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 Replies: 12 / Views: 34,073 |
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New Member
United States
36 Posts |
Got 5 1oz APMEX silver bars from a Chicago suburban coin shop. I weighed them they are 1-2 grams under weight. So I took some acid and noticed that they are copper. I took them back to the coin shop and the owner gave me my money back. He said he bought 250 of them last week and sold about 50-75 of them. The Real APMEX bars has recessed wording/lettering below APMEX on the front of the bar. The Fake ones has raised wording/lettering in the same location. A few other things I noticed is the fake ones have sharper lettering and have a mirror/proof   like finish. Also if you drop the fake bar on the counter it does not give off the right sound. |
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Valued Member
United States
269 Posts |
Thanks for the info. Yesterday I bought a silver test kit off ebay, I'm 90% sure what I have is all good but it will be getting tested. The kit I bought is the kind where you scratch the stone then put the acid on the stone so its not going right on the Bar/Round |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4883 Posts |
Appreciate the heads up. I wish everybody who comes across stuff like this would post about it, as counterfeiting is really the bane of our hobby, whether it be coins or bullion.
I wonder if it wouldn't be worthwhile to add a "Counterfeit Alerts" category to this forum, maybe under the "General Coin Forums" heading, so that they could be perused more easily and inclusively.
Colligo ergo sum
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New Member
United States
24 Posts |
I'v got some APMEX stuff but got it from them, have you contacted APMEX about this to see what they have to say, It would be interesting to hear.. |
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Valued Member
United States
269 Posts |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5849 Posts |
That alibaba site is downright scary! Did you see the fake APMEX gold bars including a fake Assay? The seller even brags about it: Quote:Hi, how are u, this is tanglu from SXD ARTWARE INDUSTRY LTD. I am glad that you have seen our products on Alibaba. We have been replica of gold coins and bars for many years, the replica coins and bars we made are unique and perfect, no other manufacture can take place, the material we use is tungsten inside and fine gold plating, as you know the density of tungsten is almost the same as original, and we use electroplating technology to plate the fine gold on it, so the dimension is the same as original. The replica APMEX gold 1oz bar in assay is sealed perfectly, and it is really easy to resell. |
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Valued Member
United States
269 Posts |
Quote:That alibaba site is downright scary! Did you see the fake APMEX gold bars including a fake Assay? The seller even brags about it: Yep lol, thing is you can search just about any silver,gold,coin ect and you will find it on that site. Going back to the original post, the guy who has that coin store either trusted the person who sold to him or he is not very security minded, my LCS wont take anything that still has the plastic on it, if you dont agree with him removing it so it can be tested he wont buy it. Good for him I say. I do feel safe buying there. |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5849 Posts |
Man, remember when "sealed in its original plastic" used to be a selling point instead of something that raises suspicion?
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Pillar of the Community
United States
5825 Posts |
Check out the fake 1 oz. gold eagle, almost looks too good to be true.
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3692 Posts |
They look plated even from the pictures. Blurriness.
I too unseal anything I buy to check its authenticity.
Edited by Libertad
05/10/2014 2:25 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3640 Posts |
I just got 10 ea. APMEX 1 oz. silver bars today in the mail from ebay. All fakes. Called the seller. Got a prompt refund. Seller had no clue about them. She was very nice and felt bad. I even got to keep them. Nice teaching aid anyway. Weights varied from 30.1 grams up to 30.6 Just a light scratch on the test stone took the plating right off. Copper underneath. Talk about cheap on the plating :) |
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Pillar of the Community
Canada
3692 Posts |
Yeah, silver polishes don't last a day. I thought that the fakes looked like better quality in the die process. The real ones look blocky and not really refined. The graininess of the plating does however give the fake away. It's not easy - usually only when pointed out or under scrutiny.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
7617 Posts |
As long as people can buy it and import it into the Us with impunity, alibaba will be selling it.
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Replies: 12 / Views: 34,073 |
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Posted 05/08/2014 12:20 pm
