Lee's Coin Collecting Tips

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Investing In Gold - The Basics

Investing in gold can mean coins, bullion (bars and rounds), jewelry, dental, and scrap. Let's start by discussing some basics.

Purity is measured in Ratio (Karats) and Purity (European Marking Fitness - EMF = Parts Per 1,000).

   - 24K/999 = 100%
   - 18K/750 = 75%
   - 14K/583 or 585 = 58%
   - 10K/420 = 42%

Let's take a look at abbreviations that can be found on gold and what they mean.

Gold Plated (GP) - Thin Layer Of Gold Bonded Over Base Metal
- Minimum Thickness Of Seven-Millions Of An Inch

Gold Filled (GF) - includes K of 14K = 14 GF

   - Layer Of Gold Over A Base Metal
   - Layer Thicker Than The Base Metal Core Itself
   - Must Equal A Minimum Of 5% (1/20) Of Total Weight Vermeil - AKA Heavy Gold Electroplate (HE, HGE)
   - Core Of Sterling Silver (.925 Silver Purity)
   - Coated Or Plated With A Minimum 10K Gold To A Thickness Of At Least 2½ Microns (About 100/1,000,000 Of An Inch

Finally, let's consider the colors of gold and what they represent.

Yellow
   - Natural Color
   - Combined With Copper & Silver Bright Yellow
   - Combined With Copper, Nickel & Zinc White
   - Combined With A Large Percentage Of Silver, Together With Nickel & Zinc
   - Sometimes Plated With Rhodium Pink Or Rose
   - Large Percentage Of Copper Together With Zinc & Silver Deep Green    - Combined With Fine Copper, Zinc, & Silver
   - Large Portion Of Copper Bright Red
   - Large Portion Of Copper? Black Hills Gold
   - Pure 24 Karat Gold Bars, & Stocks Of Pure Silver & Copper
   - Alloyed With Copper To Achieve The Traditional 14 Karat Pink (Or Red)
   - Combined With Silver To Create The 14 Karat Green
   - Manufactured In The Black Hills Of South Dakota

Remember that Gold weight is according to Troy Pounds, Ounces, and Grams. The Daily Spot/Melt Value of Gold can be found by clicking here.

One last tip: Always remember to buy only what you know is true gold. If there is any doubt, then don't.

INVESTING IN SILVER - THE BASICS

In addition to Silver Coins, there are two basic types of silver to collect: bullion and coins. Additionally, bullion has an attractive category of Silver Art Bars. So, let's consider this first.

Silver Art Bars are commonly found in two types - solid silver and silver-clad. Solid silver is listed as .999 Fine Silver, which means that it is 99.9 % pure silver. These bars come in various weights with many expressed in grams. However, dollar-for-dollar the most attractive and valuable are the 1 Troy Ounce bars of .999 Fine Silver. A Troy Ounce is equal to 31.1034768 Grams. To me silver-clad bars are just not worth the cost, since the amount of silver used in a silver-clad can vary.

The artwork on Silver Art Bars is spectacular in most cases. Plus, there are a huge number of art categories from which to choose. Prices vary according to the rarity and total number produced (aka minted). That rarity value can be added to the spot-value of silver to determine a base-value. The rarity value is based on what is listed in the Guide Book of Silver Art Bars, which is in its 6th Edition.

Fine Silver Art Bars are common on eBay and in Pawn Shops and Coin Stores. Just check them to be sure you're bidding on or buying 1 Troy Ounce bars of .999 Fine Silver.

Sterling Silver is 92.5 percent silver, as opposed to the 99.9 percent purity of Fine Silver. There are Art Bars made of Sterling Silver, but by purity alone are not as valuable, nor are they as well collected.

Silver Rounds are another way to invest in Silver. As with Art Bars, they also come in solid silver and silver-clad. Many are true art forms and beautiful to behold.

Spot-value is what primarily drives the value of Silver Rounds. A number of mints, U.S. and foreign, produce this type of collectible Silver. Some very collectible and valuable series exist. Do some research and you'll find more then you might expect.

Common errors investors and collectors both make are as follows.

   - Not Investing Time In Study/Research
   - No Plan/Not Sticking To It
   - Greed
   - No Goals
   - "Too-Good-To-Be-True" Factor

Collecting silver is easy enough for kids to do. Plus, it makes an excellent family activity. Just put everyone's change in a jar and go through it once a month. I do! For Silver Art Bars and Rounds, check out what's available and affordable, and have your family vote on which Bar(s) and/or Rounds you will to purchase.

Additionally, having silver in your nest egg is a good hedge on inflation and a weak economy. Plus, if "paper money" bombs, you have an easily spendable commodity!

Plated & Colorized Coins: Black Ruthenium and 24k Gold-Plated ASE

Perry Junek asked me yesterday, March 21, 2016, via PM about the above coin found on a website.

My initial response was, "Use caution. This coin isn't main-stream." By that I was advising that a coin like this would have limited appeal, ergo - value. Plus, I found the prices on other coins on this website to be 100%+ retail.

You see, Black Ruthenium is in the Platinum group and was originally discovered in Russia in 1828 in an impure form. Most importantly to know and remember is that it has a propensity to oxidize, aka rust, as well as being very brittle, though quite hard. As a matter of fact, Black Ruthenium is usually used as a hardener with Titanium.

