Sorry if this is the wrong section...I was thinking of getting some bullions (gold or silver) to protect myself in case the dollar collapses. How do you know if the bullion you buy is real. Is it a trust system? Could there be fakes in the market? Thanks.
There are fakes. It's widely known that the Chinese cast thousands of fake (less than proper percentage of gold) St Gaudens gold coins. You can get the wildly overpriced but very accurate and easy to use Fisch coin gauges. You can also get a gold tester, which requires some technical training. If you're just going to get a coin or two buy bullion coins from a reputable dealer who checks their coins before selling them.
Are there fake bullion bars? I was planning to buy some bullions to protect myself from further losses. I do worry though with Nobama/Democorp running the country they could make it illegal to own gold or silver if the situation gets bad enough. On the other hand, holding onto greenback is not going to do me much good when hyper-inflation kicks in.
Go to a reputabale coin dealer and buy a few at a time. These are the coin shops that have been in business for years and are usually near a wealthy part of town. You can find others, but start there.
Most places you buy from should have the gold x-ray certified (or equivalent). Beyond that, it is a risky market. Who knows, maybe lead will be worth more some day (as in bullets).
Just purchase American junk silver coins. Everyone knows what they're worth, knows they're genuine, and it comes in different denominations, thereby solving problems of making change or having to spend too much on something you need. jim
Yep the average sheeple will say that thar quarter is worth 0.25 cents. Nuuh, sure it's silver, sure.
There is a line of reasoning that current coins would be of value during a currency change over, or during TSHTF senarios. Use those for the sheeple, and the real stuff where it will do you some good. jim
There are many FAKES out there, especially when buying gold bullion. It would be foolish to take someones word that the item they are selling you is solid gold or silver. There are many ways to test for authenticity. The least expensive would be an acid test. You can buy an acid test for around $15.00 on ebay. Another option would be to buy testers from a company called "The Fisch". (Welcome to Fisch - Dont buy fake gold coins. Get the Fisch. Protect your gold investment.) They have testers that check thickness, diameter and weight of all the the most common forms of bullion. The have testers for gold, silver and platinum.
Note: The linked site exists, and appears on the surface to be legitimate. Caveat Emptor, use due diligence. Note also (obviously) that the coinage and the tool must be in hand to use.
NOTE: Gold Acid Test is entirely Suspect, in that it only tests the surface of the object.... If it is a Heavily Gold Plated piece, then you can still be scammed, if that is the ONLY Test, you use....