How to Prove Ownership of Gold Bars and Coins
When buying gold bullion, it’s important to ensure that it becomes part of your physical possession – otherwise why put it into storage fees in banks if it never really belongs to you?
When buying gold bars, look for those approved by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) from reliable manufacturers or refiners. There are plenty of gold bar manufacturers out there – it is crucial that you find one you can rely on!
Proof of ownership
When buying physical bullion, the transaction should include legally-binding documentation identifying each coin or bar (and their serial numbers) and showing proof that you are their owner. Without such proof, it would not be fair to call yourself the legal owner; rather than possessing physical ownership over its entirety you are investing instead in paper promises held out to you from dealers in exchange for payment.
When looking to purchase gold bullion, it’s essential that sellers use refiners approved by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). Genuine bullion bars should feature stamps with weight, manufacturer and purity markings to show they meet rigorous quality control standards set out by LBMA.
Physical gold investments provide diversification to your portfolio and can serve as an effective defense against inflation, yet do not generate income or generate returns like stocks and bonds do. Furthermore, you will incur costs related to its storage and protection from theft.
Proof of weight
Gold bars are an easy and practical way to invest in precious metals. Their compact form makes them convenient to transport and store, with various sizes to fit your storage space needs. Some even feature serial numbers to verify authenticity during transactions. When selling gold bars through trusted dealers, make sure their pricing reflects market values or check online price quotes to make sure you’re getting an excellent deal.
Some dealers advertise direct gold bar sales at spot price with free storage; however, these deals do not constitute bona fide allocated accounts; in reality the dealer owes you the metal, but may only have enough physical bullion available to meet redemption requests at any one time if an emergency situation arises. That is why it is crucial to choose a trustworthy dealer with an excellent track record and solid portfolio management credentials.
Proof of purity
Gold bars often come with an accompanying proof of assay document that includes technical specifications and designs to verify their authenticity and purity, which is especially useful because higher purity bars tend to command lower prices.
To be considered Good Delivery status, bars must be manufactured by an LBMA-accredited refiner. This designation ensures maximum resale value and chain integrity; furthermore, selling Good Delivery bars without first entering an LBMA recognized vault isn’t possible.
Visual inspection is the easiest and simplest way to verify the purity of gold bars or coins, though this technique may not always provide reliable results if purchasing from unknown sellers. Therefore, always buy from reliable sources certified by recognized testing agencies.
Proof of authenticity
One of the best ways to verify the authenticity of a gold bar is to examine it closely for any signs of counterfeiting, including clear engraving of its serial number with no irregularities or tampering, matching manufacturer data or product images online, dimensions against actual manufacturing specifications and measurements from manufacturer data, blister packaging imprints being carefully checked against, etc.
Magnet testing is another effective way of verifying the authenticity of gold bars. Real gold isn’t magnetic, while fake bars could contain magnetic metals such as tungsten. You can also weigh the bar or compare its weight against examples of the same size and purity; otherwise you could ask a reputable dealer to conduct these experiments on your behalf; they’ll never object! X-Ray fluorescence testing and spectroscopy are other less damaging methods which provide accurate measurements without leaving an unattractive scratch behind such as certain at-home techniques would do.
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