Silver Safety! How NOT to be Fooled by Fake Silver

[@jeepjason94]

Well, that’s another 15 minutes of education for me that took you hours to put together. Thank you!

[@SilverHeist]

These videos do take time to prepare! 👌👌

[@Arvelli]

i’m going to like, but like why am i watching this lol, i know NOTHING about coins, it was just on my recommended 😂

[@xAuger]

Maybe it's a signal to get into this kind of stuff

[@silentbliss7666]

Same thing happen to me 1 year ago. I'm a full fledged silver stacker now! No regrets :)

[@1badgt4]

Metals are REAL money.

[@troylevi9654]

Ya these shows suck because now I have thousands of ounces. I have always liked the 10 ounce bars I get coins are nice and all but at the end of the day I get more ounces from bars for way less then coins

[@jareda3106]

@@troylevi9654 What's your address?🤣🤣🤣

[@TheSimba86]

Local dealer bought three 1000 ounce silver bars once, they tested fine when he bought them, later found out the centers of all 3 was lead

[@MenGrowingTOWin]

Specific Gravity is a good test.

[@demolitiondan1188]

Yes, that’s probably the most accurate test you can do without using an analyzer.

[@67stingray1]

Very informative. The ping test works just like distinguishing a steel crankshaft from a cast crankshaft. I have the ear.

[@clatsopcoin8666]

Clatsop Coin also uses a Sigma, additionally every piece also goes across my scale for weight. Would love to visit Tim's store but I'm at the mouth of the Columbia River at the Pacific Ocean where we get really cool sunSETs. I've not seen a sunRISE on the water in about 15 years. Gosh maybe a cross country road trip is due.

[@davegadge1]

The best video I have ever seen on how to tell if a coin is silver or not!

[@Bloodyack]

I notice Tim has the original Sigma-- the new models have some pretty helpful improvements. The Sigma Pro and the new Pro Mini can check the size and thickness. I ordered my mini from Sigma (budget about 1.7k, me boyos) and paired it with an old phone (a tablet works too, but use something with a screen protector since that's what you'll use to check sizes.) The wand attachments are heartily worth it, especially if you're checking silver with deep recesses like stackers or tiny things like grams in assay. Also read the manual because there's a few things you need to know, like how temperature can throw off the conductivity reading. Don't forget to calibrate!

[@shawnspreciousbullyon]

Those side by side comparisons of real vs fake coins where the spots of each coin was pointed out was super helpful. The magnet trick is always the best place to start when you don't have a Sigma like machine. Thanks for this video Yankee. I feel this video will save so many new and seasoned stackers from getting had with fake coins. Be well buddy.

[@jordantaylor789]

I bought some ATB 5 oz silver coins from someone on offer up. I was cautious about them so I weight and visually inspected them to my knowledge. I just did the ping test after watching this video and they all have such a beautiful ping and resonate for 10 or 15 seconds

[@frankrizzo1934]

I think I may venture over to this gentleman's store this Memorial Day weekend. I've always wanted a reason to visit New Hampshire.

[@ludwigvonsowell5347]

Free state project has entered the chat

[@iracknads]

Oz is the abbreviation for ounce.

[@Irunwithscissors63]

@@iracknads lol. Sheer brilliance

[@TheRealSiberD]

Great video! Been using scales, rare earth magnets, and calipers since 2008.

[@bigrich6750]

Just started stacking. This was very helpful. Thanks!

[@GR19611]

You can get very lightweight flat ,half round , Neo magnets from old HARD DRIVES .These are fantastic for testing coins with minimum damage.

[@practicaloccultist231]

@@timothypanfilomaruchan8267 I've seen your comments thx for helping to clean up the comments. I try to report them all but there's so many

[@JasonParker_114]

Oh my goodness.......I’m salivating over that 10 ounce Apocalypse bar on Tims counter!!

[@mikeq5807]

Wow, I was just on the phone with this shop today. Nice guy. In Maine, will be in.

