A popular question among those who want to invest in gold coins is that related to the presence of the certificate of authenticity.
Although there is a general association among the population between the guarantee of quality and the existence of the certificate of authenticity, when we talk about coins the situation is a little different. There are many factors that determine the valuation of an investment product, but the existence of the certificate is not one of them.
The main confusion regarding the connection between the quality guarantee and the certificate of authenticity may come from the fact that some investment gold dealers issue information sheets with product characteristics. These information sheets may be mistakenly perceived by customers as a certificate, but in reality there is no such document.
Who Issues The Certificate Of Authenticity For Gold Goods?
You can only get a certificate of authenticity if the product is provided by the manufacturer, refinery or mint.
Therefore, no investment gold dealer issues a certificate of authenticity. In addition, the certificate is issued based on a serial number, and the coins do not have one . If there is no serial number against which a certificate can be issued, then the certificate in question can have no value simply because it cannot be associated with the specific product.
All investment bars cut from 1 to 100 grams are placed in vacuum packs with a unique certification number, which corresponds to the number of the bar. Molded bars of 250 grams and 1 kilogram also have such a number, but in most cases they are not placed in special packages.
The only coin series that has a certification number is the Canadian Maple Leaf 999.99 . In recent years this series has been marked with images portraying different animals.
How To Verify The Authenticity Of Investment Gold Coins
Investment gold coins are characterized by thickness, diameter and weight. Of course, these features vary from coin to coin. So, if you want to buy or sell the gold good, the verification of authenticity is based on the analysis of thickness, diameter and weight.
Specifically, if you want to sell such a product to an authorized gold investment dealer, he will compare the three parameters to assess the authenticity of the product.
The manufacture of the product is a very important criterion, which also cannot be overlooked in the process of evaluating a specific good. For example, even the best counterfeit, although close in weight (obtained by removing parts of the coin’s edges) to the original, may be distinguished by other characteristics related to fineness.
Moreover, the production of investment products is extremely precise, detailed and refined which makes it extremely difficult to copy. So, the probability of the existence of a counterfeit product identical in all respects to a genuine product tends to zero .
These are the criteria that should also be checked when buying gold coins. Furthermore, it is your right that when purchasing a gold good, you request that it be placed on a precision scale. In this way, the weight of the coin is visualized and, depending on the specifics of the product, the value obtained is compared with that of the catalog.
The complex of these factors guarantees that the chosen product is genuine – when a coin matches the weight, diameter, thickness and quality of the work, you have no reason to worry.
Valuation of Gold Coins When Redeemed
As we have already explained in the lines above, the valuation of gold coins at redemption is based on the weight, diameter, thickness, workmanship and appearance of the product.
Investment gold coins are a minimum of 21.6 carats, corresponding to the 900 sample.
The higher the gold content of the coin, the softer the gold and the better the workmanship. This aspect is of great importance and is one of the factors that determine the authenticity of the coin.
When you want to sell a coin, the valuation process goes through two stages:
- first, the authenticity of the coin is evaluated according to the weight, thickness, diameter and quality of the work ;
- then, the commercial condition of the product is checked : if it is damaged, acceptable, or if the coin is in the package in which it should be – depending on the purity of the gold in the selected product (sample), there are different ways of recommended storage, as well as specific ways in which products arrive from different suppliers and are offered to customers for sale.
Note that investment coins are mainly divided into historical coins and modern coins.
The main difference between the two types is that historical coins were in circulation and most often sampled between 21.6 carats and 23.6 carats (or between 90% and 98.6% gold content). Regardless of the category to which a coin belongs, it must always correspond to its weight, diameter and thickness. The main difference is that with historical coins, minor damage is allowed due to the fact that they were already in circulation and therefore subject to wear.
