Gold Maple Leafs do NOT ring anything like a Krugerrand

At this point I have a few Maple Leafs, enough to test and compare different ones to see if any one (or !gulp! more) stand out when compared using a simple sonic ring or "ping" test. I will post later when I have the time to listen to the different Maples I have to see if they are all as "dead" as the 2011 I have here now.

I buy all my coins via a local dealer who has been in business for decades. I don't worry about the authenticity of the coins I buy from them. But that's not to say I deem it inconceivable that I could ever end up with a fake. After all, when there's a will there's a way, and from what I have been reading about tungsten filled bars in NYC and Chinese fake gold openly sold for "decoration" and "conversation pieces", it's obvious that counterfeiters are working harder than ever.

That being said, I closely examine under 10-16X magnification everything I buy, weigh each coin on my own Durascale (great little scale!) and try to glean other distinguishing characteristics about gold coins that would alert me to a fake if indeed I came across one. Would I be able to tell? Unless it was a really good fake - probably. Close observation is important and it's also part of the allure of precious metals. I try not to underestimate my ability to notice miniscule details.

But it definitely is slightly alarming that this 2011 Maple Leaf I have here hardly rings at all. A 1983 Krugerrand held on the tip of my finger and struck with another coin will ring so loud, long, and high it almost hurts my ears. The most noticeable harmonics of the Krugerrand are probably around 13-14K. Very high. (I'm going to test this for certain on a frequency spectrum analyzer, and I'll let you know for sure. I have a great microphone, a top-of-the line D/A converter and a professional digital recording setup.)

But the Maple Leaf has to be balanced on something with much less surface contact area than my finger (I'm using a Kensington Surface Guardian Swab, the thicker end) to have even a prayer of sounding at all. It makes a nondescript little "cling" that dies almost as soon as it starts. I have read about the difference between gold and gold+alloy when it comes to ring testing, so I also tried striking the Maple with objects that are softer than other coins, like a plastic pen.

This topic of "ping" testing and the dull Maple leaf comes up here and there on the internet, but there's not too much about it that I have found. This post is here to assuage your fears - No, 1 oz. gold Maples do not ring anything like a gold Krug. I will follow this up in a few days with some freq. spectrum screen caps of various gold 1 oz. coins and will let you know if my other Maples ring with the same dull quality.

I'm not saying that anything I post is going to be a foolproof test for counterfeit coins. This is as much for me as it is for you. From what I have been able to gather about testing coins, acid and X-Rays are really your best bets. What I'm saying is, if you own 6 gold Maple Leafs bought over the course of 6 years, from reputable dealer(s), with different dates, etc, and they all sound and plot pretty much the same on a freq. spectrum analyzer, then chances are that sound and signature is what you can expect from Maples and that sound and signature is not suspect.

 

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Maples are pure gold. Kruggerands are not. They are not equal size. WHY WOULD YOU ASSUME THEY WOULD MAKE THE SAME SOUND.

 

"From what I have been able to gather about testing coins, acid and X-Rays are really your best bets."

The ANA offers counterfeit detecting classes, and in fact I believe I saw that for the show in Atlanta in February they're offering a counterfeit detection class that only deals with gold coins.

But that aside, often just examining the coin visually and throwing it on a scale is enough. In general, counterfeits are cast and not struck and possess entirely different surface characteristics that can be identified fairly quickly if one knows what they're looking for.

 

No one else is amused that he is analyzing the frequency his coins ring at but overlooks composition and size?

 

Kind of like that OP who started the thread comparing the ring of a Silver Maple Leaf to that of an ASE. *shrugs shoulders*

 

Yeah that was tragic.

 

Umm... I'd assume that a SA Kugerrand *would* sound different than a Canada Gold Maple. I realize this thread is probably trolling of some sort, but there would be a definite reason for a 22k gold coin (Kugerrand) to have a different resonance than a 24k gold coin (Gold Maple).

 

Yeah alright whatever. Of course I weigh the coins, I have a scale. A really accurate caliper is something I don't have... yet. But you can always use another coin for a diameter and thickness comparison in a pinch. Anyway I can't upload audio files to this forum so the visual will have to do.

I just thought it would be interesting, to analyze the pings and frequencies. And it's just freaky to me that solid gold Maples are so dead in tone when other coins that are ALMOST entirely gold ring like chimes.

 

have you ever seen the cymbals in a drum set? or chimes? they are all just slightly different sizes, thicknesses...yet...this is where MUSIC IS MADE POSSIBLE....it is those very same differences that allow different pitches. you are still arguing a point, the "ring test", as a valid testing method. its not - swallow. it.

 

I really feel we're being trolled, but I don't care...

Now, why would someone who has equipment to test frequency spectrum not be able to calculate something as simple as density using water displacement?

 

You people are kind of strange. I'm feeling a lot of sarcasm and nastiness here. My only intention was to put something on the web to confirm the dead tone character of a Maple for someone else who may notice and think, "Weird, is this normal?" That's it. I am a musician and when I noticed the difference between how some gold coins sound and others don't, I thought it was strange. I did not post these audio file pics as any kind of benchmark for testing the authenticity of a coin! I wanted to post them for a reference so people who are unaware of these differences can hear them, but visual will have to do. That's it. You know, NO ONE has an inexpensive, reliable way of confirming the authenticity of a gold coin. Except with a drill bit. If you do a sonic test, it's my understanding there is no one device to test for each kind of counterfeit metal.

Don't start going on about cymbals, I know musical instruments. Yes, cymbals are made of different blends of metals, different shapes and thicknesses - but 95% of them have a similar sound - they sound SOMETHING like a cymbal. What prompted this whole thing for me was that a Maple sounds like a piece of meat when struck (exagg.) and I wondered how it could be SO different than a coin made of the same thing, mostly. I don't know metallurgy, obviously. I still think it's a valid observation.

 

Rough crowd today. Jeez.

I can see where the OP is coming from and I understand his curiosity. What's with all the assumptions and accusations that he disregards every other possible test in favor of an acoustic test? Makes me suspect who's trolling whom.

I think it's reasonable to be curious. I suspect the OP understands that different metal compositions and sizes will result in different harmonics, but it's also reasonable to expect some similarities, as there is with .90 silver coins and .999 silver coins. Both emit a "ping" sound when struck. The .90 coin will not be as loud as the .999, but it's not "dead". I'd say it's somewhere around 50% that of a .999 coin.

 

Ba, dump, bump, pssssh!

Well said.

 

Everyone is commenting on the size, thickness, and metal purity ( all of which have an effect ( with purity difference being the lesser ) , but consider the design on the coin. They are not perfectly flat, the design acts as dampers and changes the harmonics of the tone. The maple leaf reverse device goes much closer to the rim and may act as braces to kill vibrations, and the Queens portrait on the obverse appears larger than the Kug's. It doesn't take much height above the fields to affect vibrations. Now if IDENTICAL coins with same wear or none, vibrate significantly different you may have a problem.

 

I've noticed some .999 silver coins sound different than other .999 silver coins as well.

 

Yeah, yeah! Take your lumps, eat your crow and accept that you goofed. The "GULP" gave you away. We've all done it.

 

NECROPOSTS..... How appropriate with Halloween approaching!

 

I could see some very valuable information coming from a study of the acoustic properties of gold and silver coins. The OP has a point. Does design change the property of the acoustic signature or is it purely composition?

 

And it's not even close to Halloween this time

 

See why I get so annoyed by necro'd threads? Not only do people raise them from the dead, their comments prove they didn't even bother reading the thread before responding.