The process of manipulation was also different this time. Most of the manipulated gold bars were from the renowned Swiss refiner PAMP, one of the most respected names in the business. At least 10 such counterfeit gold bars were identified by dealers in Manhattan’s Midtown Diamond District. There and then, it was 10 oz gold bars that had been tampered with. Gold bars that had been hollowed out and filled in with tungsten had also appeared in New York in 2012. The Metalor gold bar was guaranteed to be 99.99 % pure but with tungsten rods making up 30 to 40 % of its total weight, the xrf analyzer should have displayed a much lower gold purity, shouldn’t it? Maybe there is someone reading this who can clarify this mystery analysis result? Then, please leave your comment below this article. The tool was reported to have indicated a gold purity of 99.98 %. The result of this analysis was a bit strange. The scrap metal shop owner had also used such an xrf analyzer.

Handheld XRF Analyzer that can be used to spot counterfeit gold bars An analysis with such a tool will only take 2 to 15 seconds without causing any damage to the bar. Normally, gold dealers and buyers who received a shipment of gold bars will have them checked with a handheld xrf analyzer such as the one in the picture underneath. After all, who will go to such lengths as to have a gold bar cut open? How to spot counterfeit gold bars? Lucky thing that he/she only bought one such bar.ĭo you really think that whoever tampered with this bar did so only once? There could be many such tungsten-filled counterfeit gold bars all over the world by now, their owners totally ignorant of the fact that they’ve been cheated. Imagine the look of surprise on the scrap dealer’s face when he/she saw that the bar was filled with tungsten rods (making up about 30 to 40 percent of the bar’s weight).

The scrap dealer who had purchased the bar became suspicious because of this and had the bar cut in the middle (see picture above).

Counterfeit 1 kg Metalor gold bar that had been found in the United Kingdom

Credit suisse gold bar replica