It is an attractive and unusual coin. However it would probably only hold its silver melt value, as neither plated layer is very thick (minimum thickness of seven-millions of an inch for the Gold Plate - GP, and I would imagine about the same for the Black Ruthenium) or hold much value.

It would seem that this coin and a variety of U.S. and foreign similarly plated coins originated from Merrick Mint . Oft times the mint will grant permission for independent mints to plate coins with other metals or even colorize them.

As I began my response - caveat emptor - let the buyer beware!

Detecting Counterfeit Silver Coins

There are more Counterfeit Silver Coins in the marketplace now than ever have been in my 60+ years of Collecting Coins. Following are a few ways to detect them.

MAGNETIC TEST

Use a Neodymium Magnet - grade N52. Neodymium is a rare earth metal that actually is Neodymium Iron Boron (NDFeB). These magnets pick up any iron, steel or nickel-based coins. Price is around $15 or less at Amazon and eBay.

A non-pure silver coin/round/bar will stick to this super magnet. Use caution, as these powerful magnets are capable of erasing magnetic computer media, as well as the magnetic strips on credit cards. Yet Neodymium is fragile and is usually coated with nickel.

ICE TEST

Silver is the best conductor of heat. Therefore, when you put ice near silver, it will begin to immediately melt. Copper also is an excellent conductor of heat. I ran a test with 1-Troy oz. silver and copper rounds, am weight of ice, and timed them to get an idea of how fast each is in this type of test.

DIMENSIONS TEST

Look up the Dimensions and Weight of the coin in question. Measure diameter and thickness with a caliper and weigh using a calibrated digital scale.

VISUAL TEST

Use a fine grade loupe or better yet, a digital microscope. Compare the design details and letter/number fonts with those of a genuine coin.

Certainly there are other more invasive tests that can be run on suspected counterfeits. However, the non-invasive tests explained above work quite well without damaging the coin/bar/round.

Practice these four (4) tests and you'll be ready to detect counterfeit coins/rounds/bars. When in doubt, don't buy and consult an expert.

Silver Art Bars & Rounds Dimensions

As with other specialties in Numismatics, you need to be aware of the correct dimensions and weights of Art Bars and Rounds. Remember that all weights are based on a Troy Ounce (31 Troy Grams) unless marked as AVDP (Avoirdupois) which is 28 Grams.

ART BARS

   AVERAGE DIMENSIONS IN MMs
   Length=L
   Width-W
   Thickness=T
   Diameter=D
      - 1 T oz. - L=50, W=29 & T=2.1
      - 5 T gm - L=18.7, W=10.5 & T=1.1
      - 1 T gm - L=15.5, W=10.25 & T=0.9

ROUNDS

   AVERAGE DIMENSIONS IN MMs
   Diameter=D
   Thickness=T
      - 1 T oz. - D=30 & T=2.9
      - 1/2 T oz. - D=30 & T=2.25
      - 1/4 T oz. - D=26 & T=2
      - 1/10 T oz. - D=19 & T=1-1.25

The above dimensions reflect the average measurements that I have personally arrived at using my plastic manual pocket coin caliper. Not scientific by any means, but I hope this helps.

Silver Coin Facts Cheat Sheet

The most sought after are the 90 percent silver-content coins consisting of:
    - Dimes, Quarters, and Half-Dollars that are dated before 1965
    - Dollars before 1936
    - Commemorative Dollars 1983-2011
    - American Silver Eagle Dollars (1986-present) are 99.9 percent silver

Other main category is 40 percent silver-content coins consisting of:
    - 1965-69 Half-Dollars
    - 1971-74 Proof "Ike" Dollars
    - Most scarce are the collector (Proof) versions of the Bicentennial Quarters, Half-Dollars, and Dollars

Jefferson Wartime Nickels - 1942-1945 consist of 35 percent silver
NOTE: Mintmark appears ABOVE dome on reverse.

Junk Silver - coins that are damaged and/or in "good" or less condition
    - Dealers often pay about 10 times the face value for 90-percent coins
      * Dime might be worth ~$1.00
    - About 4-5 times the face value for 40-percent coins
    - All of these values are also based on the Spot Value of silver

Troy Weights: Troy Ounce = 31.10 Grams & Troy Pound = 12 Troy Ounces

AVD (avoirdupois) Weights: Ounce = 28.35 Grams & Pound = 16 Ounces

Colorized Coins

Omar Garcia writes, "I'm a rookie, so anything. I started out with colorized Canadian Maple Leaf."

Interesting fact is that the U.S. Mint has never offered colorized, aka enameled, coins but the Royal Canadian Mint does. As for when all this started is up for debate.

As a collector of 1-oz. Silver Art Bars, colorized bars have been around since I started collecting them almost 10 years ago. According to my reference books on Art Bars, they were produced before then.

Undoubtedly the two most popular colorized coins are the Canadian Maple Leaf and the American Silver Eagle ASE, both of which are 1-oz silver coins and are considered to be bullion. Other common colorized coins include some from Australia, as well as the State and the America The Beautiful Quarters. Also available are colorized U.S. Presidential Dollars and various 5-oz silver coins from America and Australia. I also have some Kennedy Half-Dollars that have been enameled to celebrate various event.

The ASEs have been available as colorized since at least 1987, with the Maple Leaf being available since 2001.

Value, as always, is in the eyes of the buyer, although they do demand a premium.