19 year old girl Silver coins passion Story - Hard fighting through the FAKES... !

Hi

I;m 19 years old and I started collecting silver coins at the beginning of this year.

I never expected that the market is actually based only on "seller reputation"
and most people I talk to, or I buy from, they always say
"there is no way that someone will guarantee that this coin is original or real,
all are empty promises backed by nothing else than just wanting your money"

I bought so far 39 silver coins, half of them from ebay and half of them from numismatic
shops in Europe, which also don't guarantee anything written, but you just get
their promise that "as far as their knowledge, they seem original".

Of course that some of them do not have the weight from the catalogue,
because the numismat shop sellers said: well many coins do not have the weight
from the catalog, but of course they are original because we say so.

I DO NOT KNOW WHO TO TRUST OR WHAT TO BELIEVE ANYMORE.

I feel I was throwing a lot of money on coins that in 10 years from now,
probably I will not be able to resell because maybe they are fake...

Yesterday I bought my newest coin, a 1890 silver dollar.

I was very enthusiastic about it, until I found
out that it is very faked coin usually. And I realized that I have no clue
what are the top methods to surely spot the fakes.

I feel blind... and I need your help guys.

What should I do?

Are there easy ways to test if a coin is really original and made of silver,
without destroying the coin?

Who can help me?

Thank you very much,
I count on your help

Yours
Adeline

 

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You can trust the people on this forum. Take some good quality pictures of both sides of the coin and post them here. We can help you decide whats real and valuable, and whats not. The people on this forum have nothing to gain but knowledge when it comes to helping others. No one is paying us to respond to your posts.

 

This is an excellent place to learn about such things. There are many people here with very vast knowledge. So, first...welcome to CT.

Next, I would start by posting photos of a few of your coins. Let us take a look and see what you have. Maybe start with the 1890 dollar. Try and take nice photos of both the front (obverse) and back (reverse) of the coin. Often times, someone with a knowledgeable eye can pick out a fake.

Also, start reading here. Again, there is a ton of good information here. Just the other day there was a thread about a 1920 half dollar that ended up being fake. Finally, if you have questions...don't be afraid to ask. This place exists for learning and no question is a bad question.

 

Post photos of everything you have that you paid a good amount for, and people here will take a look. But for future reference, NEVER buy any coin that you don't feel 100% is authentic, especially in these times when even the cheap $15 coins are faked.

 

Personally, I don't think you have too much to worry about with your 1890 silver dollar, unless it is a CC (the letters would appear below the wreath on the back of the coin). But photos/scans of that and other coins you're suspicious about would help us to determine whether they're real or not.

Also, don't buy from dealers who can't guarantee their coins. :smile

 

You never know. These days counterfeits of common dates are coming out of China. I wouldn't ignore common date coins anymore when it comes to fakes.

 

I concede your point, especially if the coin is bought from a dealer who won't guarantee the coin's authenticity.

 

Hello Adeline

Welcome to the CoinTalk forum.

When you have a coin question, please post a photo here & several people may be able to help you. I think you understand this from the posts so far.

Regarding US coins, the specifications for weight & diameter are held very tightly at the US mint. One of the best fake detection techniques is to accurately measure the diameter & weight & compare them to the specs. If the coin in question is the slightest bit over or under spec, then you should probably pass on it. Also, don't buy from anyone that doesn't guaranty their coins are genuine. If a coin doesn't have the correct look about it, then pass on it. There are just too many fakes in the market.

 

Adeline,

Most coin stores back their coins, so always keep yoru reciepts. TBH, the best defense is knowledge, so you are starting on the right foot coming here. Please read interesting threads, and feel free to ask questions. The more knowledge you have the better.

 

Welcome to CoinTalk, you have found a wealth of knowledge here. Usually you can get answers here to your questions in just minutes with detailed photo's of the coin in question. I would also suggest looking into any Coin Clubs in your area, going to meetings with other numismatists will probably give you a chance to see many real specimans in hand to examine. Seeing many of the real deal will make it a lot easier spotting fakes. Always buy the book before the coin!!! Meaning learn about what it is you wish to buy, before you buy it for too much.

 

There is no test to determine if a coin is "really original" That comes from experience and seeing a lot of real coins. Fortunately there tends to be a lot of experience here on Cointalk available for free. Other ways to protect yourself are to know the specifications for the coins you are buying (size and weight) If they are significantly off, stay away. As for determining if the coin is really silver, a specific gravity test is probably your best bet. It isn't difficult to do but it is time consuming and not something you can do at the dealers business. You also need to know what the fineness of the coin is supposed to be.

This sounds very suspicious. The Standard Catalog of World coins has the weight, usually the diameter, fineness, and actual gold or silver weight for almost every gold or silver coin back to at least 1800. (Unfortunately they aren't as through on the base metal coins.) If you are buying world coins (And since you mention European dealers I assume you are.) and you don't have a copy you need one. Most likely a used copy or one a couple years old will work for you just fine, just realize you will have to correct for changing bullion values. If you carry a netbook or possibly a tablet you should be able to get a DVD version and copy the file into the netbook or tablet. You can put the 19th, 20th, and 21st century files in and have over two hundred year worth of info in the palm of your hand, and in a much more transportable form than the 4800 pages of the books. Anyway if they are claiming that many coins don't match the weights in the catalog then you don't want to be buying from them. There are few countries that didn't keep close tolerances on the weights of their gold and silver coinage.