Bought my first gold and I am panicking.

here's my take...

you're supposed to identify a fake gold bar based on a variance of 2 g/kg???

that's .2%

I don't know if most people will have a scale that accurate

 

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You forgot to mention Krugerrands, the most widely accepted gold coin in the
Wold today

 

Well if there buying gold they better have the tools, to insure authenticity
A pretty hard and expensive lesson to learn

 

I would not rely on the non magnetic principal alone it,s one of many ways to
Determine authenticity but it,s a good place to start, if there is a positive attraction
You can stop right there because it,s fake !

 

I agree with @sakata, there's much better options for gold than bars for the average person that avoids a lot of the headaches with them. Unless someone just wants to collect bars (which there's nothing wrong with) there are plenty of gold coins that essentially trade as bullion even when graded that avoids a lot of the authenticity headaches

 

Do have a clear in focus picture of the front and back of the bar? From the one picture posted Fortuna doesn't look very sharp but I suppose it could be the photo. That being said I've seen a bunch of fake pamp bars with the Fortuna design, in fact bars get faked so regularly, I myself prefer government issued gold. Mainly U.S. but I have some Canadian, Royal and Perth mint stuff as well. Really though when selling the sealed packaging doesn't matter to most dealers and you'll likely be offered spot whether it's sealed or not.

 

Well we certainly know for a fact they're not many are 'pure' because the government never refined most of the resulting bars to international standards of .999. Thus the bulk of the gold bars stored are largely .900 fine because they pretty much just melted the gold coinage, poured bars and stamped them.

 

But if tampered with, many, me included would become suspicious of why ?
It,s all about preception, if the packaging is pristine and un molested my confidence
Is very high that i,am getting the genuine article on the other hand if it,s not
I tend to pick over it.

 

I stick with coins and not bars because of future assay issues. Government issued coins are readily recognized and the American Eagle is not tracked as of my last check. A certified AGE by a recognized third party grader is protected from scratches and easily verifiable. Not perfect, but close to it.

 

Forgot, don't panic and instead buy for the long haul. I buy gold and silver frequently and I have bought at many price points. But like a stock, if you buy up and down the curve things seem to work out. Gold and silver will always fluctuate in value, but unfortunately it is an seemingly unpredictable cycle compared to the stock market.

 

There is nothing wrong with bars, anything can be copied, like Morgan dollars
If you don't believe me just ask the Chinese...LOL

 

Ask all of them???...

 

First, welcome to CT. By your own admission ("I have only recently decided on investing in actual Gold and I have no idea what I am doing") this is uncharted territory for you. If I may suggest, buying into PM's as an investment is a huge gamble. Do lots of research and take your time...if after that you have a green light in your mind, then I would dollar cost average and buy AGE's and American Buffalos, (maybe a St. Gaudens or two) as other have suggested. Best of luck.

 

doesn't the gold separate from the copper when you melt the bars?

 

You have to take a full front shot, and a shot of the back to compare. Here is a photo of a fake one oz Pamp.. make sure its not too thick.

 

Also, if it doesn't Veriscan authenticate, I think you got a bum one. Heres a pic of some good and bad backs. I hope it works out. I would return it immediately if it fails any scan. And if you bought it in person, you should have scanned it before the money changed hands.

 

Very interesting and i had not seen these. Unfortunately anything can be faked these days, but for me a government issued coin in a TPG holder that can be verified is safest. Not perfect, but better than many other options.

 

I've said this before.
Not sure how the tungsten would read as I don't have a test subject, But it shouldn't read Gold.

 

I assume they used a temperature hot enough to readily melt both the gold and copper which have very close melting points and didn't do anything to actually oxidize the copper out. Though I do suppose it's likely why the 'coin' bars are said to have a tarnished appearance as the copper may have floated a bit on the surface.

 

The alloy will stay an alloy even after you melt it. There are a couple ways to separate the metals on a commercial scale. Acids that dissolve one metal out of the alloy and/or electrolysis are the ones I've seen.