Certified Gold Exchanges Limit Counterfeiters
Posted by Adam King on February 07, 2010
February 7, 2010 – One of the strongest investment vehicles in the past forty years, gold has attracted a large number of honest traders looking to make a profit. Unfortunately, a number of disreputable people have gotten in as well, looking to benefit from dishonest means. Thanks to certified gold exchanges, the treachery of counterfeiters can be greatly limited.
Counterfeiters operate primarily in gold bullion bars and coins. One method of counterfeiting is to sell fake gold bars. This scam has become increasingly prevalent as the perpetrators will take a block of tungsten or other metal and plate it to appear as a gold bar. Tungsten is desirable because it evades detection by many common methods to look for fake gold bars.
Gold plating occurs in coins as well. A counterfeiter will take a smaller coin to use as a slug for a larger gold coin, and then plate it with gold to appear like the original. This has become enough of a problem that companies like PCGS and NGC both implemented initial checks for counterfeit coins into their grading processes and refuse to grade coins that don’t pass.
The best way to avoid such schemes is to purchase gold from certified gold exchanges. These companies are monitored by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States and reviewed by the Better Business Bureau. A reputable company will have an impeccable rating and will not risk being shut down by the SEC for fraudulent practices.
Wherever there is a profit to be made, dishonest people will appear. The good news is that for traders of gold bars and bullion coins, certified gold exchanges limit the effectiveness of counterfeiters and other disreputable people.
Stewart Lawson
Senior Staff Writer – Certified Gold Exchange
Categories:
US Gold Market
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