Now Free delivery on all goldBlog
How do I know the gold and silver are real?
Aug
If you’re new to gold and silver, then a typical concern is ensuring the gold or silver you buy is authentic and of a high grade. The motivation for most gold investors is to reduce their overall risk, so the last thing they want is to risk buying bogus coins or bars. Certainly, for the novice, the safest bet is to buy from a reputable dealer.
Research is crucial to ensure the credibility and integrity of the dealer (and as such, the metals they provide). At Physical Gold we operate a very tight process to ensure sub-standard or counterfeit metals don’t enter our system.
Gold and silver Sourcing and numismatic checks
We source our metals direct from manufacturers or mints, or from authorised dealers, ensuring their provenance is known. Gold or silver purchased from the public is tested and verified by our numismatic team and rejected if it doesn’t meet our strict standards.
Accreditations / track record
We are proud members of the British Numismatic Association (BNTA), which means we adhere to a strict code of ethics and guidelines on all our metals. Membership requires prior vetting and approval by existing members, to verify a dealer’s integrity. Regular stolen and fake goods alerts are circulated within the BNTA so that we’re aware of any forgeries on the market. Look out for the BNTA logo to ensure your dealer is accredited and has signed up to such code of ethics. We’re also members of the British Numismatic Society, an organisation made up of coin professionals, established as far back as 1903.
Certificate of authenticity
We can provide a Certificate of Authenticity upin request with a purchase you make through us, guaranteeing its authenticity and that your purchase has been checked and meets our standards.
Want to know how your finances would fare in a market downturn? Take the test to find out
Buyback guarantee
We are proud to offer all our customers a guarantee to buy back all gold or silver bought from us. This demonstrates the confidence we have in our own checks and processes.
So if you’re considering purchasing silver or gold, but are unsure how to judge its authenticity, then worry no more. That’s our job as the experts, to provide you with protection and assurance.
How can you check if silver or gold is real, apart from buying it from a reputable dealer?
There are various ways of testing a coin/bar for authenticity. However, none are recommended to novices as you may end up tarnishing your coin, and consequently diminishing its value.
Buying through a precious metals expert is the safest way of assuring authenticity without ruining your asset.
I recently purchased (4/03/17) four gold coins from you including a 2017 gold sovereign ref.8441. The colour of this coin appears to me more copper than gold compared to the other three. Comments, please.
Hi David
Actually you’re spot on. The 2017 Sovereign is 22 carats, with the additional 2 carats consisting of alloys. Along with some silver, copper is one of these alloys. The other 3 coins in your order are 24 carat coins and therefore have no alloys at all. This explains the Sovereign looking slightly more copper in colour, as it actually has a small amount of copper to make it more resilient.
Do you buy gold/silver bought somewhere else? Or you just buy back from products bought from you only?
Thank you.
Susan Bweya
Hi Susan, yes we do buy 3rd party bought items, depending on stock levels. Feel free to email what you want to sell to info@physicalgold.com