SlowFrog

Thanks for the info! I've not yet seen any marks left by my DIY thing but I haven't tested it with any proof-like coins and don't think I would - especially given what you've just said. There's quite a choice of 'nubs' out there for the DIY one because it has a flat surface - you can find all sorts of self-adhesive options made of silicone, hard plastic, rubber, sponge etc. The coloured things I stuck to the pink sponges are hemispheric in shape and hard plastic - it means the surface area touching the coin is absolutely minimal which I believe would also enable the coin to ring better but I have absolutely no scientific proof to back that up! 

I posted the Pocket Pinger on the general precious metals sub-forum last month.  Your DIY method is definitely more cost effective!   Note: as mentioned in the Pocket Pinger thread, the plastic nubs will leave marks.  And by extension, your plastic nubs on your DIY tool will too.   Just make sure that if you use your DIY tool, you are not testing numismatic coins or any precious metal that you would not touch with your bare hands.   See the link below for more details.
link: 
 
 
Yes agree, silver maples don't "ping" like other coins do.   I do find that odd.

This is another cheap way of testing if it's tungsten. It's a pretty tedious task though - the price for being inexpensive.
 

Hi all,
I wasn't quite sure where to put this one but after browsing a bunch of websites and watching various YouTube channels, I noticed there are some tools/devices out there for holding a coin to do a ping test. I don't know about you but I keep dropping it off my finger every time I try to do it and I didn't want to pay a ridiculous amount for some weird contraption (most of which seem to be outside of the UK anyhow).
After some digging for a suitable tool on Amazon, I found something called a 'fish lip grabber' and purchased one for under 3 quid. My wife also had a pack of self-adhesive little sponge sequins that she uses with my young son to decorate cards etc (I think they're also super cheap). Long story short is that it works a treat for pinging a coin (even with an old copper 2p I found in the garden) and doesn't do any damage either. 
Just posting in case someone else finds it useful!
John
 

Hi all,
I wasn't quite sure where to put this one but after browsing a bunch of websites and watching various YouTube channels, I noticed there are some tools/devices out there for holding a coin to do a ping test. I don't know about you but I keep dropping it off my finger every time I try to do it and I didn't want to pay a ridiculous amount for some weird contraption (most of which seem to be outside of the UK anyhow).
After some digging for a suitable tool on Amazon, I found something called a 'fish lip grabber' and purchased one for under 3 quid. My wife also had a pack of self-adhesive little sponge sequins that she uses with my young son to decorate cards etc (I think they're also super cheap). Long story short is that it works a treat for pinging a coin (even with an old copper 2p I found in the garden) and doesn't do any damage either. 
Just posting in case someone else finds it useful!
John
 

Hello!
First post so please be gentle!
I recently purchased several pre-owned sovereigns from a very reputable bullion dealer I'm sure you've all heard of. One of the coins looks visibly thicker than the others. I'm new to this and just getting into testing/measuring everything etc - if I'm using the correctly terminology, the field of the coin sits quite deep within the edge/rim. It weighs 7.97 grams and I even did a specific gravity test for the first time earlier - that came in at 18.1 using distilled water and a bit of thread to submerge it.
On the Queen's head side, the rim is even. However, on the Pistrucci side, it doesn't look centred so the rim is very thin on one side and gets thicker as it goes around if that makes sense! I'm a hobbiest 3D artist so I did a quick render to better illustrate this because my phone camera is pretty terrible! There is also a close-up shot of the coin taken through a loupe.
I feel pretty confident it's gold based on all of the tests (not magnetic, the ping sound is the same as the others, correct weight etc) but the thickness, depth of the edge and offset is troubling me. Any thoughts would be welcome!
Thanks in advance,
John

Thanks for the reply, Lawrence! I registered on your website a couple of weeks ago and fully intend to make a purchase or two in the near future. It's really heartening to read you have such an open and honest approach to the way you deal with customers.
Given that I have nothing bad to say about the "very reputable bullion dealer I'm sure you've all heard of", I don't mind mentioning that it was from Atkinson's. I have no complaints with them at all but I'll definitely give Chards a go for my next purchase.
Many thanks,
John

Several years ago I spent some time exploring the "ping test" but as you rightly say supporting the coin without dampening it to ensure it "rings" was tricky.
I tested a variety of coins and found the subject quite interesting.
I used the free software Audacity to record the ping and then the frequency analyser to plot the resonant frequencies.
My intention was to create a library of frequencies to share but I didn't have the free time.

