How can I tell if my gold bullion is real?

When you’re considering the purchase of a gold coin, find the registration number (if the coin is certified or graded). If the coin’s plastic packaging displays a registration number from either the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) or Numismatic Guaranty Corp. (NGC), then it’s been deemed authentic.

How do you tell if a gold coin is real or fake?

The ‘ping’ test, as this is commonly known, allows us to tell if a coin is made from real or fake gold by listening to the sound it makes when struck. Precious metals will make a long, high-pitched ringing sound when struck as opposed to base metals, whose respective sounds will be duller and much shorter.

How can I test gold coins at home?

This test uses a simple pantry item—vinegar! Simply take a few drops of vinegar and drop it onto your gold item. If the drops alter the color of the metal, then it’s not real gold. If your item is real gold, the drops will not change the color of the item!

Can gold bars be fake?

Gold is a stable investment vehicle, but buying counterfeit gold bars is a common mistake. There are many fake gold bars as a result of illegal operations, and the fake gold industry is keeping up with the times. A standard gold bar from a central bank or authorized mint is a 400-troy-ounce (438.9 oz. or 12.4 kg) bar.

How can you tell if a bullion is real or fake?

However, there are some lower budget ways you can determine whether or not the bullion you hold is genuine. Here are 5 proven methods for testing your gold and silver: Contents. Test 1: Size and Weight. Using a Fisch Tester to Reveal Counterfeit Gold Coins. Test 2: Sound or “Ping” Testing.

How can you tell if a coin is real gold?

Gold and silver are non-magnetic. Placing a strong magnet on a coin and tipping it to watch whether the magnet slides off, as it should, or sticks, like it would to a counterfeit, requires only an inexpensive magnet and a few seconds.

Is there such a thing as counterfeit gold?

It didn’t take long for the counterfeiters to turn the tables though, and history is littered with stories of counterfeit gold. There are even reports of fake gold coins existing as far back as 600 BC, when the edges of a real gold coin were shaved off and then used to cover base metal coins.

Why are gold and silver so hard to spot fake gold?

Gold and silver are extraordinarily dense metals – much denser than just about any base metal (even lead and mercury in the case of gold). That means just about all fakes that weigh correctly will be too large in diameter and/or thickness. Or they will be underweight in order to achieve the right diameter and thickness.