Silver ingot fraud has appeared in the early years of the Republic of China. The main method is to reduce the fineness and weight of silver. Of course, at present, this kind of silver ingots that cut corners are not completely regarded as fakes, but only as a "fake" that has reduced quality. However, the counterfeiting of silver ingots is different now. It mainly targets collectors. It can be said that some counterfeiting methods have become unscrupulous. Let me share with you the identification skills of silver ingots. I hope it will be helpful to everyone.
Tips for identifying silver ingots:
The main counterfeiting methods discovered in recent years are as follows
The first one is Li Daitao Zheng, using lead, tin and other metals to pretend to be silver ingots. Because lead and tin will appear bluish black on the surface, this type of fraud is easier to identify.
The second type is strong on the outside but dry on the inside. When casting fake goods, the copper block is solidified inside the silver ingot and the outside is gilded with silver to achieve the purpose of making the fake look like the real one. However, due to different specific gravity, this kind of fake silver ingot is large and light, and the hand feel when weighing is obviously different. As long as the silver ingot of the same specification is weighed and compared, the original shape can be revealed.
The third type is harboring evil intentions. That is, using the lead filling method, dig a small hole at the bottom of a real silver ingot, take out the silver inside, fill it with lead, and then weld and seal the hole. Identification method: As long as you observe carefully, you can find that there will be traces of sealing in the holes sealed at the bottom.
The fourth type is to replace the old with the new. Counterfeiters use new silver to cast old silver ingots in an attempt to get high prices for the old products. Identification method: This kind of fake old silver ingot cannot realistically show the charm of the ingot at that time in terms of patina, honeycomb, cast inscriptions, etc. Anyone with a little knowledge of collecting can identify it.
Yuanbao, people can often see it in costume movies and TV shows today.
Silver ingots, ancient Chinese currency, are silver melted into ingots. It began in the Han Dynasty and was cast in all subsequent dynasties, but it was not widely circulated. It became popular in the Ming Dynasty, but it was not the national legal silver ingot currency. By the Qing Dynasty, it began to be circulated as the main currency. The weights vary. Because the main unit of weight is "liang", it is also called silver liang. Silver taels are legal currency and are not only used for collection in private transactions, but also used by the government to collect taxes from local residents. This formed the Yinliang system.
In recent years, the price of silver ingots has risen sharply. In 2004, a Yuan Dynasty Yangzhou silver ingot was sold for 220,000 yuan at the Jiade Spring Auction, which caused a sensation in the coin collection world. As the auction price of this silver ingot reached a new high of 1.568 million yuan in 2007, silver ingot, a large-scale currency that had been in and out of wealthy families and changed hands among the rich hundreds of years ago, attracted more investors. Eyesight has become a new highlight of high-end coin collection in 2008.
Emperor’s private money
Silver ingot is a larger silver ingot in ancient times. Silver ingots began to be used as currency before the Han Dynasty. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, they were called "silver cakes" and "silver wats". In the Song and Jin Dynasties, they were called "silver ingots" and in the Yuan Dynasty, they were called "yuanbao". During the Ming and Qing dynasties, silver was circulated as the main currency and ingot casting was popular. Most of the Yuanbao grade silver ingots currently in existence are from the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
In November 2007, Jiade Autumn Auction launched a special sale of Chinese gold and silver ingots for the first time, with nearly 500 lots. Among them, a fifty-tael silver ingot made in the sixth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty was the finale. At the auction, this silver ingot was highly sought after by buyers, with a starting price of 260,000 yuan. After dozens of rounds of fierce bidding, it was finally sold at a high price of 1.568 million yuan.
With the joint work of the cultural relics, public security and other departments, and after receiving the government's promise of rewards, villagers in Xinqing Village, Xinsheng Township, Qing'an County, Heilongjiang Province, successively handed over the "silver ingots" they grabbed.
When the villagers of Xinqing Village, Xinsheng Township, Qing'an County, Heilongjiang Province were digging the foundation, they accidentally dug out a box of "silver ingots" that belonged to the 31st year of Guangxu (1905) and are national level 3 cultural relics. .
According to experts, the fifty-tael silver ingot produced in the sixth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty is the only silver ingot with a year number in the Ming Dynasty that is currently seen in the auction market. The Silver Making Bureau was a workshop specializing in manufacturing gold and silverware for the court in the Ming Dynasty.
At present, there are only 4 known silver ingots of Yinzuoju in existence, two of which do not carry year numbers. In his article "The Three Hundred Years of Jiashen Festival", the famous writer Guo Moruo quoted a passage from "The Northern Strategy of the Ming Dynasty": "The old town treasury has 37 million ingots that have not been used for many years, and all the ingots are 500 ( It is suspected to be ten) taels, engraved with Yongle characters. ?And this Yongle-year official cast silver ingot is engraved with 38 characters: ?Silver maker bureau sold fifty taels of silver for domestic production in November of the year of Yongle. , the inscription is detailed and the handwriting is clear. What’s even more rare is that this silver ingot, which was cast in 1408, is still well preserved, 600 years ago, and its silver is shining, making it extremely precious. Experts from the Jiade Stamp and Coin Department analyzed that this silver ingot has very high historical and cultural value and artistic value, and it is reasonable to fetch such a high price.
A Ming Dynasty "internal transport warehouse" twenty-five taels of silver ingot also sold for a high price of 560,000 yuan in this auction. This lot is the first silver ingot found in the inner transport warehouse. According to records, the internal transport warehouse of the Ming Dynasty was established in the Hongwu period of the early Ming Dynasty. It was initially used to store satin, gold and silver, jewelry, teeth, feathers, etc. It belonged to the national treasury and was managed by the Ministry of Household Affairs. In the first year of Zhengtong, Emperor Yingzong allowed part of the grain to be converted into gold and silver and stored in the internal transportation warehouse. From then on, the inner transport warehouse became the emperor's small treasury. What's interesting is that the emperor's private money in the past has now become a thing for ordinary people to play with. It really makes people lament the changes of the times. This twenty-five taels of silver ingot from the internal transport warehouse is an important material for studying the private treasury of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and has high collection and research value.