How to tell difference between nickel and steel?

[ZenOps]

I got to thinking, there are a few silver and gold fakes out there.

If Nickel ever got back to the price level where one pound of nickel could buy two barrels of oil (1970) how would I be able to tell a pure Canadian nickel coin apart from a Steel cored one?

They both are magnetic, they both are coated with nickel, so any surface nickel test will always show up as being pure nickel. They both "thud" sound and do not ring (the cupronickels will ring) Other than the weight difference I can't find a quick test that would distinguish the two.

Or am I being paranoid enough to think that nickel will be worth enough that people will counterfeit it.

[uthminsta]

Seems like it would need to be worth more in order to wanna counterfeit. As in, the counterfeit source material plus "minting" costs would be too high... how much would it have to go up for that to be worthwhile?

[JadeDragon]

Weight and sound are quite different. Also counter-fitters don't have the plating technology (it involves a lot of equipment - I saw it in Winnipeg).

[ZenOps]

Britain is having a small crisis with counterfeit cuprozinc pound coins.

http://www.royalmint.com/Corporate/fact ... Coins.aspx

Officially at 2.94% counterfeit rate, but estimates in the real world are about 1 in 20 (5%) which in real numbers, could top 100 million fake pound coins soon.

I blame the low 5.5% nickel and high zinc content. Its actually quite difficult to mimic a 25% cupronickel.

[cupronickel]

Weight would different, if it's the same size.
Size would be different, if it's the correct weight.
I have some fake Morgan dollars and some are too thick but weigh correctly.
And some are the correct size (circumference and thickness), but are underweight.

[uthminsta]

Britain is having a small crisis with counterfeit cuprozinc pound coins. http://www.royalmint.com/Corporate/fact ... Coins.aspx Officially at 2.94% counterfeit rate, but estimates in the real world are about 1 in 20 (5%) which in real numbers, could top 100 million fake pound coins soon. I blame the low 5.5% nickel and high zinc content. Its actually quite difficult to mimic a 25% cupronickel.

I finally found my first one. It's a 1996 but the reverse is from 1987 or 1992 - the oak tree. Can you spot it with these real 1996's?