How to tell if a coin is silver?

Discussion in 'World Coins' started by charlienorth, Jan 23, 2010.

  1. kangayou

    kangayou Junior Member


    I was thinking that a circulated coin that is over 100 years old should have more signs of wear on the field. More dings and scratches , but there are not many. I think the low price made me a little suspicious also. For some reason all the pictures I take with my web cam automatically come out with a yellowish tint & the coin in question actually looks more like a clad coin than the other silver coins I have to compare it to.
     
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  3. GDJMSP

    GDJMSP Numismatist Moderator

    It is quite common to find coins of this age and this type in similar condition, nor are they expensive.

    I cannot say for sure that the coin is genuine, but as I said before, I can see nothing that would make me think it is not.
     
  4. monetarium

    monetarium Member

    A coin dealer friend that has been in this business for ages, taught me a not-so scientific method to determine if a coin is made of silver; if you clink two real silver coins together (lightly of course) you'll get a distinctive, sharp tinkling; if on the other hand one of them is not silver (i.e. nickel, copper), you'll get a dull, "flat" tinkling. -Therefore you have to be sure that one of them is silver!- I've used it a couple of times (with other more scientific methods like using a scale) and it has been quite accurate.
    I hope this helps.
    Regards,
    Monetarium
     
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