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Gold filled, gold plated, and solid gold: they are not cousins
Plated is paint. Filled is a thicker skin. Solid is the metal. Shops see all three every day. The stamp is where people get their feelings hurt.
“But it says gold.”
A lot of things say gold. A chocolate coin says gold.
Solid
The piece is gold alloy all the way through — 10k, 14k, 18k, whatever it tests. Wear does not rub through to a silver or brass core. This is what melt math is for. Karat vs fineness.
Gold filled (GF, HGE, “gold overlay”)
A thick layer of gold bonded to a cheap core. Better than plate. Still not a gold bar. When we file it for a test, you will see the lie in the crater. The bid, if any, is tiny. Sometimes it is a polite no.
Plated / flashed / “gold tone”
A molecule of gold over whatever was in the bin. Costume. Scrap value is scrap of the core, which is often nothing we want.
How people get wrecked
Estate lots. A box of “mom’s gold.” Half of it is filled. A traveling buyer pays a blended number that assumes the pretty stuff is solid. Or a shop has to be the bad guy and sort it. Be the person who lets us sort it. Estates.
Watch the file
If they will not make a test mark you can see, you are buying a story. Weigh and test in front of you.
Part of the coin shop counter wiki · visitors & collectors · NumisQ Learn