Tungsten alternatives for fakes?

SpacePete · Feb 22, 2015

I saw the below question dated 2013. I am wondering has anything more sophisticated than basic tungsten been used to create fake gold bars and coins? How about an alloy of gold + something?
Is there a Tungsten alloy more dense than gold?

This thought came from researching a previous question. In the spirit of our get-rich-quick scheming I looked up element densities and prices near gold.
Code:
Element(g/cm^3) (dollars/kg)
Uranium       18.95 40
Tungsten      19.25 24
Gold          19.282 53,000
Roentgenium   19.282 no market
Plutonium     19.84 4,000,000
Neptunium     20.25 660,000
Rhenium       21.02 5,000
Platinum      21.46 54,000
Darmstadtium  21.46 no market
Osmium        22.61 77,000
Iridium       22.65 42,000
It would be so easy if we could just substitute some of the gold for a cheaper metal, but it seems that gold is well-protected from this kind of forgery (which is perhaps part of the reason its so special to begin with). Almost all of the elements more dense are vastly more expensive, or only producible in small quantities in a lab.

There is a very thin market for Rhenium, so we could buy some at a price lower than gold, but any more and we'll risk either bumping up the Rh market price, or being foiled by the authorities. As thrifty criminals we would like to go with Tungsten instead.

Can an allow increase the density of a metal? Qualitatively, I imagine that a lighter element could take up interstitial sites, and allow a higher density. But is there any known Tungsten compound that fits this, or any known method of alloying that would increase its density by that ever-so-slight amount?

Source: http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/71629/is-there-a-tungsten-alloy-more-dense-than-gold
Click to expand...

boneyard · Feb 22, 2015

What the cost in TERIYAKI x 1 AU?

Log in or Sign up

Tungsten alternatives for fakes?

SpacePete Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

boneyard Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Tungsten alternatives for fakes?

SpacePete Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

boneyard Well-Known Member Silver Stacker

Share This Page

Useful Searches