I use to dream of turning gold into lead, but at this point I thinking in SHTF the lead and brass might be more valuable.
Posted on 09/25/2012 2:02:08 PM PDT by djf
In the aftermath of Wednesday’s report of a tungsten filled 10 oz PAMP gold bar discovered in Manhattan, it appears we now have an epidemic on our hands, as the NY Post has just reported that a total of at least 10 tungsten filled gold bars have now been discovered in Manhattan.
The NY Post reports:
The Post has learned as many as 10 fake gold bars — made up mostly of relatively worthless tungsten — were sold recently to unsuspecting dealers in Manhattan’s Midtown Diamond District.
The price of gold has risen more than 600 percent since January 2000, while the S&P 500 index is down 0.6 percent over the same period.
The 10-oz. gold bars are hugely popular with Main Street investors, and it is not known how many of the fake gold bars were sold to dealers — or if any fake bars were purchased by the public.
Ibrahim Fadl, the dealer who originally discovered the tungsten filled gold bars apparently purchased 4 tainted bars:
One gold dealer discovered that four of the 3-inch-by-1-inch gold bars he bought — worth about $72,000 retail — were counterfeit.
“It has the entire street on edge,” said Ibrahim Fadl, 62, who has been the owner of Express Metal Refining, a Midtown gold-refinery business, for the last 11 years. “I and the others on the street work off of trust; now that trust is strained.”
Federal agents have discovered a 2nd dealer purchased 6 of the tungsten bars: A second 47th Street refiner, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was burned recently when he bought six gold bars that turned out to be mostly tungsten, with just a gold veneer. He would not comment, though, on who sold him the bogus bars.
That's a 5% difference. Should easily be able to detect by specific gravity test.
If you shop for groceries or buy gas you've already learned that one.
Ya don't get much harder than tungsten. Think Captain Americas shield, but in real life.
So just connect some voltage to the Bar and see if it lights up....LOL
I tried drilling out a few bills last week. Didn't find any gold or tungsten.
Yup... Another thing brought to you by China.
And G. Gordon Liddy, that old convict, retired just last month!
So how does one tell if his gold bars are fake or real? I got a few of these kicking around in my attic and I’m hoping they are for real. Because if we have a TEOTWAWKI event, I’m taking them down to the corner store to get a whole mess of milk and bread and I don’t want some smartass shopkeeper telling me they are fake!
drill into them - if tungstein shavings start coming out it’s fake. (That’s how Rick of the show “Pawn Stars” checked it on an episode where someone brought in a gold bar to sell. He was well aware of the old fake gold bar scam.)
Ultrasound testing.
Tungsten is used in armor piercing tank rounds.
Sadly, I don’t have a couple pounds of gold.
I do, however, have probably over 20 lbs of brass and lead!
Various denominations!!
I’m not even sure that an industrial X-ray machine would go through that.
There is no way that a specific gravity/density of the two metals would be identical, it might just take more sensitive equipment to tell the difference.
Not so, unfortunately. Atomic weight is not the same as density. Atomic weight is the weight of one mole , or 6.02 x 10**23 atoms, of a substance. Atomic weight says nothing about the volume occupied by one mole of a substance so you can't just weigh two bars of equal size and expect a 5% difference in weight if one is gold and the other tungsten.
Is that TungstenFinger???
LOL. I guess I should add if pieces of drill bit start flying out then, again, it's a fake.
"Tungsten? Well, gold is good..."
The ring would be suppressed by the gold coating...........
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.