I bought this bar from Amazon. The seller told me it was solid gold and it wasn't. I got my money back and got to keep the bar. Has anyone else seen these and do you think they are silver beneath the gold plating? How much is it worth, really? A few bucks?
Sorry, but they are worth a few cents. No silver, it is a copper-clad or something "non-precious" underneath the MICRO layer of gold plating.
Huh, it is listed here: http://www.cmcmint.com/1-gram-999-fine-silver-gold-plated-buffalo-bar It states at the mint it was created at it has a solid silver core and gold plated. The place that created it mis-represents it?
Ok, since it's Silver(I couldn't see from the picture being too small), it's worth about $1.05. That's with Silver spot at $31.70. 1 gram is $1.02 and a few cents for the gold plating. I would think that's being generous on the gold value.
There isn't much gold at all and would be difficult to figure out. It says it is .1 mills thick and covers the parameter. Probably something like (2L + 2W) * 0.00254 (.1 mill to millimeter). Looks like L = 2W so W * 2W = 1 gram 3W = 1 W = 1/3 L = 2/3 (2/3 + 4/3) * 0.00254 2 * 0.00254 = 0.00508 grams 54.79 (spot per gram) * .00508 grams = 28 cents. So $1.02 + .28 = $1.30 It is worth $1.30 and see them selling for several dollars. I didn't pay anything since I got my money back. Of course there are minting costs as well but not much since it isn't some intricate design.
something else you may or may not know is that sellers put coin copies on such as on gold eagle sites.they magnify the mini to the size of a coin.if you are just bidding on a type of coin you may not notice.the highest i have seen as a bid is about 80 dollars.they also list copies as sets and put them on the appropriate site with the same plan.
Well I got my money back and got to keep it for free. I guess the seller on Amazon got some tuition for misrepresenting it as solid gold.
The value of the gold plating is zero, because the cost of the performing the process to salvage the plating is higher than the value of the weight of the gold you'd receive.
The seller probably sold 100 of them and had to return the money for 10. To him it is part of the business model. For you it is a lucky break from which to learn -- or repeat.
of course I learned from it. Since then I only buy from reputable bullion dealers. usmint.gov has a list of dealers that are certifified to sell American Eagle bullion coins. That is a good place to start. After buying this, I bought bullion from Silvertowne directly. Aren't there always cost associated with salvaging medal? I thought gold has value in its own right and doesn't need to be melted down or scrapped to have value, unlike copper which is an industrial medal. I know people save copper pennies and the cost to salvage them is high as well. Actually though, the seller started out selling them for $15 now they are $2.88 with shipping. I am sure though he is still charging the max shipping for it when it doesn't cost nearly that.
Silver value - Not a bad deal for the CMCMint - at $4.36/gram works out to around $135.60 per ounce. http://www.cmcmint.com/1-gram-999-fi...ed-buffalo-bar Mike
Plus shipping is $20. I went through the process and that what it said the shipping cost was. The bar was being sold at Amazon for $15 with shipping. That is when it was listed as just a gold bar and I was told by the seller it was solid gold. It certainly would have been a good deal for me and I had nothing to lose because of Amazon's gaurantee.
The guy selling those apparently thinks he's immune to the laws because he is selling online. He's going to upset the wrong person and be in a load of trouble.
i found two 500 mill .999 1 troy ounce buffalo bars - not sure where they came from. They were in a box in my shed with a bunch of other near stuff that seemingly belongs to no one... curious if they have any value - if not for the gold, then as collectibles.
No they're likely just cheap junk plated with a insignificant amount of gold to take advantage of people that don't know any better.
Huh, this is an old thread, no matter. I got my money back. True though, I am sure there are people out there that bought them and didn't get their money back.
