How do you tell if it’s a fake gold bar?

[Silverman2U]

About to buy this and trying to work out how to tell if it’s fake when it’s wrapped up in packaging like this? 

[AndrewSL76]

This is fairly easy. You take it out of the wrapper and bite into it. If it has a copper or chocolate taste you know it is fake. If it tastes of milk and honey and makes your loins swell, then, my friend, it is gold.

[AndrewSL76]

On a serious note, whilst some fakes come in elaborate packaging, in most cases a bar like the one in the picture should be ok. It is called an Assay card and the serial number on the bar should match the number on the card. 

Re testing, there are loads of examples such as magnet etc. Do a quick search on the forum as there are a few threads about these things. Maybe you could also take it to a dealer who has a sigma machine and can give you an idea too?

[Norskgeld]

12 minutes ago, AndrewSL76 said:

This is fairly easy. You take it out of the wrapper and bite into it. If it has a copper or chocolate taste you know it is fake. If it tastes of milk and honey and makes your loins swell, then, my friend, it is gold.

Hahahahahaha….quality. 🤣

[Happypanda88]

This is a reason why I do not bother with gold bars.

Having bought two 1oz bars a few years back, I immediately regretted it.

Just how the hell does one know for sure whether it real when it is in an assay holder and without an expensive sigma machine !

[mr-dead]

Fake pamps are everywhere.

There are several guides online that help spot them by typeface, spacing, thickness etc but even the genuine bars have had a few revisions of the packaging.

I woud only be confident if buying from a trusted source and defo not ebay.

Assay cards and serial numbers are proof of nothing.

 

[silenceissilver]

14 minutes ago, Happypanda88 said:

This is a reason why I do not bother with gold bars.

Having bought two 1oz bars a few years back, I immediately regretted it.

Just how the hell does one know for sure whether it real when it is in an assay holder and without an expensive sigma machine !

Although I have a Sigma machine, I don't buy bars for this reason, too. If you take it out, it's like driving a new car and then selling it, it immediately loses a bit of value or at least is harder to resell it - because it doesn't have what's supposed to be a safety measurement but effectively forces you to do a blind bargain because you can't take it out and check it, yourself. Even with a Sigma machine, it could be real but a bit underweight - you can't check the exact weight. There could even be a tiny lead plate hidden inside the packaging to further decrease the actual gold content. Fraudsters will come up with all kind of creative ideas. If you don't hold it you don't own it and it if you can't take it out of the packaging, you can't check if it's real and full weight.

I have once seen a guy in a PM shop who wanted a bar because he feared a coin could be harder to sell in another country - and he had been offered Krugerrand! So, if this is the reason you want to buy a bar rather than a coin, just buy one of the most liquid coins - they are liquid everywhere - Krugerrand, clearly the number one, 40 % market share, internationally, I have read somewhere. Number two internationally must be the Maple Leaf. Also liquid everywhere: American Eagle, Philharmonic, Kangaroo/Nugget and probably also the Britannia and the American Buffalo

Bars without this elaborated packaging are available from 100/250g upwards, then it's a different story. If you don't want ot buy such quantities per piece of gold, just stick to these common bullion coins that I have mentioned and do a specific gravity and a magnet test.

[Tn21]

Its a tough call. I would only consider purchasing if the seller is trusted and reputable. I had a 5g bar very similar to the one shown. Bar has since been sold, but only after I got it tested on a sigma and got the green light. Was a bit suspect when I got it due to a foggy like serial number.

For me not worth the risk, unless you know and trust the seller.  

[Robb]

8 hours ago, Silverman2U said:

About to buy this and trying to work out how to tell if it’s fake when it’s wrapped up in packaging like this?

You can't unless you take it out of the package.

I never understood why a gold bar that has been taken out of a package to be tested is somehow considered less valuable than a fake gold bar in a package.

You still have the assay w/Serial Number (shrugs)

Sad thing is that sooo many people keep repeating the mantra (don't take it out of the package!!) that what they are really doing is helping the counterfeiters.  