[@Silverholic]

Gotta be careful with the slide test. Copper has the same properties.

[@tedpark6814]

Copper is also a very good conductor, although it's not as good as silver, it's pretty close. That's why it exhibits this property.

[@Silverholic]

@@tedpark6814 Yes, there is an additional layer of electrons in Silver, making it a slightly better conductor. But the difference on the slide is almost impossible to notice.

[@rajekamar8473]

@@Silverholic Known coins of different materials could be used on a slide ramp to calibrate that system. Good ones and fakes. You would need to time them with light gates on top/bottom. You could do this with something like an Arduino/pc etc to log the times and give a time output.

[@Tinstared]

Most of the newer fakes are copper with a silver coating. The magnet doesn't stick and will slide almost exactly like the silver.

[@bushtuckaman]

What's the best way to check one of those then please?

[@Tinstared]

@@bushtuckaman What I am saying is the magnet test is pretty much obsolete. Buy a digital caliper (under $10 at harbor freight) measure thickness, diameter. Look at the coin under a loupe, weigh it, ping test it, acid test. And if you know someone with a sigma ask them to check it.

[@bushtuckaman]

@@Tinstared Great info, thanks for the reply!

[@Skraeling1000]

I work in a pawn shop, and once had a customer with several silver Mexican coins from two different years, about the size of a silver dollar. So I gave them a quick check, they felt right, weight was right, acid test was ok. I was about to buy them when I decided to do the magnet test. Oops. They were magnetic. On closer inspection, all the coins from the same respective year were exactly the same - down to the dings and scratches! So if someone offers you several coins of the same mintage, check to see if the damage matches on them, that's a bit of a give-away!

[@sdfv4zx]

You should know better than that, the first thing u should do is the magnet test, that would have save u a lot of work.

[@07blackdog]

Nice to see that Provident bar on the counter. I've been buying from them for years. No negative issues with them.

[@wonderboy2402]

One of the first things I noticed on the fake ASE you show is the sunbeam on the left does not pass the the letter L. Good to know about the flip method too!

[@erichhonecker8548]

The Sigma Original now has the small and large extensions for testing anything unwrapped. Same machine as in the video but with wands for even more accurate testing. I will get one and bring it with me when I shop at the gold shops and know on the spot that what I'm getting is the real deal.

[@andrewfong4216]

It might be a little better to compare the fake proof ASE against a real proof ASE, not an UNC one. There might be some difference in the mirror finish on the background. As a chemist I got to play around with an XRF analyzer once. It was good, but XRF can be fooled if an item is plated thickly by genuine metal. The soft x-rays used in XRF only penetrate so far. I like the rare earth magnet test. I use a magnet which isn't quite so massive. The test also works through thin plastic such as through a coin flip, so I can usually tell without removing a coin from a flip or a 2x2 holder. That also protects the surface of a numismatic coin.

[@salm8990]

At 9:02 that sound IS the reason I started collecting silver.

[@lindakubo6969]

Thank you for this video! Very helpful for a beginner like me.

[@tonyfisher4113]

Thank you for another great video. I love listening to you and Tim.

[@Hasher411]

I like the specific gravity test. It takes more effort but I trust the results.

[@SilverTreasures]

The seldom pieces that “may need” further testing are far and few in between thus justifying the effort it requires. If someone is sooo paranoid that they’re testing every piece then they need to find a different dealer lol. Specific gravity saved my a$$ one time, after I had bought the iconic .99999 fine gold maple 1 oz coin. I didn’t even suspect it was fake, but I was testing a palladium panda (which was 100% real) and thought since I have everything set up I’ll test the maple and a couple other pieces. At first I thought user error so I reset everything. Test was identical to the first. I began freaking out and grabbed my Buffalo (which I know is authentic) just to make sure. And sure enough the Buffalo came back as pure gold. Tested the maple again and got the same bad result ... I took it to my bullion dealer to get the xrf results and it came back as 16k gold. VERY STRANGE... but it made sense given the consistent results of its specific gravity.

