After gold, silver is the second most popular precious metal to invest in. It is a reliable and attractive metal with various industrial applications, making it extremely valuable and in high demand. But, as with other valuable items, silver can be counterfeited.
When people don't know what to look for, they may mistakenly fall into buying these fake silver bars and coins. As a result, their investments lose value. Fortunately, silver is a unique element with characteristics that are difficult to fully replicate. This means that, with some attention, you can learn to distinguish between real and fake silver.
In this guide, we'll show you how to detect counterfeit silver bars and coins. You can use this same information to verify the authenticity of other silver objects, such as jewelry, silverware and other decorative items.
Is there such a thing as 100% pure silver?
First, a note on silver purity: you will never find investment quality silver coins and bars made from 100% pure silver. This is because pure silver is too soft and brittle to be molded into coin or bar form. Like gold, silver must be mixed (alloyed) with other metals, such as copper or zinc, to maintain its durability and prevent it from scratching easily.
Investment-grade silver coins and bullion are known as fine silver and generally have a purity of 999.9 or 999.0. Sterling silver, often used in jewelry, has a purity of 925.0.
How to detect counterfeit silver
Before we delve into the tests you can do at home, let's talk about how you can spot counterfeit silver coins and bars early on.
Keep the following points in mind when buying investment grade silver to avoid counterfeits:
Official hallmarks: In most cases, pure silver will come with an official hallmark indicating its purity. This can be very visible on silver bars, where the text tends to be large and dominant on the face of the bar. Not all countries require an official hallmark, so this will not always be an immediate identifier of counterfeit silver.
International Silver Hallmark Grading: This is a three-digit number that represents the purity of a silver item. You may need a magnifying glass to verify it, but a very pure investment quality silver item will have a rating of 999.0 or 999.9.
Imperfections: A counterfeit silver coin may appear, at first glance, to be a real silver coin, but upon closer examination, you should be able to notice some minor imperfections. The design may not be as high or detailed, the luster may be faint, or the printing may be off-center. Antique counterfeit coins may even show signs of oxide or other damage, which is rare on pure silver.
Mint Marks: Pure silver bullion coins and bars contain mint marks that indicate where the item was produced. If you have counterfeit silver bullion or silver coins, they may not contain any mintmarks, have counterfeit mintmarks, or bad copies of legitimate mintmarks.
How to test if silver is real or fake
If you have considered the above factors and still cannot determine whether your items are genuine or counterfeit silver, there are a few more tests you can perform at home. These tests are based on the unique characteristics of silver and will help you identify if other metals have been added.
Please note that while these tests can provide accurate results, they should not be used as a 100% guarantee of the silver's authenticity. Ideally, you will perform several of these tests and compare your results.
Test 1: The ice cube test
One of the simplest ways to distinguish real silver from counterfeit silver is the ice cube test. To perform this test, place an ice cube over your silver bars and coins. If they are made of real silver, the ice should begin to melt quickly. This is because silver has the highest electrical conductivity, which means it can conduct heat quickly, melting ice faster than other metals.
A good idea when performing the ice cube test is to melt a second ice cube on another type of metal at the same time. This can help you determine if your silver items melt ice faster or at the same rate as other metals.
Test 2: The sound test
This is a simple way to detect counterfeit silver coins. To perform this test, you will need two silver coins or a coin and another metal object (preferably one that is smooth and non-abrasive).
Gently strike your silver coin against the other coin or metal object. If it is made of genuine silver, you will hear a high-pitched, resonant sound after the impact. If it produces a dull sound, it may not be made of real silver.
Test 3: The magnet test
Like gold, silver is not a magnetic metal. If your silver bars or coins are pure, they should not attract magnets. To perform this test at home, you will need a super-strong magnet; refrigerator magnets will not work. You can usually find strong magnets (such as neodymium magnets) at hardware stores.
Place your silver items on a non-magnetic surface and slowly bring the magnet close to them. If your coins repel or do not react to the magnet, they are probably genuine silver coins or bars. If they are attracted to the magnet, they could be silver items with other metals underneath.
It is important to keep in mind that there are other non-magnetic metal alloys that may resemble silver, so this test will not always be an infallible test of authenticity. It is best to perform the magnet test along with other tests to be sure.
Test 4: Verify the seals
Another way to distinguish genuine from counterfeit silver is to check the hallmarks. This is not a "test" per se, but it is still a quick and easy way to verify authenticity. In most cases, investment-grade silver includes hallmarks detailing weight, purity, serial numbers, and sometimes even year of mintage.
Take this 10 oz Royal Bengal Tiger silver bar as an example. The inscriptions on the bar clearly indicate 10 oz (weight), 999.9 fine silver (purity) and PAMP/MMTC (mintage).
It is true that these marks can sometimes be counterfeited, but they will usually be easy to detect as they may be blurred, lack detail or contain incorrect information.
Test 5: The smell test
Here's a simple way to test for genuine silver: smell it. Pure, genuine silver should have no odor or a very faint odor. However, other metal alloys generally have a fairly distinctive "metallic" odor, especially when mixed with copper.
If your silver bars or coins emit a strong odor, they are probably not made of genuine silver.
Test 6: Measure density
One of the most foolproof ways to determine if your silver is pure or not is to measure its density. All precious metals have specific weights and densities that can be used to verify their authenticity.
Silver has a density of 10.49 g/cm3, which means it weighs 10.49 g per cubic centimeter. Compare that to gold, which has a density of 19.32 g/cm3, or copper, which has a density of 8.96 g/cm3. If your bars or coins are made of real silver, they should be around the 10.49 value.
To measure the density of an item, you will need to use the following formula:
Density = mass/volume
This is how it is done:
1. Weigh your silver items to determine their mass.
2. Place them in an aqueous solution to measure their displacement (volume).
3. Use the above formula to calculate its density (Density = mass/volume).
If the density of your silver bars and coins is close to 10.49 g/cm3, they are probably genuine silver.
By StoneX Bullion