The only counterfeit dollar I have personally seen was a Morgan which weighed just under 25 grams. I didn't have calipers to measure it. The visual appearance was uncannily similar, enough so that I avoid other dollars with similar condition and dull look. It's obviously not a pleasing looking coin anyhow.
Some of fake silver plated pandas look pretty real and well done so you can't even do the Loupe test to verify it is not plated.
No doubt there are good forgeries. This only highlights the point being made above that it is more difficult to do with coinage over bullion because government coinage has very definite physical characteristics and it's very difficult to get all of them correct at the same time. On the other hand, bullion .... who knows.
Krugerrands are bigger and only made up of 90% gold but have one ounce of fine gold in them if you melted them down.
Krugerrands and American Gold Eagles are exactly the same dimensions (diameter, thickness, and weight) and purity. BTW - it's 22 karat, not 90%.
From http://www.certifiedmint.com/American-Eagle-gold-bullion-coins.htm: "From 1975 until 1985, Krugerrands were the world's bestselling gold bullion coins, and they dominated the US gold bullion coin market. However, in 1985 Congress banned the importation of Krugerrands as a slap on the wrist of White-ruled South Africa, the source of Krugerrands. The ban created a huge void in the gold bullion coin market in the US. To fill the void, the US Mint introduced American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins. Not coincidentally, the Mint opted to mimic the Krugerrands with its new Gold Eagles: 22-karat and four sizes with dimensions identical to the four Krugerrand sizes. Further, Gold Eagles were the first, and still are, the only 22-karat gold coins turned out by the US Mint. It was great move as American Eagle Gold Coins have become immensely popular."
No prob. I think only the Buffaloes are 24k (in America) now. That's interesting - I didn't realize that. Thanks - that makes sense.
I bought a few silver pieces yesterday. 1960 proof set, a few franklins, and a Canadian dollar commemorative.
That is correct here is good example of Britannia 22k from 2 different years (01,87) notice they differ. That is because 1987 they used copper for non gold composition and after 1989 they used silver.
Wow - that is a great example - thanks for posting (and thanks for the PM BTW - I still have to check that out). Regarding the Britannias, I asked Ken (of 'Fisch' fame) a while ago about this. I wondered if the older and newer Britannias worked the same in the Fisch tool/scale (because of the different alloy composition). He said it doesn't make a difference - and I guess that makes sense sine the AGE, Krugerrand, and Britannia all use the same Fisch scale, but all have different alloys (but still are all 22k and still have the same physical dimensions) - but I'd still like to test it out some time.
:thumb: while everyone trying to get Gold & Silver! I am buying Palladium & Platinum while both metal are being overlooked:devil:
BTW - REALLY nice coins! I love the Britannias. Unfortunately, they're uber-expensive on this side of the pond (U.S.). What's the best place you've found to get them? And how much over spot do you pay (generally)? Thanks in advance.
I bought them from Ebay for about 10-15% over spot You can bargain hunt in ebay for them but nowadays it sells for around $210+. Apmex and Goldeneaglecoin both sell Britannia 1/10 for around the same price, in fact latter is selling unc any dates for $205.
I am not particularly interested in getting into "investment" coins or metals at this point. Spoke with a dealer yesterday who wanted $1800 for Krugerrands, etc.. Does the guy have rocks in his head? I would pay a little over spot if the coins were nice, but bullion is high priced unless you win the lottery, get a whopping legal settlement, or inherit something from Daddy Warbucks.
Hmm Gold Spot is currently @ 1711 he was asking for 5% over spot which is not that bad, in fact that is less that price most online shops are selling for and that does not include shipping and handling charge.