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Possible fake bar?


Connor

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Hi there, I've bought a bar on which I have noticed a few scores around the corners. The thing that has made me suspicious is the discoloration in them, it seems to be much darker than the surface. Is this a possible fake?

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1 minute ago, AlphaBeast said:

Have you checked the bar dimensions and weight?

Also, try a neodymium magnet. It should slide of the bar 'slowly' when held at an angle which will confirm it is silver. If not, most likely a fake.

Hi thanks for your reply. The trouble I'm having is the mint who made it no longer lists the dimensions for the type of bar, or at least I can't find them on their website. I have tried the only magnet I have on it and there was no magnetic reaction there, but it wasn't a very strong magnet.

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4 minutes ago, jonrms said:

If that's the bar your talking about and is the Baird ine in the below picture.  Please ask and speak to Baird & Co. They take their security seriously 

Hi mate, I have been in contact with them, waiting on a reply. I'm probably just being over cautious, I doubt someone would go to the trouble over a 100g of silver, but equally, you never know. My best bet is either tarnishing, the RM being a bit heavy handed or maybe where someone has done an acid test on the bar and scored it to get under the surface.

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Just now, Connor said:

Hi mate, I have been in contact with them, waiting on a reply. I'm probably just being over cautious, I doubt someone would go to the trouble over a 100g of silver, but equally, you never know. My best bet is either tarnishing, the RM being a bit heavy handed or maybe where someone has done an acid test on the bar and scored it to get under the surface.

Eek I doubt that's been fajwd. But you missed out on my entire weeks series of FAKES see here

 

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The possibility of it being fake is slim, with those kind of marks it is more likely poor quality control and a simple case of toning happening in the scratch/dent area. 

That said, Baird and Co are the right people to ask and will be able to shed more light.

Failing that, crack it out of it's assay card and do a specific gravity test on it, that will give you a very good indication of how real it is. 

Visit my website for all my Hand Poured Silver: http://backyardbullion.com

And check out my YouTube channel 

https://www.youtube.com/backyardbullion

 

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Thanks for the replies and the videos people. Only joined a day ago and I'm already very glad I found the place, much appreciate the videos. The person who sold it to me has said he thinks it may have been marked during manufacture and then tarnished slightly where it was marked. He offered to replace it. He does come across as decent and going from what I've seen on here too I'm inclined to go with it being tarnished rather than some sort of plating issue.

On a sidenote it's been a couple of days now and still haven't heard anything from Baird, but given the current climate and the smaller value when compared to their bigger stuff, I suppose I can see why. I'll take a positive out of that as it probably means they don't have any concerns.

 

Thanks once again.

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On 22/10/2020 at 19:54, Connor said:

Hi mate, I have been in contact with them, waiting on a reply. I'm probably just being over cautious, I doubt someone would go to the trouble over a 100g of silver, but equally, you never know. My best bet is either tarnishing, the RM being a bit heavy handed or maybe where someone has done an acid test on the bar and scored it to get under the surface.

I purchased a silver us dime, and is was fake. 

Never underestimate  counterfeiters.

 

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30 minutes ago, MintageSeller said:

I purchased a silver us dime, and is was fake. 

Never underestimate  counterfeiters.

 

Just when I wasn't feeling concerned😂

I think I'll get it checked

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Looks like tarnish to me but hard to be sure in a photo.  I prefer non sealed products for this very reason.  It's pretty easy to test non destructively for plating issues.  If it is a fake, it will be the wrong dimension or the wrong Wt or it will be magnetic or it won't be diamagnetic.  Combining the use of calipers, scales and magnetism is a simple way to guarantee it's not a phoney.  It's theoretically possible to beat such tests but it would require a multiple metal fake of very specific sizes to manufactured together and then plated. For smaller items this is virtually impossible and would far outweigh the cost of the silver so it's not a reality.

But the very first thing to do is to look at it under a loupe.  Often the pattern or shape is just plain wrong.  Once you are familiar it becomes very obvious.  It's very easy and cheap to purchase a powerful loupe on ebay.  I have a simple 40x25mm loupe with a light on it which cost almost nothing and it's invaluable!!!  Simple fake coins are very easy to identify with a loupe.  They seem to have plating issues with inside corners between the field and the wall of the rim that are much easier to see when enlarged either through hi res photography or under a loupe.  They seem to show a little thin at that joint sometimes with a copper colour peeping through.  Under a loupe it stands out like a sore thumb.

Given that it's minted, it must have a known dimension and you should see if you can get the sizes for an easy measure.

If you can't get the dimensions then you can do an SG test using fine thread and dipped into water on very accurate scales.  Lots of (mostly) good videos on youtube showing you just how to do it.  Finally, some larger jewellers possess easy to use modern electronic test equipment that can very accurately detect fakes through the packaging.  You may be able to ask a local jewellers to do you a solid and throw it on for 5 seconds to put your mind at ease.

New profile pic to support the current thing, because it's current year.

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6 hours ago, silversky said:

I prefer non sealed products for this very reason.

Same. This influenced my decision to avoid bars and to go for coins, considerably.

I can only second what has been said, do a specific gravity test, which together with a magnet test will bring almost 100% certainty - well, at least for one ounce coins, for big bars it could still be something else, theoretically. But even then, chances are very big it's genuine, if it passes both tests and your bar isn't really big anyway. There are also good videos on how to do magnet tests. With bars of this size it's very easily done as it even works well with 1oz silver coins.

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Hi Connor

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, 

I can confirm that these marks/scratches and discoloration most likely occurred during the packaging process.

You mentioned your supplier will replace this, hopefully the new unit will be scratch free.

Any further questions feel free to contact us at any time.

 

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2 minutes ago, BairdMint said:

Hi Connor

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, 

I can confirm that these marks/scratches and discoloration most likely occurred during the packaging process.

You mentioned your supplier will replace this, hopefully the new unit will be scratch free.

Any further questions feel free to contact us at any time.

 

Thanks once again

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