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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;The Half Dime, post: 26756673, member: 153164&quot;]Whether you are a seasoned or new collector, or even a dealer like me, these are tools you will need when you go to buy another coin. Depending on what you collect or deal in, taking a few minutes out of your day to read this thread can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars. </p><p><br /></p><p>The first: <b>a coin pinger with a magnet.</b></p><p><b>[ATTACH=full]1708578[/ATTACH] </b></p><p>Although these can be seen for $15+ on sites like Amazon, the pair together is worth its weight in gold. The fact that so many non-silver coins are made of base metals that do not stick to a magnet is scary, part of why you need a pinger to go with a magnet.</p><p><br /></p><p>The second: <b>a set of 3 coins of the same denomination, at least half dollar size. </b>Get one that&#039;s silver, one that&#039;s clad, and one that&#039;s counterfeit. You can get counterfeit coins for just a few dollars from an honest seller, and on the dealer&#039;s side, they actually sell pretty well, at least for me. If you want to do this with dollars, get a Morgan or Peace dollar, a replica of either, and an Ike dollar.</p><p><br /></p><p>The third: <b>a pen or marker</b>, specifically for pinging the coin. Silver will have a long ring to it and a Morgan or Peace dollar will sound lower-pitched than the known ear-piercing sound of an Ike. The outside of most pens/markers is made of plastic, which is harmless to use on silver in most cases. </p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000"><b>Beware of fakes made of silver! </b></span><span style="color: #000000">The coin you are looking at could be counterfeit even if silver, especially key date coins. Counterfeiters are getting smarter by the second, leading to more fakes made of silver; if you see a silver fake, let the dealer know and show them why it&#039;s fake. Imagine a fake Draped Bust dollar, probably seen for $1500+, passed off on an unsuspecting dealer who thought it was genuine because it is silver. </span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">Which leads me to the 4th thing: <b>a book about die varieties on genuine U.S. coinage, especially if you are into a specific series. </b>Whatever you decide to collect, carry this with you so you can distinguish genuine from counterfeit like a pro.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #000000">And, number 5: <b>a loupe with a light. </b>You can get these at Hobby Lobby for $3 each.</span></p><p><span style="color: #000000"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff"><b>This entire assortment of items can be acquired for around $60-100 depending on what set of coins you choose. It&#039;s best to spend that now rather than regret it later.</b></span>[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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