Can NGC differentiate plated versus solid silver?

[jonathanb-migration]

I have a Julian-listed Mint Medal of a type that would qualify for slabbing. The outside of the medal is silver, but I'm concerned that it might be silver-plated copper rather than solid silver. Is NGC able to identify the actual metal content in that situation (via a specific gravity test or some other means), or would the medal be returned unslabbed with a comment along the lines of "could not definitively identify type"?

 

Thanks!

 

jonathan

[Scott_Schechter]

Thanks for your question. Sometimes simply weighing a medal is enough to make this determination if weights are known for both silver and silver plated versions. If this information is not available (i.e. not published in Julian or unknown to us), we will perform a specific gravity test. This is a very simple non-invasive procedure, and it is done in-house.

 

Since we can make a firm determination that a medal is either solid silver or silver plated, this is not a factor in determining a medal's eligibility for grading.