I'm not sure that this is the right place to post this, so mods please move this to the right sub-forum if it's not the right place. I've been wondering what the best product out there is at an economical price for detecting silver. I don't mean metal detecting outside, but if it works, that'll do. What I mean is for when I purchase silver coins and I want to quickly verify that it is silver, even if or after it passes the size, magnet, weight, pitch sound, die marker, etc. tests. There are metal analyzers out there such as the XRF Analyzer, but those are worth several thousand at least. Are there handheld silver detectors or other "cheaper" ($150 or less) analyzers of some sort that are accurate at detecting silver content whether it's pure silver or an alloy? Thanks in advance!
I'm interested, too. I'm skeptical of anything that relies solely on electrical testing, but I'm trying to keep an open mind. (I really want an XRF analyzer, but that's unlikely to happen. I'm willing to spend a lot of money on scientific gear that captures my imagination, but not that much.)
Yes me, too. I want an XRF Analyzer (I misspelled it in my OP, but corrected it now - thanks!) but you can get so many coins in its stead.
Be aware of the fact that XRF is a surface analysis and would show a gold or silver plated item to be pure gold or silver.
You all want the PM verifier from Sigma Metalyics. Accurate for the price and has saved me many worrisome nights. About 700-800 dollars and cheapest through eBay. You want the one with three wands as it does more like reading bars with more penetration. No damage to your items. Check it out.
I like this part. The bullion wand penetrates four times deeper than the other sensors, which is great for larger bars and poured bars with heavy surface textures or stamping. I think they eliminated the 'skin effects of metals' on electrical transmission characteristic. A pure layer of gold around a 10 ounce bar of gold should transmit almost entirely by a mm or such from the battery voltage. But I have no horse in this race. Now if they said it was 'sound waves' I might believe it. IMO
I just watched a YouTube video review of this and they said that the bullion wand (goes down to 4mm according to the vlogger) doesn't make a significant difference compared to the second strongest wand. And it costs $75 more just to add it by itself. Although I guess it could be good if there's say a huge 100 troy oz bar with a bad pour/mold job and a thick borax or other residue or environmental crud was there.
Skin effect is extremely dependent on frequency. I think the only way something like this could be made to work is by using different frequencies and comparing response; it might be possible to infer resistance that way, along with permeability. Getting low enough frequency to penetrate deeply seems like it would require big coins (many turns) or very high current, though. (With fewer turns, you get lower inductance, which generally means higher frequency, or a very big capacitor to support very big currents.)
Have any of you you actually used one? I take that as a NO! Ignorance is sheer bliss... Trust me when I say it is one of the best tools out there....I have tried to fool it and it measures true every time.
Of course I haven't. That's why I'm asking questions. I'm interested in this because I'm interested in chemistry and electronics, as well as numismatics and bullion. You seem to have quite a bit of experience buying silver (judging from previous posts). What do you think about the claim that 90% coins from the 1950s and earlier have enough lead and tin impurities to throw off the results? Do you see a consistent difference (with this machine) between newer 90% and older?
Metals have value, because they are money, of which a part of that definition includes being divisible and fungible. You can melt it for no nominal loss of value, if starting with generic metal. Even with a powerful tool, there will be skeptics of that technology, notably if it metals become currency again. Melting is the best way to convince the largest population of people, and more buyers means higher price. Otherwise the combination of rare earth magnets, verifying weight and size, and a specific gravity test (good luck with getting your coin wet, not for BU) are enough to confirm since molybdenum is the only metal that can mimic silver molecularly, but it is far more magnetic. Silver is only very slightly magnetic with ultra strong magnets.
