Kee Electronic Gold Tester. Is it worth it?

[Cassius]

Does anyone knows how is this technically working? Is it good enough for gold coins? Does it just test the surface or the interior of the coin? Will it spot a plated coin?  Please share your knowledge, opinions or experiences. 

Edited July 20, 2023 by Cassius

[JohnA1]

Looks to me like a sensitive multimeter, measuring resistance.

I can see how it would be useful if you have a few identical oddly-shaped metal objects, and want to see if they all test the same.

So if you have a known good late gold britannia, you compare its resistance to another you bought from a questionable source. If they measure similar, would that be enough for you? Of course you would also put the coins next to each other to compare diameter and thickness, as well as weight.

But what if you get a sovereign of a year with more silver compared to the known good ones you already have. How different would you expect the resistance of the new one to be?

And how would you calibrate it for a coin that is a one-off for your collection? Is there a database of known good values you can refer to?

Is it fooled by thick plating? I'd expect convincing answers to such questions before shelling out 300 squid

[Cassius]

6 minutes ago, JohnA1 said:

Looks to me like a sensitive multimeter, measuring resistance.

I can see how it would be useful if you have a few identical oddly-shaped metal objects, and want to see if they all test the same.

So if you have a known good late gold britannia, you compare its resistance to another you bought from a questionable source. If they measure similar, would that be enough for you? Of course you would also put the coins next to each other to compare diameter and thickness, as well as weight.

But what if you get a sovereign of a year with more silver compared to the known good ones you already have. How different would you expect the resistance of the new one to be?

And how would you calibrate it for a coin that is a one-off for your collection? Is there a database of known good values you can refer to?

Is it fooled by thick plating? I'd expect convincing answers to such questions before shelling out 300 squid

If you zoom the image it says is fir measuring 9K to 24K gold...I just don't know if is a genuine machine or not...

[Cassius]

@Spyder @GoldDiggerDave @1stsovereign, @Upsidedown , @arphethean, @JamesH, @Auronum, @stefffana, @DuncanWylieWilson, @COBRASTACKER, @GrandadLion @James32 Any thoughts guys. Many thanks.

[stefffana]

3 minutes ago, Cassius said:

@Spyder @GoldDiggerDave @1stsovereign, @Upsidedown , @arphethean, @JamesH, @Auronum, @stefffana, @DuncanWylieWilson, @COBRASTACKER, @GrandadLion @James32 Any thoughts guys. Many thanks.

Hi, @Cassius.

I have not any idea about this tool, I am sorry.

I am old fashion when dealing with gold jewellery. I am always using acids to determine if it is carat gold or not.

Cheers!

Stefan.

 

[Spyder]

This is a good kit for testing gold jewellery. With most machine though, it really only tests the surface. Only filing  into object and acid testing will give you a true reading. They are not made for testing coins.  There is plenty of information on YouTube.

[arphethean]

I have one. It is fooled by plating so just tests the surface. It is useful alongside specific gravity.

I don't use it a lot as tend to only buy/sell 22ct/24ct gold and use the sigma for that.

It does leave a wet spot on the coin which needs to be wiped off  so not ideal for proofs

[Cassius]

1 minute ago, Spyder said:

This is a good kit for testing gold jewellery. With most machine though, it really only tests the surface. Only filing  into object and acid testing will give you a true reading. They are not made for testing coins.  There is plenty of information on YouTube.

Thanks for coming back. Would you say a Sigma Tester will be the genuine machine to have for gold testing?

[arphethean]

1 minute ago, Cassius said:

Thanks for coming back. Would you say a Sigma Tester will be the genuine machine to have for gold testing?

Sigma is only good for 90%, 22ct and 24ct

[GoldDiggerDave]

@Cassius I'd be very sceptical of these, on this  website  theres a bit of Bullshittery in the Q+A's 

https://www.quicktest.co.uk/products/kee-electronic-gold-tester-model-m509gm-kee

I did like the mention  of using a  fine file that was include, just wonder if you would file your coins down to make sure they are not plated? 

I have used the Sigma both the basic and Pro machines and found them to be good at testing for gold and testing for plate, I have also used 15k XRF machines and never needed to file the surface of a coin to test it the get a full metallurgical analysis of a coin. 

I would not touch this with a bargepole..................

 

From the website 

Soo Does this Test Just Check the Surface of the Gold? or does it Check the Gold All the way thru?...Like a Gold Bar...Because knowing just the Surface is nothing and not Worth $350 just to know the Surface when it could be Heavy Plated..

 

All electronic gold testers (i.e. that tell you the carat) only test the surface;  you must file the surface with a fine file (included) so that you are testing below the surface. There are no exceptions, this applies to the inexpensive electronic gold testers (£450.00) and it also applies to the XRF testers ("cheap" models from £12,000.00, "good" models £40,000.00) and it also applies to acids (about £50.00 per set).  

 

[JohnA1]

  

7 minutes ago, Cassius said:

 Would you say a Sigma Tester will be the genuine machine to have for gold testing?

 

Depends on the size of your gold stash

If it's a few coins here and there, a trip to someone with a machine might be more than enough.

Otherwise I wouldn't accept anything below the Sigma Mini - it measures through the whole coin, and does specific gravity test easily too.

Works wonders (tungsten inserts) for small bars as well - up to 10mm thick for sure, otherwise you test the surface via a wand.

Sigma 'Classic' catches plating, which is the most common threat from what I've seen

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by JohnA1

[Spyder]

6 minutes ago, Cassius said:

Thanks for coming back. Would you say a Sigma Tester will be the genuine machine to have for gold testing?

For you own peace of mind, you be better off just buying your gold coins from proper online dealers and off forum members. Sigma is good but that can be tricked. Do not just buy a coin or definitely not bars because you see someone showing that it reads in between the correct reading on the Sigma. I did  thread where it was fooled by a fake gold bar. 

Will try and upload a video there as I did the test again on video and again it was fooled by that bar.  Can not seem to be able to email it to myself and then downloading on laptop.

[Cassius]

I do have a considerable amount of gold coins. I am not intrested in jewellery. I am only investing in gold coins of 22 or 24 karats, and I will do it for the next 10 to 15 years. I need a machine that can tell me if the coins are gold or not. All I knew was Sigma and I am trying to figure out if there s outhere something simillar without having to pay 1000£. 

Just wanna say a big big thank you to everybody 🙏 as this topic is very important to me.

[JohnA1]

Maybe worth checking out this little fella as a more cost-efficient option to Sigma 'classic'

https://www.gold-analytix.com/goldscreensensor

 

[Spyder]

1 hour ago, JohnA1 said:

Maybe worth checking out this little fella as a more cost-efficient option to Sigma 'classic'

https://www.gold-analytix.com/goldscreensensor

 

I do like this company's product

[Cassius]

Yes, I did saw a few youtube videos with the Gold Screen Sensor and the machine is apparently great.

Edited July 20, 2023 by Cassius

[Earthmetal]

There's a few Youtube videos showing the Kee Tester working well when used properly.
The results it gives are backed up by acid tests and found to be correct.

[pmbug]

Rory is getting closer to bringing the EON Cradle to market:

 

[JohnA1]

Nice one.

Looks like a mechanical version of the Sigma Pro.