Fake silver – counterfeit silver bars are here
You have to watch out for counterfeit silver bars. A 100 ounce silver bar today sells for around $4,200 USD. Certainly, a very attractive chunk of silver that simply inspires bad folks to fake itself. Unlike American Silver Dollar, Canadian Maple Leaf or any other silver bullion with elaborate design, the 100 ounce bars are much easier to counterfeit and the profit is quite high. I stopped by one of the coin shops today, there were a few customers and one seller, who came with three 100 oz Johnson Matthey bars. The owner first weighed them, then took a hammer and start pounding lightly on each bar after enclosing it into a clear plastic bag. I guess the passed the test and weren’t fake, as he paid to the seller and put the bars away.
Then he explained me a few things. Since the silver spot price stabilized at $28 to $30 range several weeks ago, he has seen some 15 fake silver bars, all 100 oz, either Johnson Matthey or Engelhard. They were made from lead or some sort of lead based alloy, designed to match the silver density and plated with a tiny amount of real silver.
Here are the things to check – finish, shape, marks like scratches or dents, weight and ring sound.
Finish can’t be too shiny or too rough. The poured Johnson Matthey bars do have rough texture but in many cases, the fake silver bars were way too rough. The extruded Engelhard bars and bars from other manufacturers like RCM, Ohio, Pan American have matte finish and not reflective proof like finish. Brands like Sunshine, APMEX, Wall Street, Silvertowne often have proof like finish, but because of a bit more complicated design and logos, their bars are harder to counterfeit.
Shape of the real 100 ounce silver bar from Johnson Matthey are quite trapezoidal. Most of extruded 100 oz silver bars are pretty rectangular except those by Engelhard which do have slightly trapezoidal shape. Fake poured silver bars often are perfectly rectangular.
The color of any dents and scratches should be practically the same as the color of the surface. Dents or scratches on counterfeit silver bars will almost certainly differ in color from their silver plated surfaces because other metals are reached a bit deeper.
Many fake bars have often funny weight. The real 100 oz silver bar normally weighs 99.8 troy ounces or 3,104 grams. Anything that deviates should raise a flag.
Ring sound, once the real silver bar is in a plastic bag and lightly hit with a hammer, should be a longer ringing sound. The fake bars normally produce a clunk or thud sound.
There are other tests and procedures. As silver price climbs, you can expect more counterfeit silver bars around. To protect yourself, always check and if you have any doubts, don’t buy it.
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