5+ Ways to Spot a FAKE vs REAL Gold Bar (PAMP Edition)

FAKE vs REAL gold minted bars, and how to tell them apart:

PAMP Suisse is renowned for producing some of the world’s most exquisite and beautiful precious metal products- but how can you be sure you're not buying a cheap replica?

In this video you'll learn how to spot the difference between a fake and a real gold bar, as well as a couple of tests our staff at MyGold can run to help you on your investing journey.

From visual elements to chemical elements, it's good to know the red flags of a fake bar before you buy.

Looking to buy gold in Auckland, New Zealand? At MyGold® Gold Merchants, you can buy and sell gold bullion, gold coins, gold bars and more! Conveniently located in central Auckland, our team of professional Gold Merchants will supply you with 999.9% pure precious metals.

[Jmitch]

Moral of the story. Don’t buy gold off eBay

[trojanhorse]

nightmare: unknown fake gold
worst nightmare: knowing your gold is fake after 20 years of stacking.

[timschutte]

Seems that the thickness is one of the fastest and most visual ways to tell.

[rorynicholson]

I only purchase my Gold in person from a reputable dealer and never ever online. For me its just not worth the risk.

[donh]

After discovering I bought 4 fake gold bars I invested in a Sigma Metalystics precious metal verifier.
I use it every time I buy gold or silver. And I've figured out what to do with the fake stuff... Make a "bait safe". Once installed if I get broken into they can find that safe, break it open and steal the fake stuff.

[doogannash]

I use JM bullion. Their customer service is fantastic. They do charge a little higher premium than some others. But, I’ve never had an issue with a fake product.

[ptaeiy]

A cheaper authenticity verification tool would be a caliper and an Ultrasonic Thickness Meter.
Measure the physical dimensions with the caliper and then verify that with the UTM readings set to measure Ag, Au, Pd, Pt or any metals. It's very useful for big bars and thin coins. Best to probe at many different spots on the SIDES, to look for foreign base metals ie Tungsten/lead. If it's fakes such as in video, it would flag it out in seconds. I think an UTM is the best verification tool as it measures the full depth of the metal, checking for fake metal inserts.

[jhbostondot.]

In ancient times the king sought out Archimedes to determine if the crown was lead or gold. He put the crown in water to determine volume and used density and mass. This is an old problem getting ripped off.

[christopherleubner]

Basic density tests combined wit XRF and Eddy Current and ultrasonic conductance tests will differentiate real vs fake. You can use XRF and eddy current tests right through the package. Eddy current is especially good since tungsten alloys are extremely resistive and gold is very conductive. A heavy plating will defeat XRF though.

[nadineleboeuf]

It also looks like the size of the image stamped onto the bar differs as well since one gets closer to the perimeter than the other.

[bobmarley]

Only buy from a reputable dealer.. Very simple advice... And common sense

[RedShiftedDollar]

There is a magnet test that will work on these bars. Many people don’t know this but gold is diamagnet. This means it interacts with magnetic fields in the exact opposite way to common ferromagnetic materials. Both the north and the south poles of the magnet will REPEL real gold. The effect is very weak though so care must be taken if you want to observe it. Hang the gold from a long string and then slowly bring the magnet to it. You will see the gold is noticeably pushed away by a very tiny but noticeable amount.

[intjustice]

Also just to mention if you buy gold buy from a reputable company/dealer. This also will insure you are not scammed.

[abduramin]

Excellent video!!!! I learn alot about gold thank you!!!! I Enjoyed learning from your videos thank you for making them it is greatly appreciated!!!

[IbrahimIbnkhas]

Take note! The fake bar on the left on backside at the very bottom says " Certificate Assayer" where as the real one says "Certified Assayer". The signatures on the fake isn't the same either but that signature I seen it on the 100g bar so not sure.

[colineyeball]

Question: I have 2 pamp one oz bars. In one package the bar shakes (from Costco) and the other bar doesn't move in the package (local coin dealer) at all.

Does anyone know if its suppose to move or not?

[melmjetset]

I appreciate this well done video. Thanks for saving me $ on my future purchases.

[graemewatson]

I'm a bit confused. How does this help you when buying via internet shopping, or did I miss the point somewhere?

[fezfraggle]

I noticed something on the printing that also was different to the real packaging. The ® symbol (registered) was in a thicker font on the fakes.

[ryanmrowka]

I bought 8 oz for 1680 an once and when gold hit 2000 last summer I sold 4 back to the same local coin shop I purchased them from. I made the profit and a few days later they called me and said 2 of them were fake. I had the receipt with pictures of the day I purchased them. The employee who bought them back basically threatened me physically and I made a deal with her to return the profit but not the principal I paid for the bars. Now I have 4 more bars that are questionable and lost a long time relationship with my local coin shop...what can I do