How to Identify a Genuine Silver Dollar

How to Identify a Genuine Silver Dollar
Because of the intrinsic value that they hold, counterfeiters tend to produce and sell silver coins that are replicas or counterfeits. At present, the U.S. Mint no longer uses silver in the production of coins for general circulation. This makes silver dollars a lucrative and popular investment among coin collectors and investors. To avoid wasting your hard-earned cash, here are a few steps you can implement to differentiate between genuine silver dollars and fake ones.

Examine the date on the coin. If the date on the coin is 1804, chances are that you have a fake coin in your hands. Not many silver coins were minted in the U.S. in this year and the ones produced were primarily used as diplomatic gifts. You’d have to be extremely fortuitous to be able to come across an 1804 silver dollar by chance.

Get acquainted with the look and feel of real silver dollars. In order to be able to identify fake silver dollars, you need to become 100 percent familiar with genuine ones. If you can’t get access to real silver dollars, study images of them in coin guidebooks or online resources. Study them in depth so you can immediately identify the fake features when you come across such coins.

Weigh the coin. Silver is much heavier than copper and nickel. This means that real silver dollar coins are heavier than coins that are presently being circulated. However, fake silver dollar coins may be heavier or lighter than authentic ones, depending on the type of metal used in the production of the coins. More times than not, fake or replica silver dollars weigh less than authentic ones.

Inspect the sheen of the coin. Real silver dollar coins have an appearance and shine, also known as mint luster that counterfeit silver dollars are unable to replicate. This is due to the metal composition that is used in the production of fake silver dollars.

There are many coin dealers, coin collectors, and coin investors in the industry that sell silver coins. However, there are also a few less than reputable individuals who may attempt to deceive people into purchasing fake silver coins. You can avoid falling prey to their schemes by examining the date on the coin, familiarizing yourself with the look and feel of a real silver dollar, weighing the coin, and inspecting the coin's sheen. This will allow you to spot discrepancies or anomalies immediately. A thorough background check of the coin dealer or coin collector can also significantly decrease your chances of being scammed even before you implement these steps. Atlanta Gold & Coin Buyers