[@Lin-pr8sh]

the ice cube test is quite amazing on silver...both bars and coins. I would add that to the other quick tests. Silvers high thermal conductivity makes it look like the ice cube is on a frying pan, and you can feel the cold on the other side of the silver very quickly. Would love to see it tested on a fake tho.

[@faustman1000]

That Sigma machine is awesome. P. S. This guy would be an awesome edition to Sesame Street

[@dont.ripfuller6587]

Cool! I knew about dia magnetism with copper , didn't know silver was also.

[@IceManOregon]

I fell for this con too as I ordered 5 coins from a Facebook add, this before I understood there were counterfeit coins out there so brazenly. My questions is why isn't this a crime to counterfeit US monies and ship them to me from a place in California? I reported this address and business to Better Business Bureau of Cal and have confirmation of my report.

[@matthewlorentzen8013]

It is illegal if they are supposed to be U.S. Coins that are supposedly minted by the U.S. Mint. If that is what you are speaking of you need to report this crime to the United States Secret Service right away. They do not just protect the President, they really do go after counterfeiters.

[@IceManOregon]

@@matthewlorentzen8013 I did I reported them to the Better Business Bureau in California

[@matthewlorentzen8013]

@@IceManOregon - Better Business Bureau is not in any way related to the U.S. Secret Service. U.S. Secret Service is a federal law enforcement agency tasked with investigating counterfeiters. You need to report this crime to the U.S. Secret Service.

[@IceManOregon]

@@matthewlorentzen8013 I contacted them by email but I never heard back from the Secret Service

[@shibbidydoowop]

NCIC goes after the counterfeiters too

[@davidprather360]

On the Silver eagles I noticed that the sun rays on the fake don't go all the way through the L in Liberty. Very good video.

[@eidtnaci]

I get my silver from trusted sites and a local coin shop that’s been in business over 30 years

[@mikemikecohen]

Good reminder video about fakes. Last year I bought 25 1 oz silver coins from an online dealer. When they came in I measure diameter and weight and found about six to be outside the acceptable weight variation. Obviously returned the whole batch and told the issuer why they were being returned. Never heard from them not even an offer to send a new batch.

[@robp9696]

Thanks Yankee for this information.

[@robertbaker1707]

I’ve done a lot of research on fakes and do have a couple to make sure my Sigma is working correctly. The magnet does spot most of them. I have one eagle that was done masterfully but the sigma called it out.

[@BackyardSpecialEK9]

I wish I could go to that lcs and buy some silver. Owner looks legit and honest

[@brianpdaniels]

He's a good, fair guy

[@TheQuickSilver101]

Thanks for covering this, Yankee. There's a lot of new folks in the silver space and it's good to cover this stuff for them. 👍🏻

[@rejekt2]

Fun story, I bought a 5 Mark German coin from 1897 for close to nothing 1 or 2 years ago and found it recently in my drawer. This re-ignited my interest in old coins, and I ordered some online, digging a bit deeper I found out that you can actually buy silver coins purely for their silver content, so I ordered some coins from Andorra with 92.5% silver content. I informed myself and noticed that those are not the right coins for this purpose, so I ordered a few of the right kind (Kangaroo, Maple and Britannia)...of course now I needed to know if those are fakes or not, this video helped me a lot, for now all coins have passed the test...except that 5 Mark coin I started with, it was a fake :D

[@Mark-bh8mb]

@9:00 Maximum volume to put a smile on your soul

[@bullionaddict9164]

Yankee is absolutely SpegTaculars today 🙄 Good show man ✌

[@speckledjim_]

It's very difficult for the -chinese- counterfeiters to get both the weight and dimensions correct. A simple quick test catches a lot of them

[@peterfritz6030]

Great video! Weight, dimension and ping are all you need. Be carefull with the magnetic slide. In fact, you are measuring the permeability of the metal, which isn't an easy task and errors can be made easily!

[@tomtharos4440]

Looks, feel, Pocket Pinger, magnet slide, scale, calipers.

