Hello fellow numismatists. I once again made a purchase and have doubts as to whether these coins are authentic or not. I hate it that we are so much plagued by this so that the hobby becomes a potential source of anxiety, especially when it comes to expensive coins.
I have two 20 Balboas coins from Panama. They are quite common, and the details on them is good (good strike, good condition), but I'm concerned that the weight is off by a couple of grams. Any help/advice will be very much appreciated.
'... but I'm concerned that the weight is off by a couple of grams.'
Hi presedinte, to rule out your scales as being the problem is it possible for you to check their weight on a different set of scales or are you able to verify that your scales are accurate by weighing a known weight?
The coins in the numista have exactly the same weight (129.59) with a 2-decimal precision, so you can be sure it's from the scale of the guy, who entered the coins in numista, but he only bothered to weigh one of them.
Now try to find out, what the coin weight in the original description is. I would guess 130.00! So your coins are easily within the allowed deviation.
Quote: "auscoin"'... but I'm concerned that the weight is off by a couple of grams.'
Hi presedinte, to rule out your scales as being the problem is it possible for you to check their weight on a different set of scales or are you able to verify that your scales are accurate by weighing a known weight?
Hey auscoin, my scales are not perfect, you're right. But I do have a weight that I use before weighting anything, just to make sure that it is accurate. My scales add an extra of 0.08g every time, so not really a concern. Unfortunately, I don't have another precision scale but I checked on the kitchen scales and the weight is the same. Thanks for your help!
Quote: "Sjoelund"The coins in the numista have exactly the same weight (129.59) with a 2-decimal precision, so you can be sure it's from the scale of the guy, who entered the coins in numista, but he only bothered to weigh one of them.
Now try to find out, what the coin weight in the original description is. I would guess 130.00! So your coins are easily within the allowed deviation.
Hey Sjoelund,
Many thanks for suggesting this. I had checked Krause and they list the weight that's also in the Numista catalogue. But your suggestion made me doubt or question Krause's accuracy, and I found this page which lists the coins at 130.5, so within the accepted range, as you say. There might be more variation than we think for these coins, although I can't think of the reason why this is so.
Don't you worry about that weight. 129.59 g. is the weight in the Krause catalog for the 1973 coin. It's a very common coin so you can find it easily at auction houses. A lot of them are described with a weight of 129.59 g., but be sure they just took over the data from Krause, just like Numista did. Every coin has a certain tolerance so finding such a heavy coin with the exact weight of 129.59 g. is almost impossible. But some auction houses take the effort to really weigh the coins and then you get other results, a lot closer to your weight:
The same story for your 1977 coin. Also with a weight of 129.59 g. in Krause, which some auction houses took over, just like Numista did. But some other auction houses weigh the coins themselves and then you always get different weights:
By the way, I have that 1973 coin myself too, but it's still in the sealed set from the Franklin Mint so I can't weigh it separately.
Thanks a lot, guys. I’m relieved that they are genuine, as I hate having to return them for refund. I’m really very grateful to be part of this wonderful community!
You’re right about there being a lot of fakes out there though. You can prevent being scammed by buying from reputable sources and dealers. Avoid buying loose coins from China, for example. If a coin is very valuable consider buying certified to be sure.
Also, after looking at and handling coins for some years you can usually identify most counterfeits with minimal magnification and good lighting. Although even the most experienced collectors can fall victim so it’s nothing to be ashamed about.
