How to Tell if Silver Bullion Is Real

Reviewed by the Safe Silver Guide Editorial Team · Updated October 28, 2026

Quick answer: Start with who sold it and how it arrived, then weigh it, measure it and compare both numbers with the maker's published specification. Markings and finish come after that. A magnet or a ring test alone proves very little. For a firm answer, ask a dealer or an assay service to test it.

This page belongs to our wider look at the safest place to buy silver online, and it covers the moment after the order, when a piece is in your hand and you want to know what it is. Think of it as a short ladder. Each rung removes some doubt, and none of the lower rungs replaces the top one.

Why the order of the checks matters

Most people reach for a magnet first because it is quick and feels scientific. That is the wrong starting point. The cheapest, strongest protection against a bad piece of metal happens before you hold it, in the choice of seller and in the paperwork you keep. A fake that reaches your door usually reached it because a buyer skipped that step, not because the buyer failed a kitchen test.

So the order is this. First the seller and the packaging. Second weight, size and thickness against the published specification of the product. Third the markings and the finish. Fourth, only if doubt remains, a test that can speak about what the metal is made of. Fifth, an expert opinion when the first four leave you unsure.

If you have not yet bought, read is it safe to buy silver online first. It sets out the seven checks that make a bad purchase unlikely, and several of them are the same checks that make a fake piece easy to spot after it arrives.

Step one: the seller and the packaging

Look at the paperwork before the metal. You want an order confirmation that names the exact product, the weight and the price, saved as soon as you place the order. If the piece in your hand differs from what that confirmation describes, you have a documented mismatch, and a documented mismatch is far easier to resolve than a vague feeling.

Ask yourself a few plain questions. Does the seller have a written address for returns and written terms you could read before paying? Did the price sit close to the going spot price plus a normal premium, or was it far below it? A price well under spot has a simple explanation in most cases, and the explanation is rarely kind. Our guide to silver premiums shows how to work out what a fair gap over spot looks like, so you can notice when a quote ignores it.

Then look at the sealed packaging, if the product came sealed. Compare it with the maker's own pictures of the same product. Check that the printing is crisp, that the seal looks intact, and that nothing about the card or capsule suggests it has been opened and closed again. Photograph everything before you open it. Those photographs cost nothing and become your evidence if a dispute follows.

A large retailer does not change this logic. Costco's own pages say that precious metals are non-refundable, as read on 2026-10-28, which means the checking has to happen before you pay, not after. Our page on how to buy silver at Costco walks through what its pages state and what they leave unsaid.

Step two: weight

Weight is the most useful single number you can collect at home, because it is hard to fake and easy to measure. A one-ounce silver piece should weigh one troy ounce, which is 31.1035 grams, according to a dealer guide we read on 2026-10-28. Note the word troy. A troy ounce is heavier than the ounce on your kitchen label, so a scale set to ordinary ounces will mislead you unless you switch it to grams first.

Use a scale that reads to at least a tenth of a gram, and set it to grams. Weigh the piece out of its packaging. Weigh it twice, with the scale cleared each time. Then compare the result with the maker's published weight for that exact product.

Two cautions belong here. A tiny difference from the published number is normal for a worn coin or for a scale of modest quality, so do not treat a gap of a few hundredths of a gram as an alarm. A larger gap, though, deserves attention. A piece that is clearly light may be thin, hollow or made of something other than silver. A piece that is clearly heavy is also suspicious, because a cheaper, denser filler can sit under a coating.

Weight on its own is not proof. Someone making a fake can aim for the right weight, and a filler metal can be mixed to reach it. That is why weight is paired with size.

Step three: size and thickness

The same dealer guide points out that you should check the diameter and the thickness against the published specification, and it gives the density of silver as 10.49 grams per cubic centimeter. You can use that number to reason about a piece even without special equipment. A one-ounce piece of 31.1035 grams at that density takes up roughly three cubic centimeters. If a piece weighs the right amount but is visibly thicker than the maker's published thickness at the same diameter, the material inside is lighter than silver. If it weighs the right amount but is noticeably thinner, the material is denser.