[@joechandler8398]

Yankee, you can quickly wave the magnet near the surface, without touching, of the real silver. The coin will move. It’s just doing the reverse of your contact slide without actually making contact.

[@robinw.darnell4269]

I use the Sigma wands for anything above one oz troy. They work better on the bars.

[@mlzb1535]

Thanks Yankee for this amazing video

[@jamesdangerharvey]

copper also repels magnets as well does aluminum

[@davidgatzke8337]

I bought a sigma from a LCS going out of business It has been great But i like the new sigma PRO better Help your LCS to buy the new sigma PRO and trade him for his old one It about $2000 for the PRO and about $1100 for new ones Happy stacking

[@realfubar6238]

Great vid, just got myself a sigma. Always great seeing Tim on the channel.

[@SILVERSTREAK925]

Great info Yankee. Thanks for sharing.

[@citizengkar7824]

At over NZ$1600, I won't be buying a Sigma, anytime soon. Great tips, on other ways; especially, the DIY ping test. Thx. Query; is there any site that has a database on minted bullion coin specs?

[@shrikeofterven6006]

Would a dealer test for you? I was thinking of getting a sigma and offering to test for other people for a tiny fee.

[@karl1111]

The Royal Canadian Mint had a problem with counterfeit bars that were in counterfeit packaging A couple of years ago! Beware of every purchase!😱👍

[@johnruck]

ALWAYS GREAT CONTENT > TIM IS THR BEST

[@dscott3421]

Yankee, I noticed in both the picture and on your fake eagle, the "1 OZ" on the real and the "1 OZ" on the fake.

[@goldcicvibefel9966]

Found an old 1940s walker half that was obviously cast but contained 90% silver. 🐥

[@HighTotally420]

0:52 bottom left and top right look fake but we will see if I’m right edit i was right the bottom left looked dull and not well made and the top right looks clearly cast instead of struck

[@ProsperInHealth]

Thanks for taking the time to make this video. I have a Peace dollar that was weighing heavy by . 3 grams, after seeing your coins come in heavy, I felt better. I did the Android ping test and it is supposedly genuine. What are some explanations why a peace dollar would be heavy?

[@LordPhan]

They err on the side of slightly over rather than under.

[@frikandelspeciaal1431]

Cool video Yankee. The magnet i want to have to easy pocket tool.

[@XFizzlepop-Berrytwist]

Ping test seems to be one of the better ways for coins/rounds. It just requires good hearing, which I think is sad, because of course not everyone has that good hearing, for high pitched things, especially as we age. I dont really like bars personally, I think they are easier to fake.

[@robinw.darnell4269]

Thanks Yankee! I have six silver Morgan dollars that fail the Sigma Analytics but pas the Ping, Weight and Measure, the Magnet, I have no slide. I am at a loss but I think I got these from a jewler just don't remember. Its about $180 loss but not sure how to protect myself in the future.

[@SilverTreasures]

Specific gravity is my “go to” test. It’s free and the most reliable test out there.

[@YankeeStacking]

It’s a fantastic way to test too! I should have mentioned it.

[@SilverTreasures]

@@YankeeStacking The seldom pieces that “may need” further testing are far and few in between thus justifying the extra effort it requires. If someone is sooo paranoid that they’re testing every piece then they need to find a different dealer lol. Specific gravity saved my a$$ one time, after I had bought the iconic .99999 fine gold “super leaf” maple 1 oz coin. I didn’t even suspect it was fake, but I was testing a palladium panda (which was 100% real) and thought since I have everything set up I’ll test the maple and a couple other pieces. At first I thought user error so I reset everything. Test was identical to the first. I began freaking out and grabbed my Buffalo (which I know is authentic) just to make sure. And sure enough the Buffalo came back as pure gold. Tested the maple again and got the same bad result ... I took it to my bullion dealer to get the xrf results and it came back as 16k gold. VERY STRANGE... but it made sense given the consistent results of its specific gravity.

