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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Burton Strauss III, post: 3062391, member: 59677&quot;]You can also learn to do a ballpark yourself, this is HIGHLY recommended.</p><p><br /></p><p>/1/ Use a RedBook or online resource like Numista to determine the correct diameter and weight.</p><p><br /></p><p>- if the weight is drastically off, or the diameter is wrong, it&#039;s a fake. (a scale reading to +/- 0.01 or +/- 0.02 g is best as the tolerances are small, e.g. 0.13g for a cent)</p><p><br /></p><p>/2/ Go to PCGS Online Photograde to review hires photos of the coin in the various grades (<a href="https://www.pcgs.com/photograde/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.pcgs.com/photograde/" rel="nofollow">https://www.pcgs.com/photograde/</a>)</p><p><br /></p><p>/3/ Use the various price guides (PCGS has one as does NGC for their plastic, CoinPrices.com has a consumer [retail] guide. Also eBay SOLD (not just completed) prices and auctions </p><p><br /></p><p>- what you are looking for is whether it&#039;s worth certifying &amp; grading. Is the price raw + the cost &gt;= certified prices.</p><p><br /></p><p>- Note that for gold, with the high number of counterfeits is almost critical</p><p><br /></p><p>- The machine the coin dealer has that [USER=93093]@Jebocement[/USER] </p><p>was referring to are likely an XRF (X-ray) which checks the composition at the surface and a few atoms deep) and a Sigma Metalytics (which uses induction to measure the resistance - <a href="http://www.sigmametalytics.com/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://www.sigmametalytics.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.sigmametalytics.com/</a>).[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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