>>60902022
Why am I not buying a promise from some stranger to give me some uncertain share in uncertain profits in a speculative enterprise that could vanish or be confiscated instantly versus buying metal I can hold in my hand and nobody knows about it? To ask the question is to answer it.

>>60783131
The density of gold makes it very difficult to counterfeit. Only tungsten has the same density and it is radically different in every other way. First of all, tungsten is very hard. A normal die could not even begin to stamp a coin design into it. Even if you could somehow produce a tungsten coin and gold plate it, a Sigma would detect it instantly. Even a ping test would reliably reveal the fraud in the case of a coin. In the case of ingots, you might be able to bury some tungsten into the middle of it. But that is a problem for banks, not me.

You could match the density of silver with alloys, stamp them and plate them. But it still will not pass a sigma test or ping test because they detect what is under the surface. But, as with gold, you might be able to bury some cheap alloy into a large silver ingot. Not really worth the effort at the current price, but someday maybe.

Buying from a reputable dealer makes the process virtually fool proof.

On the other hand, numismatic fakes are a pretty big problem. It requires real expertise to detect a good numismatic fake. Again, not my problem as I don't collect coins for numismatic value.