Warning: Large qty of tungsten APMEX gold in assay cards being sold

SpacePete

SpacePete

Well-Known Member
Silver Stacker
Watch out for these ones, they are designed to pass verification tests and are being churned out in bulk:

One manufacturer boasts:
Q: Is the product magnetic?
A: No, the coins and bullions are of no magnatic at all

Q: Can these coins and bars pass gold tests?
A: Yes, the thickness of the gold coating can be customized, 60 microns gold coated can pass gold tests.
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And:
1. why are our product the most expensive in marketing, as an imitation tungsten gold coin (bar)?

Our tungsten gold coin (bar)is the same as the original in dimension and weight.
And the deviation between our product to the true gold coin(bar) is only 0.01 mm ,which would
be acceptable by any test institution.

2: As mentioned above, we gold coin (bar) can pass any real gold test, for example
acid test, X-ray test or scratch test etc.

3: The material of our product is tungsten and gold. As you know, the densities of
tungsten and gold are similar. So we can guarantee the weight of our coin (bar) is the same
as the original.
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Still waiting to see any 1oz fake cut in half proving it contains tungsten. Smallest I'm aware of is the PAMP 10oz bars in NY a few years ago.

These fake APMEX bars have been around for a while - never encountered one though in the trade, not many genuine ones made it to Australia.
 
Not if you only buy from Apmex direct.
Might be a gamble on anywhere else, but it could pick up for Apmex.

I have a benchmark policy, to never ever deal with any other than silver stackers from this forum, or a dealer. Doesn't matter what precious metal it is, or what price, absolutely no variations.
 
goldpelican said:
Still waiting to see any 1oz fake cut in half proving it contains tungsten. Smallest I'm aware of is the PAMP 10oz bars in NY a few years ago.

These fake APMEX bars have been around for a while - never encountered one though in the trade, not many genuine ones made it to Australia.
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From: http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=185457

My local LCS got burned by this yesterday. He paid spot. Just thought I'd share. I apologize for the bad pics but this is from an old flip phone (yes I still have an old flip phone). Haven't bought a new cell phone in 7 years and it still makes and receives calls. Anyway off topic...

He broke it out of the package due to some concerns (he didn't elaborate) and snapped the corner right off. We think it's tungsten and plated with gold and weighs precisely 1oz.

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Stoic Phoenix said:
Id be asking him what those "concerns" were
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I didn't see any details in the source thread, except that it was noted that he "snapped the corner right off".

I wonder if that's an attribute of tungsten? If you bend these a little will they consistently snap? If so, it would be an easy test and it may even be possible to do it without damaging the packaging too much.
 
So smack the bar against the edge of the counter while still in package. If it shatters don't buy it. If customer freaks out just tell them its standard testing procedure. :lol:
 
Wonder if that fake bar would pass with that new (ultrasonic ?) coin tester they released recently.

I have always been a little worried that XRF may be fooled by thicker coatings.
 
It's only gonna get worse, as more companies make this fake stuff and flood the market.
Gold will become known as something that's easily faked and no-one will touch it eventually

They'll end up on the tourist avenues like duty free stores and market stalls, once waves of people get burnt it'll
become a standard thing to most, don't buy gold as not only do you need to be convinced it's real, selling it will be just as difficult.

It'll be much easier to just keep cash, at least it's protected and hard to counterfeit.
 
miniroo said:
It's only gonna get worse, as more companies make this fake stuff and flood the market.
Gold will become known as something that's easily faked and no-one will touch it eventually

They'll end up on the tourist avenues like duty free stores and market stalls, once waves of people get burnt it'll
become a standard thing to most, don't buy gold as not only do you need to be convinced it's real, selling it will be just as difficult.

It'll be much easier to just keep cash, at least it's protected and hard to counterfeit.
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CASH?? protected by what exactly?
Kinda makes ya wonder if the respective Govts are behind it :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :cool: :lol:
 
I meant protected like if alibaba sellers posted up counterfeit gov't money then they'd get closed down, not protected in value.
Yeah I thought about a conspiracy too, it's perfect if their intentions are to de-value gold or make people not want to touch it in physical form.
create a bigger market for paper gold, instead of trading it at 100:1, they build a market to trade it at 1000:1 or a million:1.
 
sammysilver said:
I agree, cash is the way to go; round fifties.
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Hey Sammy, practical question - albeit off topic I apologise: how to you store your round 50s?

Cheers
 
And forgot to say: this increased counterfeiting is pretty scary.
I definitely reckon it could have a big impact on the market at the consumer level.
If they can fake 1oz bars with tungsten, shit is getting pretty real.

i tend to agree with miniroo's assessment. Not sure what can be done about it tho.
Looks like stacking certain coins only could help -the questions is which ones?
Round 50s are a good start for silver I guess although the premium is on the high side but some will argue it can be recouped.

Any suggestions for gold? Sovs are widely faked too, although perhaps not to this level yet.
 
This device solves issues like this, no doubt.
Still pricey, but could come down in a few years especially if more fakes are flooding the market.
 
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