..and who says flea markets/yard sales suck for coins?

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Sigh... yes I am aware there are counterfeits GDJ. I would hope everyone knows that.

Medoraman I was saying the same thing about multiple tests, never said anything contrary. One of the first tests we do is by sight and examination, then usually weigh a item. If both these pass the test and I get the right feeling from a seller then that is all I would need, or possibly do a standard scratch test as well and no I would not need to gouge a huge hole in the coin, nor would I.

However I must disagree with you about a seller letting you scratch test a bullion coin. They way I have always done it is we agree upon a price that is contingent upon the coin being legitimate. 99% of people will agree if they believe or know their merchandise to be real. Its really only a crook who would not agree to said terms because he knows the item will not pass the tests.

 

I guess I missed the part about you doing other non-destructive tests first.

I would suggest looking at the thread started a week or so ago about fake bullion, and see how far into the fake maple leaf they needed to drill. It was pretty scary how good of a fake it was.

Btw, again, so you know how much value you are destroying by scratching up any bullion coin, right? Even maple leafs, ASE, etc go from market plus purchase price to 90% of the market max by putting scratches in them. Scratched up bullion with acid tests done on them are worth by definition the minimum price, since so many people like collecting them as well. Even junk silver will get discounted for such things. I used to buy a lot of junk silver, and my price was 3x for standard, 3.5x for dollars, but only 2.4x for scratched, bent, or other defective pieces.

Just mentioning it. Myself, I just prefer to buy from a trusted dealer, and keep my silver scratch free.

 

I did see the post a couple weeks ago where the guys put a maple in a vise then cut at it with a saw. Believe it or not I had seen even thicker plating once. Not on a coin but on a russian cup holder.

I scraped away at that cup holder for like 15 minutes, just because i had a big big feeling it had to be plated. Well eventually I finally hit paydirt and found zinc or something. Woulda been a expensive $200 cup holder if I had not figured it out .

As for buying/ selling to dealers I never liked it. The spread is too small. I make about 1/3rd of my income from buying/ selling silver, if I did it at a dealer id lose money not gain. Buying privately from online/ estate sales/ flea markets/ craigslist/ and garage sales, then reselling the stuff online is the best way I have found to make a profit. There is no money in it for me with dealers.