Recently gold buyers Melbourne reported that they have seen a flood of fake gold buyers presenting themselves online. Customers visiting them advised that they bought their gold bar from Ebay online paying quite a bit of money. But how do you know your gold bar is fake and how does a gold buyer determine this?
Gold buyers can use different tests to know if gold is fake. The first thing is that a gold bar has security features to help differentiate between real and fake gold. The firs security measure is a registered serial number you find stamped onto the gold bar, and you receive a certificate of authentification with the matching serial number.
Then you receive the gold bullion in protective packaging and a hologram feature in the packaging known as the Kinebar. But this information is not enough to tell you that your gold is fake or real. Hence, gold buyers do some simple tests.
For example, while you can bite on your gold bar to leave teeth marks, you do not want to risk losing them. There are safer ways to achieve this, like the weight test. When you have a standard issues gold bar, the weight available in grams or ounces is on the bar.
The dealer will check the weight using an electronic scale for a reading. If that reading differs from what is on the gold bar surface, as with silver bars, it is most likely a counterfeit. Gold buyers Melbourne shops can do a dimension test as well. To counterfeit the texture is complex.
So, a fake gold bar will be made of a less dense metal similar to iron but will need twice as much of the alloy to make it look like an equivalent. Hence, they need to use larger dimensions. So, even if gold-plated, it will not measure to government dimensions when using a calliper to get the measurement.
Another test is the ping one; gold buyers use this method to test gold coins. Again, your precious metal will make a high-pitched sound that lingers when struck. With a base metal, the sound is duller. Then you have the magnet test as gold does not stick to a magnet but is ineffective and needs to be done with other tests.
Then, you have the ultrasound test, but it is an expensive test. In addition, the ultrasound waves will change over different metals when moving through the metal. Lastly, the most challenging test is using nitric acid. Hence, it needs to be done by professionals that know what they are doing, like a gold buyer.
The principle of the test is that gold resists oxidation. Therefore, when nitric acid touches a small area of the gold, it should not corrode. If your gold does not react to the test, you have the purest of gold. So, whether you are in the market to invest or sell your gold, these tips can help to prevent you from buying a fake.