Use calipers, which cost little and read to a hundredth of a millimeter. Measure the diameter in two directions and the thickness at the edge and, if you can, near the center. Write the numbers down next to the published specification.

Keep one limit in mind. Published specifications come from the maker, and we did not read the pages for any government mint, so this page does not print a specification for any particular coin. Look up the number from the maker of the product you actually bought, and use the maker's own page, not a forum post or a seller's summary.

Step four: markings and finish

Now bring the piece close to a good light. Compare the design with the maker's pictures, detail by detail: lettering, spacing between letters, the edge, the rim, and any privy marks or mint marks. Authentic pieces from a maker tend to repeat their details consistently. A blurred date, uneven lettering, a soft or mushy edge, or a surface that looks cast instead of struck should make you slow down.

The finish matters too. Fresh bullion can look bright, frosted or toned, depending on the product, and a hand-polished surface or a patchy shine is worth noting. Compare with the maker's pictures, not with an old coin from a drawer.

A word on the law, for context. The Hobby Protection Act, as the Federal Trade Commission's legal library describes it, prohibits making or importing imitation political items, and making, importing or selling imitation numismatic items, unless they are marked as the Commission's regulations require. The text we read says nothing about bullion bars or rounds specifically. So an imitation that is clearly labelled a copy may be legal to sell as a copy, and the point for you is simple: a piece sold as the real thing but lacking the marks a legitimate copy would carry should raise a question, and the question belongs in writing to the seller.

The magnet test, and what it does and does not prove

Silver is not magnetic. The dealer guide says that if your piece shows any magnetism, it is not pure silver. That is a useful, fast way to catch some fakes made from iron or steel.

Here is the catch. Many metals are not magnetic either. The same guide notes that non-magnetic fakes exist, with zinc as one example. So a piece that does not react to a magnet has passed a test that a great many wrong metals also pass. Treat the magnet as a way to eliminate, not to confirm. A reaction means something is wrong. No reaction means almost nothing.

The ring test

Genuine silver gives a distinctive, high-pitched ring when struck, per the same dealer guide. People balance a coin on a fingertip and tap it with another coin, then listen. A dull thud suggests something other than silver.

The test has real limits. A bar, a thick round or a coin sealed in plastic will not ring the way a loose coin does, so silence is not proof of anything in those cases. Tapping can also damage a piece, which matters for anything with collector value. And a person who has never heard real silver ring cannot judge the pitch from a description. Use this test for amusement and for an extra clue, never as the deciding evidence.

The ice cube test

Silver conducts heat unusually well. The guide says that no other metal conducts heat as effectively, so a cube of ice placed on a silver piece melts fast. The guide also notes that copper conducts heat well, which means a copper-cored fake could behave similarly. Treat it as another clue, not an answer. If the ice sits there with little change, that is worth noting. If the ice melts quickly, you have learned that the piece conducts heat, and not much more than that.

Acid kits and electronic testers

An acid test kit uses a testing stone and a reagent. According to the guide, a bright red result indicates .999 silver and a darker red indicates .925. The method scratches or marks the piece, so it damages it. That makes it a poor choice for coins and for anything you may want to sell later as an unmarked item.

Electrical conductivity testers are also described as accurate, though expensive, so they tend to make sense for a person who tests many pieces, not for a single purchase.

When to ask a dealer or an assay service

An X-ray fluorescence analyzer, usually called XRF, fires x-rays at the object and reads the response. The guide describes it as very accurate for the surface composition. It adds a limit worth remembering: thick plating can fool it, because the machine mostly reads the outer layer. Ask whoever runs the test what depth the reading covers.

