Testing for Counterfeit Gold Coins

Back in the days of the Old West people tested the authenticity of their gold coins by performing the Bite Test. If a tooth got shattered, that piece was not real gold. True gold is rather soft and can be bitten into with little problem. Therefore, many a shoot-out occurred when a tooth was broken during the Bite Test.

There are better ways these days to tell if someone is trying to pass off counterfeit gold coins or not, although the Bite Test is still a pretty accurate one. But you can also try these:

* The Ring Test: This is where you drop the coins on the floor and see if it rings when it lands. While this is somewhat useful for gold, it works much better with silver and brass.

* Size and Weight: These are both good measures to use when trying to decide if you are getting counterfeit gold coins or not. List the diameters of genuine gold coins so you can compare. Calibrate a scale to one hundredths of a gram. If the coin is either too light or too heavy, it is not real.

* Density: No matter how good a counterfeiter is, he cannot fake the density of a coin. The specific gravity in gold is higher than other metals. This can be tested for.

* Purchase a counterfeit gold coins detector. They are not cheap but they will work quickly and accurately in testing the weight, diameter, and thickness of a coin.

* Nitric acid: Be careful with this one. However, you can drop a coin into a beaker filled with this substance and if you get a reaction, your gold is real.

* Rare coins: These are a bit harder to test but not impossible. If you can find coins that are graded and slabbed, you know that they are real. You can also use a magnifying glass to examine them. Become familiar with the way a true gold coin feels in your hand. You can be your own expert.