Three easy suggestions: 1. Buy gold that has authentication features, such as the Gold Maple. (Check the radial lines. Check the privy mark with the date, observe the general appearance of the coin. IT VERY HARD TO REPLICATE SECURITY FEATURES 2. Weigh it WEIGHT IS ABLE TO BE REPLICATED ONLY IF OTHER DIMENSIONS ARE CHANGED 3. Make sure it fits in the appropriate Airtite coin holder. Compare to other coins of the same type to make sure thickness and diameter are the same. I think this is the simplest, and most overlooked way, as airtite sizes are known ahead of time. If you know how a 1 oz gold Maple fits in one, and suddenly your next one doesn't, one of them is clearly fake. UNABLE REPLICATE SIZE WITHOUT CHANGING WEIGHT I know there are many other ways to authenticate gold, such as acid tests or expensive equipment, these three methods together seem to be pretty simple and foolproof.
None of your three independently verify it? You just take Apmex/Jmbullion/Provident's word for it? They also buy a lot from the secondary market, and what about on the off chance that they don't authenticate 1 piece in a lot they buy and you happen to be the unlucky one to get that 1 piece?
How can one be unlucky when one buys from the folks that buy from the major world mints? You sayin' that the major mint's is 'salting' the product myown?
I use your Airtite test as soon as I get the coin along with a visual test with other coins I own. Otherwise, trust is just that and reserved only for top-quality dealers. You name the only three I would even consider doing business with.
They also buy back products from the public and then sell them back to the public again. Not all of their products come directly from the mint.
The real question is who trusts hand poured ( used the correct version) bars? Well I guess ok if they use a specific gravity device.
The Sigma Metalytics tester is not perfect. Try putting a copper round on it and watch it call if .999 fine silver. You need to learn what things look like. Slabs can prevent you from seeing the thickness, which is one way that counterfeits are dealt to the unsuspecting. The coin will weigh right, but will be thicker. This especially happens with bars, which are something I don't like to buy unless it is in a deal. Then I buy them at a discount.
I was watching some Clint Eastwood film and I see them biting the gold to see if it's real. Anyone here tried it?
I don't disagree with your first suggestion, but I discourage anyone from trusting gold purchases based on correct weight or correct dimensions alone. The densities of gold and tungsten are only different by less than one half of one percent, and tungsten fakes could easily deceive adherents of those methods.
Apmex was here and posted in some other thread (some time ago) about what they do. ==> https://www.apmex.com/how-to-detect-gold-and-silver-counterfeit-products-know-your-seller apparently you can get fake stuff right from the Canadian mint too => https://coinweek.com/bullion-report/counterfeit-gold-found-royal-canadian-mint-package/ I do not have the expertise nor money to check for counterfeit. So I leave it up to the experts, or hope so. Otherwise I'd just stop collecting everything coinage.