Guide
What equipment do you need to test gold and silver?
Most people need only a scale and a loupe. Every other tool answers one narrower question, and none of them answers everything: each one misses a kind of fake that another catches.
Updated October 28, 2026
The tools, and what each one tells you
| Tool | Tells you | Misses |
|---|---|---|
| Scale | Weight, the basis of every value | Fakes made to the right weight |
| Loupe | Stamps, maker's marks, and plating marks | Anything stamped falsely |
| Calipers or coin gauge | Whether a coin's size matches its weight | Fakes made to the right size and weight |
| Magnet | Steel or nickel inside, which sticks | Copper, brass, lead, and tungsten, which don't |
| Acid kit | Roughly what karat the surface is | What's under the surface; it also marks the piece |
| Electronic gold tester | Karat of the surface, without acid on the item | What's under the surface |
| Sigma verifier | Resistivity through a coin or bar | Copper (reads close to silver); jewelry |
| XRF analyzer | The exact metals at the surface | Cores and inserts |
| Specific gravity | Density of the whole piece | Tungsten in gold, which has almost the same density |
What's worth owning
- Anyone selling: a scale that reads to 0.01 g and a 10x loupe. They tell you what you have and roughly what it's worth. See what scale to buy.
- Anyone buying coins privately: add calipers or a coin gauge, and a strong magnet. Weight, size, and the magnet together catch most counterfeit coins.
- Regular buyers of jewelry: an acid kit or electronic tester. Both read only the surface, so a plated piece has to be filed into first.
- Dealers: a Sigma verifier for bullion, and XRF if the volume justifies it. Ultrasound is used on large bars to find inserts.
The fake that beats most tools
Tungsten weighs almost exactly what gold does: 19.25 grams per cubic centimeter against gold's 19.3. A gold-plated tungsten bar can pass weight, size, a density test, and a surface test. Resistivity through the bar, or ultrasound on large bars, is what catches it. That's why dealers test with more than one method.
Using a magnet
Gold and silver aren't magnetic, so a strong magnet that sticks means steel or nickel is inside. A magnet that doesn't stick proves little, since copper, brass, lead, and tungsten don't stick either. On a silver bar, a magnet slid down a slope slows noticeably; see the silver magnet test. Copper slows it almost as much.
Sources
- Evident Scientific, ultrasonic testing of gold bars and spotting fake bullion.
- Plansee, tungsten (density); Georgia State University, HyperPhysics magnetic properties.
- Sigma Metalytics, resistivity reference guide (2026).
Testing guides: How to test silver · Is my gold real? · Is my gold coin real? · Is my silver real? · All guides
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