[@johnnyargo8509]

Great video

[@rvalens2]

I check my Morgan silver dollar coins by measuring their thickness and diameter, pinging them, using a silver slider, comparing them side by side with a known real one, and looking at the small details on them with an eye loupe. Fake coins are often poorly struck and can have malformed lettering with multiple internal flaws. It's also not unusual to find the front-to-back images on the coin out of alignment. When you flip a U.S. coin, head over heels, the top center of the tail side should be exactly where the top center of the head was before you flipped it. I have found counterfeit coins where the tail side was upside down from where it should have been or was tilted to one side. U.S. government coins are minted to exacting standards and though mint errors happen, an alignment error is a red flag that you need to check your coin carefully. Hilariously, I recently found a 1907-O Morgan silver dollar that I could tell was a fake just by the date. How did I know that? Because the last Morgan silver dollars were minted in New Orleans in 1904.

[@rayofsun7680]

Great and helpful video! Do you have a link to the particular magnet you were talking about? Thanks!

[@rd9102]

I need to get a sigma, i don't have a ton of it yet but as i dollar cost average and buy more over time it is going to matter.

[@hankgamer3965]

>he fell for the DCA meme

[@kyfeam]

S.D. Bullion is where i buy my metals..

[@danieltwaddle8465]

Specific gravity as a second opinion never hurts.

[@dvdm4709]

Ahh I see you figured it out old man haha. Tricked us with this a couple days ago👴👴

[@dvdm4709]

Sorry forgot to add some ♿♿ haha keep up the good vids dude

[@dvdm4709]

@@timothypanfilomaruchan8267 it's gone now shhhh shhh it's ok, take daddy's hand ✋

[@melloncolliemedb]

the ping test is my favourite tune 🎵❤

[@rogerlittreal642]

Thanks for sharing!!!!

[@steakershocks]

rare earth magnet and milk spots are my way of testing

[@tonyli8368]

Found the maple leaf stacker

[@cooldaddyfunk]

Man Yankee, I wish you had given him the fake peace dollar and asked him if it was real just by his assessment. It's kind of scary they sell distressed fakes, unless you didn't buy it that way

[@allancolegrove2874]

I use a homemade mag slide, scale and magnets. The ping test I'm not so good at. I should get the phone app I guess!

[@brwilliams8899]

A lot of fakes are silver plated copper and don’t weigh out

[@stevebono9058]

It is not cost effective, near abouts as I can tell, to counterfiet constitutional dimes. I stick to them and have no worries.. am I incorrect in my thinking?

[@malekmalek9064]

Keep some of these fakes if you get a homejacked,you can hand these over

[@SmithsnMoz]

Love VIDEOS with my ABSOLUTE favorite LCS DEALER ... Even though he's nowhere near me!! 😊 😃

[@YankeeStacking]

Thanks. Yeah, everyone needs a Tim!

[@tylermassage6220]

Damn close to me!!! I just cannot get there till 10 min after he closes most days

[@Mendelssohn33]

Same here, we need a British Tim 🇬🇧

[@MaxDangerPower]

I think due to copper content, the silver eagles will ping a lot better than maple leaves. So, what are you thoughts on the Fisch testing kits?

[@donavonrobbins1908]

The ping quality comes from the high power stamp the mints use. It forges the coin which alters the grain of the metal, while fakes are cast or otherwise shaped out right.

[@oldsilverlion]

There is a ping tester app for iOS. It’s called “Precious Coin Tester”.

[@Indytelevision]

I heard if it’s coated that it will pass

[@oldsilverlion]

@@Indytelevision a coating is unlikely to affect the resonance of precious metals. Different densities will give off different frequencies and the sound of solid gold and silver are unique.

[@Nesmaniac]

For the price of the machine you could buy a lot of silver from reputable dealers like Tim and pay quite a bit more for it even and still come out better. Dealers who really have a lot of people bringing them silver definitely need the machine though. Yankee probably needs one too but he's the exception when it comes to stacking.

