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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;SilverSurfer, post: 857926, member: 21603&quot;]Yes, counterfeits exist.&nbsp; The trick to avoiding them is to buy &quot;junk&quot; silver that has no numismatic value.&nbsp; Almost all silver Dollars have a numismatic value of some kind.&nbsp; Washington quarters from the later years with no mint marks usually sell of bullion value.&nbsp; Franklin half dollars likewise.&nbsp; So, the only way to profit from a counterfeit would be to make it out of something besides silver.&nbsp; If you can identify silver coins as being silver, then buying a counterfeit isn&#039;t likely.&nbsp; I did find one coin shop that was selling a magicians half dollar as bullion, but it was obvious that the coin wasn&#039;t silver.</p><p><br /></p><p>If you buy coins with numismatic value, almost anything can be a counterfeit or altered in some way to make it more valuable.&nbsp; I once saw a 1909 penny with v.d.b. stamped into the reverse to make it worth more.&nbsp; This is the type of altering I&#039;m talking about.&nbsp; If a coin has $14 worth of silver value, but a rare Carson City silver dollar with the exact same amount of silver is worth $200, then a counterfeiter might make one out of silver just because of the numismatic they could get for it.</p><p><br /></p><p>If the silver coin in question has no numismatic value, you can use this test to tell if it is 90% silver.&nbsp; Balance the coin on the tip of your finger and tap it with another coin, like a quarter.&nbsp; The silver coin will make a nice long rinnngggggg sound that last a few seconds.&nbsp; Try it with one of your silver dollars.</p><p><br /></p><p>So, stick with &quot;junk&quot; silver and stay away from numismatic type coins if you are worried about this.&nbsp; After you&#039;ve handled a bunch of &quot;junk&quot; silver coins, you should get a better feel for what authentic silver coins feel and look like....this will help you spot those that aren&#039;t silver.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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