Spotting A Fake Krugerrand Gold Coin

The most effective way to avoid buying a faked Krugerrand is always to deal only with a respectable seller, in particular a coin dealer who has a lot of experience with Krugerrand coins. Such dealers will have been handling this type of coin for some time, so they can easily notice when one of these coins doesn't feel right. What's more, respectable coin dealers are concerned about their reputations, so there will be a real incentive to make sure they only sell legitimate gold bullion coins.

While that's one way to go, it is definitely possible to confirm the authenticity of a Krugerrand all by yourself. Physical standards have been published and made available publicly by the South African Mint, so you can easily compare your coin to these standards. Also, you need to know that gold has some special characteristics that make it unique. Particularly, it has a very high density, much higher than the other easily available metals. In the case that you do come across a fake Krugerrand made with one of these lesser metals, the difference in weight really should be entirely noticeable if you know what you are looking for. And you should be aware that the metals that have similar density to gold are often either pretty difficult to get a hold of, quite high-priced, or really brittle. All of this is to your advantage when seeking to spot a fake.

With regard to physical properties, this is what you want to look for: a one-ounce Krugerrand has a weight of 33.930g, a diameter of 32.77mm, a thickness of 2.84m, and 160 serrations around the edge. A half-ounce Krugerrand carries a weight of 16.965g, a diameter of 27.07mm, a thickness of 2.215mm, and 185 serrations. A quarter-ounce Krugerrand has a weight of 8.482g, a diameter of 22.06mm, a thickness of 1.888mm, and 150 serrations. Lastly, a tenth-ounce Krugerrand has a weight of 3.393g, a diameter of 16.55mm, a thickness of 1.35mm, and 115 serrations.

To be able to conduct this testing procedure, you will need a fine-grained ruler with markings in millimeters plus an accurate scale that can make weight measurements in grams. Alternatively, there's a pretty helpful device named the Fisch Tester that can conduct all of these tests for you. It possesses a coin-shaped recess used for checking a coin's shape, a slot for checking a coin's thickness and diameter, and a fulcrum to check a coin's weight. The Fisch Tester can save you time and effort and makes it easier for you to spot an imitation coin. At the same time, you should be careful about buying a Fisch Tester on eBay because there have been several reports of fake Fisch Testers being sold on there. If you decide to go with one of these, you should consider buying directly from Fisch.

Now, armed with this information, you should now have the capability to identify a bogus Krugerrand all on your own. Krugerrand gold coins are truly special, so you should now feel confident that you are making a solid investment. Good luck with your adventures in gold investing!

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