So if I buy some gold/silver from brick and mortar stores, say the likes of Bullion Money, Jaggards, KJC, etc. do I need to test my stuff or can I trust them? Has anyone ever wound up with a fake from these kinds of places? Cheers
Short answer is no if they're reputable dealers, its their business and wouldnt compromise it or how they make $ dealing fake products to much to lose. In saying that havent dealt with brick n mortar for years other then some who are also members here. The forum allows for transparency of trade,and multilayered threads on many subjects...all deals/trade has feedback system and mutual trust that becomes more comfortable over time as members and prices are top calibre and generally level of mutual respect.
@Real $ Return is spot on. As a business if we were proven to have sold a fake it would be bigly detrimental. The responsibility is entirely with us to ensure what is being sold is legit. That's part of the reason why on average you pay a higher premium for the products you buy from a dealer. That higher price should come with peace of mind knowing what you have is the real deal. I highly recommend buying from stores who utilise XRF. We go a step further and offer a service to 'XRF your serialised coin or bar' and then display the results publicly, which can potentially increase its resale value. Take care, Nino
Thanks guys @mybullion.com.au I was under the impression XRF can only handle thin items and does not penetrate that deep (so a somewhat thick plating can fool it), so isn't on its own sufficient. Is that not the case?
depends on your XRFbudget…$20K mark (basic) will only get you hand-held but can only penetrate 2mm max..?!the more expensive the deeper and more accurate…the bench XRF has better depth but not handy…also, it’s XRF..ie. X-RAY/radiation…most reputable dealers will probably use bench unit than r handy one..
Can't help but appreciate the level of knowledge on this forum. The only thing I'll add is our preference to dealing with 1oz gold items or lower as they are much easier to verify using XRF. Hence our buyback rates reflect this.
the best way for large bars are to drill through it….not on everyone’s cup of tea… or someone who is good in maths to calculate dimension+density…
If the item is solid and 999 purity there’s a way of calculating the density by weighing it in air, and then again in water. You’ll be able to find how this is done on YouTube.
They get their new products from perth mint or international gov mints or private mints so there is no fakes there and with buy backs they are not going to give someone $3000 without testing the product properly first. if they did pay out without proper testing they would be broke quick. I read XRF only goes up to 15 microns deep (1 micron = 1/1000th of a mm), and is better suited for jewelry. the sigma goes 1.5mm deep so if testing both sides is close to 100% for things up to 10 oz or so. i own neither just stuff I saw online. for large bars a ultrasonic machine that puts sound waves through the sample, and measures the rate at which it returns which can tell you if it is indeed 99.9% Ag or au or something else. then there is the good quality densimeter machines which cost $1k and more accurate than just cheap scales, and a cup of water.