Hi all,
I wasn't quite sure where to put this one but after browsing a bunch of websites and watching various YouTube channels, I noticed there are some tools/devices out there for holding a coin to do a ping test. I don't know about you but I keep dropping it off my finger every time I try to do it and I didn't want to pay a ridiculous amount for some weird contraption (most of which seem to be outside of the UK anyhow).
After some digging for a suitable tool on Amazon, I found something called a 'fish lip grabber' and purchased one for under 3 quid. My wife also had a pack of self-adhesive little sponge sequins that she uses with my young son to decorate cards etc (I think they're also super cheap). Long story short is that it works a treat for pinging a coin (even with an old copper 2p I found in the garden) and doesn't do any damage either. 
Just posting in case someone else finds it useful!
John
 

When you said "a very reputable bullion dealer I'm sure you've all heard of", the only one that came to mind was @ChardsCoinandBullionDealer!
Your query is fairly typical of questions we get from customers, and non-customers. Even if a few weeks had gone by, I would hope our Customer Service Team would have been happy to give you an answer, even if they had to check with me or one of our other numismatists, and even though we have been been very busy for the past year and a half.
If you didn't buy it from "us", then you know where to come next time, and you will probably pay less, despite our non-free postage.
BTW, if you ever want to discuss on TSF anything you bought from us, please feel free to name us and tag us in, we are quite happy to discuss (almost) anything.
Now, having failed to think of any "a very reputable bullion dealer I'm sure you've all heard of", I am trying to call to mind "a reputable bullion dealer I'm sure you've all heard of".
I'll give my brain 24 hours to think about it, then I might have to ask. 🙂
 

Thanks for the reply, Lawrence! I registered on your website a couple of weeks ago and fully intend to make a purchase or two in the near future. It's really heartening to read you have such an open and honest approach to the way you deal with customers.
Given that I have nothing bad to say about the "very reputable bullion dealer I'm sure you've all heard of", I don't mind mentioning that it was from Atkinson's. I have no complaints with them at all but I'll definitely give Chards a go for my next purchase.
Many thanks,
John

@AndrewSL76
Thank you for the kind welcome! The info regarding folks that collect coins with strike errors is really interesting and it didn't occur to me that it'd be worth sending off to the likes of NGC/PCGS. Before doing that, I'll try and take a better photo for you all to take a look at and update this thread if I get anywhere - it might be that it's not as significant/interesting as I made out. Appreciate your advice and thoughts!
@LawrenceChard
I haven't asked the dealer about it for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it's been a few weeks and I've only just noticed the difference. Given their reputation, I basically had so much confidence they must be real that I just put them away. In addition, I've only recently gotten myself some decent scales, a loupe and neodymium magnet - my intention was to try and pick up the odd coin from eBay (I bought a silver Morgan Dollar and fell in love with them for some reason!) and learning how to spot issues/potential fakes in silver/gold coins was part of the reason I got them out to take a look. With the goal of trying to learn more, I thought I'd post here first before bothering the dealer!
I do indeed have an iPhone - haha! I also have a really nice camera that I hardly ever use so the batteries need recharged - I'll take some more pics when I get the chance.
Many thanks once again - appreciate all of the replies!
John

It could have slightly moved a fraction when minting.
I’m not totally familiar with the minting process but it’s one plausability.

Thank you both! Really appreciate your replies. I had absolutely no idea whether something like that would even be a possibility when minting a relatively modern coin. It's good to know and I'm enjoying the learning experience so thanks again - my mind has been put at ease.

Hello!
First post so please be gentle!
I recently purchased several pre-owned sovereigns from a very reputable bullion dealer I'm sure you've all heard of. One of the coins looks visibly thicker than the others. I'm new to this and just getting into testing/measuring everything etc - if I'm using the correctly terminology, the field of the coin sits quite deep within the edge/rim. It weighs 7.97 grams and I even did a specific gravity test for the first time earlier - that came in at 18.1 using distilled water and a bit of thread to submerge it.
On the Queen's head side, the rim is even. However, on the Pistrucci side, it doesn't look centred so the rim is very thin on one side and gets thicker as it goes around if that makes sense! I'm a hobbiest 3D artist so I did a quick render to better illustrate this because my phone camera is pretty terrible! There is also a close-up shot of the coin taken through a loupe.
I feel pretty confident it's gold based on all of the tests (not magnetic, the ping sound is the same as the others, correct weight etc) but the thickness, depth of the edge and offset is troubling me. Any thoughts would be welcome!
Thanks in advance,
John

A 2016 Sovereign from very reputable bullion dealer , i'd say there was 100 % nothing to worry about.