Using a detector to check for silver fakes

[wharghoul]

I buy silver off of craigslist a lot and it looks like I let my guard down and got scammed. Mr. moderator, please bear with me, this is indirectly a metal detecting topic.

I met up with a girl today that posted 47 1 oz. bars on craigslist. The bars had the "Rising Sun Mint" logo on one side along with "1 OZ 100 MILLS .999 FINE SILVER" and on the back has "Masonic Temple" along with several masonic symbols. She said her Grandfather recently died and they found a lot of Masonic books, medals, etc... in his safe(in addition to these silver bars).

I had never heard of Rising Sun Mint, but everything just seemed legit and I went with my gut and forked over the $$.

I got home and put the silver away with the rest of my stash and tonight like a bolt of lightning the thought hit me...Oh crap, what if they're fakes?

I did a 'ring' test and compared to some similarly shaped 1 oz. bars and the sound was a little different, but not much different. I attributed the difference to the slight shape difference between the bars.

Next, I did a magnet test, both bars passed.

Then it occurred to me that I could go outside and set them in the grass and run my F75 ltd over them and see if the VDI came up the same. I've passed the detector over ASE's and silver rounds in the past and knew that they consistently hit in the low-mid 90's.

Well, first up, I passed the coil over an apmex 1 oz. bar and as I figured...92-93. Next up, fingers crossed, holding my breath, the 'rising sun mint' bar...

82-84 consistenly...

I'm certain at this point that I got silver plated bars. I have no one to blame but myself and I'm sick about it. I went back to check the ad on craigslist and it's gone, figured. I'll try calling "Ashley" tomorrow morning, but I'm pretty sure I won't get an answer. I'm going to ask for a refund if she answers, but I'm pretty sure how that's going to go to.

Wish me luck. I hope my bone-head move proves to be just a cautionary reminder and not a $1,400 mistake.

 

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[TORRERO]

What your saying does not make sense, you use a metal detector to test the legitimacy of
precious metals ?

Somehow this sounds strange, as hummm If I was going to make a $1500 investment in
someones metal I would have it checked by a professional grading company before the money
left my hands...

I have heard of "Solid Gold Rings" that have a "Solid Lead" middle....
thick enough to pass any scratch and acid test, and heavy too...

I don't know, but before I called "Ashly" back and started a fight, I would get this professionally
checked out, as the truth is, there are millions of these things made, and just because one reads
differant than another on a metal detector does not mean they are not real ...

Richard

 

[Sandman]

Didn't your momma teach you to never trust a girl? Second, why are you buying precious metals off Craig's list? People get robbed every day by using this list. My brother is named Craig, and I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. Any metal you buy should only come from a seller of precious metals, like Kitco or Apmex. Also you can't test metal by the surface conductivity as this is only what metal detectors do. You are looking for purity which is deeper than skin deep.

I am sorry you got scamed, but all of us can be scamed. Maybe "Ashey" really found them in a relatives safe and he was the one scamed years ago, but I doubt it.

 

[jerseyben]

"1 OZ 100 MILLS" means that it is plated 100 times thick whatever MILLS stands for.

Look up item 270744549926 on ebay for more info.

 

[wharghoul]

Sandman, yes, my momma did teach me better. I discovered last night after making the initial post that these are indeed plated silver bars as the "100 Mills" on the bars clearly state.

I screwed up and made a bonehead move. I make no excuses, so please feel free to criticize. My intention for posting this is first, maybe someone will learn from mistake. Secondly, and related to this forum, is that a metal detector 'MAY' be used to determine the purity of a 1 oz. silver round or bar. I did a side by side comparison with real 1 oz. bars and rounds and ran the coil over the plated bar. The pure silver consistenly hits 93-94 on the VDI. The plated bar hit 83-84 (same thickness and dimension of the pure silver bar).

As far as the rest of the story....it was a complete scam and the seller knew what she was selling. The craigslist ad was almost immediately taken down and when I attempted to call "Ashley" back, the number was no longer in service. I suspect that they weren't even from this area, just passing through and looking for an easy mark, that was me.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[mick56]

This explains it


http://forums.ebay.com/db2/topic/Reviews-Guides/Stay-Away-From/520198000

 

[alaskanfever]

I hope you did not pay 38 dollars an ounce for them because they are not worth that. the 100 mills as stated above explains that whole thing they are just plated silver and therefore about 90 percent of what you have is not silver. sorry for the bad news if you called her on your cell phone i would be giving her a call back.

 

[suprdave]

sorry about your loss, but thanks for the post now i know someting i didnt know before

 

[calisdad]

Report it to the police. Even though the number is out of service they may be able to track it.

 

[nsdq]

i have heard of the mint and ampex does sell their silver on there,,, if it can be fake people will do it better luck next time

 

[dale68]

100 mills (1/1000 is a mill) is 1/10 in which is quite heavy,but not solid of course.

 

[ImpurestStewart]

You need to file a police report, What was she driving?Where did you meet? You need to hurry up and do this before it is too late.

 

[Woodland Detectors]

EEeeks sorry you got scammed. I don't trust C-list anymore. the last time I posted something there, I got non stop calls from advertisers wanting to sell me something.

 

[savant365]

Thanks for sharing your experience, I certainly had no idea these were out there. If I come across them now I will know better.

Charlie

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Maybe you can keep them in your "Decoy" safe in case you get robbed they get those instead of the real ones

 

[SeaninNH]

I hate to be the one to say it, but if you got to look at the bars before you paid her, you are at fault.

The bars clearly say 100 mills(plated). Unfortunately you didn't know enough about what you were buying.

I'm sure you will do better research next time.

On a lighter note, I'm sure you can get some of your money back off of FeePay.