[@fog8969]

Requesting info for purchase of good, dependable Neodymium Magnets. Thanks.

[@HeritageStacking]

Not sure how I missed this video but watched it now :)

[@shotgunjim1itemsofinterest868]

What is proper etiquette while in a towing shop to check points for being real

[@martinettenes1789]

Thank you ...

[@HighTotally420]

0:52 bottom left and top right look fake but we will see if I’m right

[@jaycrneckiy5699]

Do I only have to enter the MONSTER BOX CONTEST once this year or can I enter every time I see/hear about the contest??????

[@Saint696Anger]

What about copper and plated silver?

[@woodman1701]

Can you do a show on testing silver and gold for the apocalypse?

[@uncareid5557]

I was thinking about buying the $2000. tester. I bought a Buff instead. If my finances keep growing there might be one in my future. Then I could test stuff available locally. As for now I only buy from SDB, CMI, Apmex and JMB.

[@getx1265]

I have my one fake ASE stuck to my fridge door... almost worth what I paid for it to have that nice looking thing where I can see it regularly.

[@michaelnelson2970]

I only buy from my local coin shop.

[@ThePatriotPirate]

Good info thanks

[@tonyfisher4113]

You often referr JD bouillon. Do they test everything they sell?

[@jefster4745]

i got a deal on some '29 peace dollars from china

[@lancemillward1912]

Without a 5,000 machine how can i test the purity of my silver. Differentiate between 800 and 925 silver

[@rajekamar8473]

I think the magnet is producing eddy currents in the electrically conductive non-ferrous coin that produces a counter force on the magnet that slows it down. The coin has to be moving to achieve this. This is because the magnetic flux is 'cutting' through the conductor as it moves to generate the eddy current. The resistivity of each conductor will determine the magnitude of the eddy currents and therefore the counter force.

[@rajekamar8473]

I suspect the Sigma does the same with an alternating field that repeatedly grows and shrinks through the material. As you set up the range, 999 or 9999 you are telling what conductive (reluctive?) properties the silver should have for the applied dynamic field. But I might be wrong on this.

[@rajekamar8473]

It is the sum of the gravity force and the (negative) eddy current counter force that determines the 'speed' of slide.

[@calebtimbs5046]

The peace dollar was hard to tell until I saw that it was the key date

[@SilverGoldStackAttack]

There's a ping app for the iPhone as well. CoinTester. Works GREAT!

[@YankeeStacking]

Are you sure it’s not only for an android phone? I’ve looked for the app on the iPhone for a while now

[@SilverGoldStackAttack]

@@YankeeStacking - Positive! I have it on my iPhone XR. From your phone, Google "Precious Coin Tester" without the quotations. It should come up for you!

[@SilverHeist]

Did you test the Wall Street Silver to the moon bar? Even though a great online dealer and mint ... There has been some sigma analyzer questions as to the purity of that bar.

[@AY-vi2ld]

I saw a post on Reddit. Spegtacular had the WSS bar in question come back as 99.97% silver

[@SilverHeist]

@@AY-vi2ld I had not seen an update in a couple of days. Thanks!

[@timscoviac]

I seen a video on silver jokers channel and his shop dealer tested the bars too, he says that it’s the embossing on the bar that throws the machine off, it even says in the manual that it can happen with embossing. But they are good

[@Bloodyack]

​@@timscoviac Oh yeah, embossing can definitely throw it off, that's when you use the wand attachment. I got three of these bars so when I read this I went back to have another look at them. According to my mini, the thickness is between 6.77mm and 7.62mm as my thickest reading, which isn't really super high relief compared to some things. It checked out within the brackets no matter where I read it without using the wand on all three bars, I have to wonder if this is one of the weaknesses the original sigma unit had which were corrected in later models. Sure hope so, because poor quality control can really damage a refiner's reputation (for good reason!)

[@jimlewis7452]

@@Bloodyack Sigma and SilverTowne Mint are working together to figure out why Sigma has problems with embossing. Sigma is re-writing their software code now to address this issue.