Sep 20, 2012

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/19578206/fake-gold-bars-turn-up-in-manhattan

MYFOXNY.COM -

In jewelry stores on 47th Street and Fifth Avenue in  Manhattan, the important trust between merchants has been violated.  A  10-ounce gold bar costing nearly $18,000 turned out to be a counterfeit.

The bar was filled with tungsten, which weighs nearly the  same as gold but costs just over a dollar an ounce....

The Secret Service, which deals with counterfeits, said it  is investigating.

In March, gold bars filled with tungsten showed up in  England. With New York now hit, it may mean an international ring is  involved.

Comment: A few years ago, China bought about 600 tons of gold bars from London. When they got to Hong Kong, they checked them by drilling into them, and found that they were filled with tungsten and just gold plated. These were traced back to the US government, which apparently has been counterfeiting gold for quite some time, in order to make it look like it has plenty of gold reserves.

The counterfeiting ring is sophisticated, because it is likely to be the government itself. Don't expect the Secret Service to find the culprits.

It is less likely that silver would be counterfeited, but it is always safer to buy metals in one-ounce pieces, rather than large bars. It is less likely to be counterfeited, especially silver pieces.