I came across these 5 gram fake bars. The seller actually specifies (but not clearly visibly) that they are imitations. http://www.aliexpress.com/item/10-gram-Gold-Bar-Perth-Mint-Non-magnetic/32276997773.html The problem is not that you'd buy them, but that someone would buy them to re-sell them to you as "genuine gold". I hope dealers do check whether they're gold is real gold. Perth Mint bar fakes are abundant and a few years ago I heard some of them look stunningly good!
Been around a while, the PM havent had much luck shutting them down. http://forums.silverstackers.com/topic-53387-fake-certicards.html http://forums.silverstackers.com/message-720328.html#p720328
Think this is the first time I've seen fake Perth Mint Certicards however. The serial number fonts look wrong on them, but at face value, these are impressive knockoffs. There are security features on genuine Certicards, and if your dealer doesn't use XRF, don't buy buybacks from them. Would be an interesting exercise to get one of these in hand for a close up examination and to highlight the differences - unlike currency, possessing these bars is not a crime, but attempting to pass them off as fakes would constitute fraud or theft depending on the jurisdiction.
It's not something that everyone should do but maybe a youtuber with a strong following could purchase one to highlight the differences for his viewers, which surely has already been done.
Of course this is EXACTLY the intention. Surely if they were legit , then they would have stated in bold that they were fake. Just as boldly as they state "non magnetic"
I've seen loads of them online. Some of them are so well made you can barely notice the difference. A few years ago there was a video about the fake certicards "Made in China". Those looked even better. Here's an article about that case: http://www.silverdoctors.com/300-fa...ia-as-chinese-gold-forgery-factory-uncovered/
Do they feature the thin protective film on the real thing (the old green ones not the new black ones)? I wonder how much of Chinas gold imports ends up going out in export on plated junk. It is also interesting that they don't forge some manufactures and target so heavily others.....in particular why big German brands are so conspicuous in their absence on alibaba.
From memory though these fake bars were NOT in the certicards - fake Kangaroo minted bars have been around a long time, but not in counterfeited packaging.
^From my memory, I can recall a video showing Perth Mint Certicards, just don't know whether they were shown as originals or fakes...
