The Difference with Storing Bullion With an Entity That Tests and Guarantees the Genuinity of Your Precious Metals
Clipped British coins.
While many of us knew Isaac Newton for having invented calculus and formulating the theory of universal gravity, we may know less of his work as Master of Mint with the Royal Mint, a position he held for the last 30 years of his life.
Newton’s appointment in the 17th century came when Britain’s currency was in a terrible state. Organized crime syndicates made huge profits off clipping the thinly-hammered silver and gold coins in circulation. These clippings from precious metals could be accumulated by criminals and melted into bullion or used to make new coins. Clipping was rife and severe to the point that the weight of properly minted coins had fallen to half the legal standard.
Under Newton, the Royal Mint recalled all British coins for remint. The new coins were no longer thinly-thinly hammered but were cast from thicker molds with milled edges making clipping attempts obvious. Unfortunately, the new coin design merely fostered a thriving black market that had counterfeit engravers making fake molds that also had milled edges. Inferior metals were poured into the molds to make counterfeit coins which were then passed into circulation through criminal networks.
Newton tackled counterfeiting personally, conducting investigations and gathering evidence against counterfeiters himself. For his efforts, he successfully prosecuted 28 such criminals.
The practice of counterfeiting is as old as money itself and is sometimes regarded as the world’s second-oldest profession. Counterfeiting gold continues today. In the past month, US Customs prevented the attempted smuggle of 119 fake gold Krugerrand coins.
This news comes while investors are still reeling from last year’s discovery of 83 tons of gilded fake gold bars that Nasdaq-listed Kingold Jewelry allegedly used as collateral for a whopping US$2.8 billion worth of loans from some 14 top Chinese financial institutions. Of greatest concern was that the revelation only came to light because Kingold failed to repay their debts, and creditors seized the gold to sell it off to cover their losses - only to discover they only had copper bars wrapped in gold foil!
What is the solution, then? At the risk of over-simplification, the answer has always been the TESTING of gold and silver. Our readers already understand the tacit reality that investors should only purchase from reputable dealers. Hence, testing cannot simply be a token buzzword; but must reflect actively transparent and intrinsically comprehensive processes.
It is essential to understand that not all vaults offer bullion testing as part of their services, let alone publicly guaranteeing their authenticity. Most commercial vaults store bullion on a ‘said to contain’ basis. This means that if customers hand the vault a sealed bag purported to contain gold, the vault will not open the bag to verify but will store the bag as it is. Vaults store on a ‘said to contain’ basis because they do not invest manpower and time in testing, opting to only provide storage services. Should counterfeits be discovered within the stored bags, the vault operator is indemnified from wrongdoing since they do not question nor guarantee the authenticity of the contents.
At Silver Bullion, our testing team at The Safe House vault has tested millions of ounces of precious metals using our non-destructive DUX testing system. Our bullion authentication uses several tests including but not limited to ultrasound, density, X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), and electrical conductivity tests. Bullion tested are tagged with unique testing IDs that can be searched for their results from our website. Our confidence in DUX testing shows in our Genuinity Guarantee. Yes, there is no such word as “Genuinity” - we’ve created our portmanteau of “genuine” and “authenticity.”
This guarantee is our commitment to replacing customers’ bullion purchased and/or stored with us in the unlikely event that counterfeits slip past our DUX testing system. It is like a second perimeter security fence. Our Genuinity Guarantee is publicly stated in our User Agreement (clause 5.4), not hidden behind any login wall. We have offered this guarantee since 2018 and we are the only company in the world to offer this guarantee publicly to our knowledge. This commitment attests to the seriousness we view testing of precious metals.
Our practice of testing precious metals and guaranteeing authenticity is deeply ingrained in our mission to protect wealth. The typical vault operator or bullion dealer may be satisfied to offer storage on a ‘said to contain’ basis. However, a wealth protector like Silver Bullion takes the additional step to ensure that all bullion entering our storage system is genuine. This distinction will be a world of difference when the next global financial crisis shakes the monetary system’s foundations. Wealth, truly secured, will survive and will be of great use to its owners in the new world.