The guide's overall advice is to contact a reputable dealer or jeweler when you want a definitive answer. We agree with the practical side of that. Before you hand over a piece, ask what the test involves, whether it can mark the metal, what it costs, and whether you receive the result in writing. Do not agree to leave it for days without a written receipt that describes the item.

A test result is information about the metal. It does not tell you where the piece came from or who owes you a refund. Keep that distinction clear, and keep your own photographs and weights alongside any report.

If you think you bought a fake

Stay calm and move in an orderly way. The steps below follow the guidance of the regulators we read, and they work best in this order.

1. Stop. Do not clean the piece, cut it, file it or send it anywhere without a written receipt. Keep the packaging, the order confirmation and your photographs.
2. Write to the seller. Describe the product, the order number, the weights and measurements you took, and the specification you compared them with. State what you want. Keep the message factual and save a copy.
3. Look at the payment. If you paid by credit card, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says you should call the card company and report the problem right away, and that a written billing error notice must reach the card company within 60 calendar days after the charge appeared on your statement. The Federal Trade Commission's page on card disputes describes the same 60-day timing, and covers charges involving errors, including items never delivered. If you paid by wire, the Federal Trade Commission says that wiring money is like sending cash and that once you send it you usually cannot get it back, so contact the sending bank or wire company at once. We could not check the exact wording of the FTC's page on what to do if you were scammed, so this page does not quote it.
4. Report it. The CFTC advisory on buying physical metals points readers to their state attorney general or securities regulator for guidance on dealers, and that office is a sensible place to start. Our guide to silver dealer red flags lists the warning signs, and the way you paid determines how much help you can expect, as the guide on how to pay for silver online explains.

Check the dates on your statement before anything else. The card dispute window runs from the date of the statement, so a delay of a few weeks can cost you the right to dispute.

Coins, bars and rounds are checked a little differently

A coin from a government-backed maker carries a face value, a date and a design the maker publishes. That gives you the most reference material: pictures, weight, diameter and thickness are all public. A coin is also where the details of the design are most useful in spotting a problem.

A bar usually has a stamped weight, a purity mark and a maker's name, and often comes in sealed packaging. Larger bars are heavier, so a small error in weight is easier to see. Compare the markings with the maker's own pictures of the same bar. Our page on where to buy silver bars covers where bars come from and how to choose a source.

A round is a privately made piece. It has no face value, and the maker may be a mint you have never heard of. That makes the research step bigger. Find the maker's page, read what it says about weight and purity, and compare the details. A piece from an unknown maker with no findable page is a piece you cannot check against anything, and that alone is information.

For all three, remember the thing the tests cannot reach. A piece can be correct in every measurement and still be a problem if the seller sold it as something rarer or more valuable than it is. The paperwork protects you there.

Keeping records so you can prove what you have

Whatever you decide, build a small file for each purchase. It should hold the order confirmation, a photograph of the sealed package, a photograph of the piece, its weight in grams, its diameter and thickness, and the date. If you later sell the piece or need to make a claim, that file settles most arguments in a minute. Our guide on how to store silver goes further on records and on where the metal itself should live.

What this can't tell you

This page cannot tell you whether a particular piece in your hand is real. It cannot know the product you bought, the specification the maker publishes, how worn your coin is, or whether a surface has been plated. It cannot see your scale or your calipers, and it cannot replace a test run by someone with the right equipment. We also have not read the pages of any government mint, so we do not print specifications for any named coin. What it can do is give you an order of checks and honest limits on each one. If the stakes are high, ask a dealer or an assay service, and get the answer in writing. If you are weighing where to buy next time, our Safe Silver Guide home page gathers every check in one place, and the page on Augusta Precious Metals for silver explains who that partner suits and who it does not.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• How to pay for silver online safely: the way you pay decides how much help you get if a piece turns out wrong
• Silver premiums explained: learn what a fair price over spot looks like before a low quote tempts you
• Is it safe to buy silver online: the seven checks that make a bad purchase unlikely