🪙 Is It Real Silver?
1 · The magnet test
Hold a strong magnet (a fridge magnet won’t do) at an angle and let the coin slide down it. Real silver is not magnetic — the coin should slide slowly, braked by eddy currents. If it sticks or snaps to the magnet, it’s not silver.
2 · The edge check
Look at the coin’s reeding (edge). Solid silver shows a uniform silver-gray edge. A copper-colored sandwich line through the middle means a copper core — a clad coin, not solid silver.
3 · The weight check
Weigh the coin on a gram scale and compare to its official spec (a Morgan dollar is 26.73 g, a Silver Eagle 31.1 g). Fakes are often noticeably light or heavy — more than ~0.3 g off on a dollar-size coin is a red flag.
4 · The ping test
Balance the coin on a fingertip and tap it with another coin. Real silver rings with a clear, sustained high-pitched tone (a couple of seconds). Base-metal fakes give a dull thud.
5 · The ice test
Silver is the most thermally conductive metal. Put an ice cube on the coin — on real silver it starts melting almost immediately, visibly faster than on a regular surface at room temperature.