-lp7cg]

It's been a while since you posted this, but these are US currency so I am hoping you called the secret service.

[@badkid73]

It's not just the color, but the texture and the quality of the pressing. Anyone who has handled gold eagles would pick it up immediately.

[@jeffw1267]

That's a very important statement. You HAVE to be closely familiar with what a real coin looks like. The more experience you have with a real one, the easier it is to spot a fake with just a visual inspection. The stars are too far from the edge on the fake, the font of the date is too bold, and the edge just doesn't have the proper rounding when the coin is viewed from either side. And of course there are all the other differences mentioned in this video. I could spot this fake from ten feet away: not because I'm a genius but because I am so familiar with the coins.

[@SuperSaiyanBrock]

Thanks for this. I have experience with fakes. Now i check everything even gram pieces

[@Presserp]

Not true on melting. You can do a specific gravity test (won't help with tungsten) and a sigma test (electrical conductivity and resistance). Also a ping test would help as it sounds different.