How did chopmarks validate coins?

I’ve seen a bunch of coins that had chopmarks on them and I was told it was to “validate the coin was legit” but how did a chopmark validate anything?

What was the merchant/banker/etc., trying to do or look for to verify the coin was real?

It looks to me like it just ruins the coin with marks but obviously there must have been something about it that helped receivers of these coins know they were getting genuine coins.

 

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analysis of composition to ensure the coin is precious metal all the way though. Just like a test cut.

 

did you finally eat that pie? and somehow become a woman?
I missed a lot I guess.

 

"Trade dollars circulated throughout China — especially the southern part — and as silver moved down in price, the value of the Trade dollar throughout Asia also dropped. Asian merchants would punch “chop marks” in the coin’s surface to both identify it and to test its purity."

https://www.coinworld.com/news/prec...oins-market-analysis-international-trade.html

 

The mark basically means that so-and-so, a well-known and fine upstanding individual whom everybody trusts said this coin is worth its weight in silver.

With enough marks, everybody trusts it.

 

Chop marks occur on Trade Dollars. Trade Dollars were made to circulate in Asia to complete with dollar sized coins from other countries. They were legal US tender and could be used in the states. Silver prices decline and Congress repealed a provision and authorize the treasury to limit the coinage to export demand. In 1887 treasury redeem the three dollars that were not mutilated.

Chop marks were used by merchants and other businessman in the orient to confirm their make up of 90% silver and 10% copper. Each tree dollar weighed a total of .7874 ounces of pure silver.

 

So then does a chop mark remove a small amount of material from the coin for the merchant to use for some sort of testing?

 

It was easy to make a counterfeit in copper or brass via the casting method, but then you had to silver plate it to get the color right. A chop mark exposed the interior of the coin so you could see if it was silver colored inside.

Of course, some counterfeiters would put random chop marks into a counterfeit before plating it, so the only way you could know if the interior was good to chop each coin as you received it.

 

^ No

^ This

 

Thanks for today's lesson everyone. Happy 4th, be safe

 

I think maybe my question was misunderstood.

I was asking how exactly a chopmark can confirm validity?

If I took a 1964 silver half dollar and put a chopmark in it what would I be looking for to verify it’s silver?

 

Funny thing is the Romans actually did that on purpose.

They had debased their denarius so much that it was basically just a copper coin with a thin silver wash.

 

What is a “karat needle”?

Also can a touch stone really tell the difference between 22K gold and 24K gold?

Or .999 fine silver and .925 sterling silver?

 

But how would so and so (the one everyone trusted) know that it was really silver?

Wouldn’t they have to assay it by fire cuppelation? In which case the coin would no longer be a coin but melted silver.

 

The chop is a verification by the person who "chopped" it. The method they used is one that they trusted, Doug (@GDJMSP ) mentioned a couple, but I wouldn't be surprised if the weight and dimensions were the primary determining factor.

 

https://www.gia.edu/bench-tip-use-the-touchstone-method-for-testing-purity-karat-gold

 

But what about test cuts like this where it’s just a cut with no indication or mark showing who did it?

 

I bought this Trade Dollar in Jan 1990. The only Chop coin I own and one of many favorite coins even though not a valuable coin. 1876-S w/Chops

 

@Gam3rBlake different times...