Could you spot the fake? This 19th-century tool didn’t need to guess. This video shows an antique counterfeit coin detector—a brilliant counterbalance scale used in the 1800s and early 1900s by merchants, bankers, and mints to verify coin authenticity. Here’s how it worked: a coin was placed into the cradle on one end of the scale. If it was a fake—too light or made from incorrect metals—the device remained still. But when a genuine coin with the correct weight and composition was placed, the ba