Slab weight details?

Wanted to know if there is a standard weight for a PCGS slab. I'd like to weigh the coin in the slab to help determine authenticity.

Is this a good test?

PG

 

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uhhhhhhhhh...........

The slab is supposed to guarantee that the coni is genuine.

Interesting thought tho.

 

Yes, that's right, but there are fakes out there. Wanted to know if I could use this as a way to help authenticate.

PG

 

I would say, just take an authentic PCGS slab with an MS morgan dollar in it, weigh it and subtract the weight of the morgan dollar. This would work best with any kind of certified bullion because the coin weight is precise. Tell me the results if you try this.

 

The weight of the slab is going to vary with the size of the coin. The bigger the coin is the bigger the whole is that they cut in the insert.

 

Yes, in theory it sounds like it would work but b/c the slabs are made of plastic I would think that the weight would fluctuate a bit and I wouldn't use that approach as an absolute.

Bottom line is, if you really think the coin may be fake then ask a coin dealer. If you don't get a good answer then I don't know what to say, that's unusual!!

 

Are the slabs of standard sizes ? I mean, like 2x2 cardboards.

 

But, the slabs differ in sizes from company to company.

 

I was asking the question more as a way to "learn how to fish". ATM I don't have an issue with any of my slabs.

PG

 

Yes, but what he is really asking about standard sizes is do all PCGS slabs for cents weiht the same,do all PCGS slabs for dimes weigh the same, do all PCGS slabs for nickels. . . and so on. That way if you have a given coin and you know whatthe weight of the slab should be for that denomination should be, could you weigh the slabbed coin and subtract the weight of the slab to determine the weight of the coin and use that fro an authentication test. The answer is no.

What everyone likes to forget are tolerance ranges. Well I'm sure the weight of the slabs have tolerance ranges as well and I would bet they are not as precise as the ranges for the coins. (And the ranges for some coins a fairly loose)

If you are weighing a coin in a slab that has a .1 gram tolerance say a copper Lincoln cent, and the slab has a 10 gram weight with a .5 gram tolerance, then a genuine weight could range anywhere from 12.5 grams to 13.7 grams. A variation of 1.2 grams or almost half the weight of the coin you are weighing. Say you have a fake cent that only weighs 2.5 grams way below tolerance for the cent, but it is in a heavy slab. 2.5 gram coin plus 10.5 gram slab gives a weight of 13 grams. Well within the range for a genuine slab and coin weight.

 

Yes, this is the answer I was after. Fortunately I'm dealing with coins heavier than one cent. That being said, the weight variance is an issue and makes for a test that isn't 100%, however it might be good enough to validate a large enough coin is in fact silver or gold.

Weight seems to be the one place the counterfeiters slack off when it comes to more common, less expensive coins. The one post I saw about fake gold coins, the coins weighed in at about 1/2 their true weight.

PG

 

:rolling: It's look you don't even trust the GRADING COMPANY on your slabbed coin. Well, you can email them and ask the weight of their plastic holder when it is empty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9MMcHnmqFU

 

But if PCGS weighed and recorded the weight when it was slabbed, that would make it harder to counterfeit, I would think.

 

Oh, so now we're gonna have to assay the slabs?

 

While not all pcgs/ngc coins have pictures I would first look the coin up on the tpg website. With the picture it is usually easy to confirm the coin. Match bag marks or toning.

 

Most DON'T have pictures. I wish they did - even a low quality iphone photo could prevent a lot of counterfeiting.