Have i got my first fake?

[silversword]

So, I picked up a Pan-American 1oz bar from eBay (where else?) advertised as solid silver, no mention of clad, layered or anything else.

 

It looks right; the finish and lettering are fine. The dimensions are right, give or take fractions of a milimetre. It mostly sounds right, although I've only ever used the ring test on coins which are a different shape, so not sure. A neodymium magnet slides down it slowly, but otherwise no signs of magnetic attraction or activity. So far, so good.

 

Ordinarily I'd be happy but of course the weight needs to be checked. Well, its weighs in at 34g. (Alarm bells ringing, I re-weigh a recently acquired (and genuine) Philharmonic on my scale and it's 31.26g, same as when I got it last week - so the scale is fine). Expected 31g plus for the bar, but certainly not upwards of 33g. 

 

Either the mint have been 10% more generous or the bar is plated with a dense core. Really not sure about this one but fear the worst. 

[Danny-boy]

At that weight, I'd be concerned.

It's 10% overweight, a bit like me.

[HawkHybrid]

consider trying the sg test? that's a tough one to pass.

 

apparently lots of metals are diamagnetic like silver but on silver it

shows up more due to it's higher electrical conductivity.

 

HH

[silversword]

A little bit of detective work on "that well-known site" has turned up a listing for fake Pan American silver bars weighing in at 33-34g. Silver plated with brass core. Brass obviously contains copper, copper is diamagnetic by itself and thus brass is too, albeit not to the same level as silver. I'm thinking I could have got the depth measurement wrong due to the lip on the edge of the bar, because brass doesn't have the density to match silver and should result in a thicker bar, unless there is something else in there as well. 

 

I have never done the SG test before but I think I am just going to return these, I am not happy with them, knowing what I know.

[smokestack]

Have you contacted the seller about it yet?

[silversword]

Yes, seller agreed to take it back and refund in full. I notice he has more for sale though, which is a bit naughty.