Instead ALL of these stupid assay packages should be ripped open and all the gold tested.  Counterfeiters would have a heart attack 😉

The value is the gold bar, not the card.

 

 

[dicker]

I won’t buy bars unless in person from the Perth Mint, and then only cast bars not sealed bars.  
 

Far too many counterfeits circulating. 
 

Best

Dicker

[Silverman2U]

32 minutes ago, Robb said:

You can't unless you take it out of the package.

I never understood why a gold bar that has been taken out of a package to be tested is somehow considered less valuable than a fake gold bar in a package.

You still have the assay w/Serial Number (shrugs)

Sad thing is that sooo many people keep repeating the mantra (don't take it out of the package!!) that what they are really doing is helping the counterfeiters.  

Instead ALL of these stupid assay packages should be ripped open and all the gold tested.  Counterfeiters would have a heart attack 😉

The value is the gold bar, not the card.

 

 

How’s about using the veri scan app? 
this is listed on the packaging. 
 

Anyhow drove 30 mins to meet-up in public car park ... didn’t show last minute. Wasted my time. So glad I do most of my trading with the support of TSF! TSF is a godsend!  

Thanks for help @Robb

[Robb]

43 minutes ago, Silverman2U said:

How’s about using the veri scan app? 
 

Yeah, the Veriscan app.......

Is that where you take a photo and all the metadata gets sent back to Apple/Google (depending on phone), fed to DeepMind or ?? and sell the rest to the NSA?

j/k         sorta 😉

Photo metadata is a set of data describing and providing information about rights and administration of an image.

It allows information to be transported with an image file, in a way that can be understood by other software and human users.

[Midasfrog]

Its a bit risky meeting up to buy or sell bullion . If you arrange to meet in a public place and for some reason they dont show up or give that impression ( maybe they did show unknowing to you with the intention of following you back to your home address ) 

Much safer to deal with Forum members with a background of good feedback 👍

[Arganto]

1 hour ago, Silverman2U said:

How’s about using the veri scan app? 
this is listed on the packaging. 
 

Anyhow drove 30 mins to meet-up in public car park ... didn’t show last minute. Wasted my time. So glad I do most of my trading with the support of TSF! TSF is a godsend!  

Thanks for help @Robb

 

Never underestimate the possibility of being cased. If you really must meet up with an unknown have a circuitous and preferably public route away planned, ideally in such a way that you can tell if anyone's following you. Any trade that hints of someone with cash or something worth stealing can run afoul of a later burglary or getting jumped on the way out. Don't count on getting much in the way of help afterward, these sorts of crimes often go unsolved or unfortunately under investigated. I'd meet an established forum member I reckon but not an unknown. 

Be safe.

[OriginalS]

I wouldn't be buying a sealed pamp bar unless it was from a dealer, I definitely wouldn't be buying it when the photos have been taken on what looks like a mattress without sheets on it. That just screams fake to me 🤷

[Arganto]

Maybe they thought the stitch pattern made it look like a fancy jewellery cushion? The crusty old urine stains just add a touch of class 👌🏻

[OriginalS]

42 minutes ago, Liam84 said:

Maybe they thought the stitch pattern made it look like a fancy jewellery cushion? The crusty old urine stains just add a touch of class 👌🏻

I wasn't looking for any urine stains, I think Silverman had doged a bullet here though, hopefully he hasn't unknowingly been followed home like someone said.

[Silverman2U]

1 hour ago, OriginalS said:

I wouldn't be buying a sealed pamp bar unless it was from a dealer, I definitely wouldn't be buying it when the photos have been taken on what looks like a mattress without sheets on it. That just screams fake to me 🤷

Probably a good thing then it never panned out.  

[OriginalS]

30 minutes ago, Silverman2U said:

Probably a good thing then it never panned out.  

Means you've got some spare cashola to bid on some items I'm contemplating auctioning off 😉

[Goldmansacks]

All about source at the end of the day it sounds like.

[AndrewSL76]

22 minutes ago, Goldmansacks said:

All about source at the end of the day it sounds like.

Yep. Stay off the sauce and off eBay. Both can lead to daft decisions.