I am looking at purchasing a silver 5 Reichsmark from 1928. The coin has somewhat reddish-brown toning, but it appears to be natural. Being somewhat new to the use of a gram scale, the coin weighed in at 24.9 grams, whereas Krause states it should weigh 25 grams.
My question for the density/weight experts out there is: is 0.1g far enough underweight that the coin could be counterfeit, or is a tenth of a gram over the course of 83 years considered normal wear-and-tear?
I don't know that I would be overly concerned about 0.1g. If the coin shows visible wear I would expect it to be a little lighter.
I don't know that I have ever read anything on how far off is to far off, in regards to weight. Most of the time the writer says something like "if its to light or to heavy". Surely the mints of the world strive to issue coins within a tolerance but does anyone know what that is? (+- 0.01g ?) and how would one account for weight loss due to wear?
I know that the US mint in its current production is pretty exacting; considering, however, we're talking about an early-20th-century issue, I'm not sure they would have been as precise -- but still, I'm no expert.
wear will take a higher toll on weight than you might think, I bought a Morgan dollar the other day and could tell that it was about a gram shy because of wear, so .1g would not concern me.
As far as silver is concerned, I have found a quick method if you are out and don't have a better way to check it, let me know what you think.
