Hi, my first post, I recently bought a Heraeus 5kg Silver bar on eBay that originally came from BullionUK in June 2013, upon receipt of it I was surprised to see how rough it was around the top face's edges and on the sides and base, not at all like all the bars that I've seen pictured from professional refiners. In fact it's got me wondering if someone may have perhaps sliced the top off a genuine bar and then welded it to some other silver covered metal or something, it even seems to show a copper colour in the fissures, I hope that I'm mistaken and have asked Heraeus for an opinion. I would be most grateful for your thoughts on this, BullionUK have told me that it is normal for Heraeus cast bars to be so roughly finished and assure me that it is genuine. This is the bar in question, please check out the photos, especially of the sides in close up (with mouse over on the eBay link) and let me know if this looks like one that you believe to be normal and genuine, many thanks: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281461804458 For reference here are similar ones that when you hover over the first photo (see link) doesn't appear to show the roughness that my bar does, they also look like they're rectangular rather than the classic ingot shape with sloping sides, so I wonder if anyone knows if Heraeus have made that type of rough cast ingot in the past. https://www.bleyerbullion.co.uk/5000-gram-heraeus-silver-bar http://heraeus-trading.com/en/edelmetallhandel/edelmetallbarren/silberbarren/silberbarren.html
Well that's a nice chunk of silver! Looks real to me, especially the pour lines on the side. Gives it a nice character and texture! I haven't come across a fake 5kg silver bar (but that doesn't mean they won't be counterfeited anytime soon). You could always test it out using an ultrasonic thickness device (to check if there are any inserts in the bar).
Thanks very much all for the feedback! That's a big relief, I'm not used to this size of bar, up until now it's just been Oz or 1kg max which look much more smoothly finished.
I've seen that in some cases, what is pictured is not accurately reflected in reality -- for all sorts of reasons. Fast food / restaurant ads, for example, do it all the time. Sometimes, Ag products are no different.
What a poor quality bar! Cold pour? I'd be ashamed to stamp a brand on it. Glad that it's legit for the buyer's sake, but I didn't expect THIS from Heraeus.
For the money that cost, take it to your local coin/bullion dealer and pay to have it professionally tested.
Good advice! That's what I would do. btw, roughly how much does it cost to test Silver? I been buying my silver from Goldstackers and Goldbuyers, so I have no worries, but I'm thinking of buying some deals I seen here.
You mean like this Source: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2Wbp28ye5...DFcajI/s1600/fast-food-vs-reality-big-mac.jpg
what a beauty!! if one is looking for a perfect bar, a better choice would be minted bars instead of poured ones
Are you people insane? A beauty? If it were poured by my neighbour in his back yard, I might say it's a good enough effort. When major mints produce such crap...
One mans trash is another mans treasure.. I like it. A little bit rough at the top but overall, all good.
Part of me agrees with that, and I don't really care for the bar.. Another part thinks it's pretty cool in a funky sorta way.. Still a 3rd part knows I won't be buying 5kg bars anytime soon, so who cares what the first 2 think. :lol: It wouldn't be my first choice for a 5kg'er.. Though if I had a couple already, I probably wouldn't mind having it for some variety. Would have to see something like that in person, or at least a bunch more photos, as lighting can play tricks. Reminds me of a Seinfeld episode..
Why not just go and get it tested? Posting pics on a forum will still be inconclusive, especially as 99% haven't seen a 5kg H bar before. Did you buy it direct from BullionUK yourself? If I was even the slightest bit worried about my 5kg bar being fake I'd be taking it to a dealer ASAP.
