Hi, total newbie here. I picked up some silver junk coins the other day, and also got this 16 avdp ounce round. Now that I'm looking at it..... don't pure silver products either say "fine" or "Pure" silver? Can they be all silver without actually saying "fine" or "pure"? This one says .999 silver, but a post I saw on Ebay about fakes said there can be copper items plated in .999 silver, ("Many One pound coins are really one pound of copper plated with .999 fine silver.They often have a serial number on the side of the coin. They are marked ONE POUND on the reverse. These coins do weight one pound and will weight in at 454 grams.") ...so I'm wondering what I have here.... I can't find much on this exact item, other than an EBAY listing for one like it from last year. I got it from our local (and only) coin shop. It was sold as all silver, and I don't think the people at the shop would knowingly sell something other than that. Am I just being paranoid after reading that Ebay warning? Any help appreciated. http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-7/269162/16avdp.jpg http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-7/269162/16avdpa.jpg
I have never seen that one.but there has to be a way to test it that won't harm the Bullion coin form. I sure someone here can help.
Welcome to CoinTalk. As you have discovered, it is better to investigate before you buy and never buy something you don't completely understand.
Avdp is an abbreviation for avoirdupois which is a system of weights based on the pound. Chris avoirdupois, avoirdupois weight [ˌævədəˈpɔɪz ˌævwɑːdjuːˈpwɑː] n (Mathematics & Measurements / Units) a system of weights used in many English-speaking countries. It is based on the pound, which contains 16 ounces or 7000 grains. 100 pounds (US) or 112 pounds (Brit) is equal to 1 hundredweight and 20 hundredweights equals 1 ton Abbreviations avdp avoir [from Old French aver de peis goods of weight]
Normally .999 silver would be in troy ounces/pounds whereas plated copper or base metal for instance would be measured in avoirdupois ounces/pounds.
I actually had no reason to think anything other than it is what it is when I bought it. It was sold to me as solid silver, they even figured the value at the current spot pricing based on it's weight.... so I'm assuming it's a solid silver piece. It wasn't until I was wandering around on Ebay that I saw the comment I posted above about some items being copper w/ silver plating....and it got me to thinking. I'm quite sure I could walk back in and trade it towards something I'm 100% sure about...like ASE coins or something, but I thought I'de ask around before going back in and asking them if they actually verified it being all silver.
