Gold bar real/fake

[ravenshunter]

Hi everyone

   I bought this bar of gold about 6 years ago and I've had it in storage since.ive recently taken it out to have a look and I've noticed some kind of spotting or tarnish on the reverse of the bar.i bought it from a reputable dealer and I've run the neo magnet over it with no issues.ive been lead to believe that gold should always look perfect as it's pure.i don't want to cut the packaging open in case it's just a false alarm.

Any ideas on what it could be are welcomed to possibly ease my notion that it's a dud.

Thank you in advance

[stackerp5]

I received this bar from a company as-is. They assured me this is how they received it from the mint so it's a mint error of some sorts. Luckily it is bullion. I am not sure of your case but I'm pretty sure someone has a better informed comment to make - the marking is sort of similar.

[Pete]

From the picture it looks more like mould growing on the inside of the plastic packaging.
If it was my bar I would open it and if the marks were on the gold I would wash / polish them off.
I do not believe there is any value in the package itself but that's a personal view.
Just a basic 20g bar of fine gold from a good mint.
 

[ChrisSilver]

Topic moved to the Gold section  

[BritStacker]

The colour of the bar is what seems off to me. It looks like gold plate. Hope I'm wrong though. As a previous post says it could be mould on the plastic as plastic is susceptible to mould growth. But if its on the bar it could be the metal below oxidising. Best way to test is with an electronic tester. The Sigma Metalytics is a good one but they are expensive so I recommend asking a pawn shop if they have an electronic tester as they can test through the plastic. 

[silenceissilver]

5 minutes ago, BritStacker said:

The colour of the bar is what seems off to me. It looks like gold plate. Hope I'm wrong though. As a previous post says it could be mould on the plastic as plastic is susceptible to mould growth. But if its on the bar it could be the metal below oxidising. Best way to test is with an electronic tester. The Sigma Metalytics is a good one but they are expensive so I recommend asking a pawn shop if they have an electronic tester as they can test through the plastic. 

The Sigma Pro does a good job through plastic. But if you do a magnet test and specific gravity test combined, chances are practically 100% that a fake couldn't pass both test. I'm not sure how many dealers have a Sigma. I think most have an XRF tester which only tests the surface. At least that's all I have ever seen at small and big gold dealers.