Seven Ways to Tell if Your Gold is Counterfeit

Forward by Peter Krauth, Global Resources Specialist 

I had just finished a walking tour of the Royal Canadian Mint when I saw it. Right there, out in the open, was a 400-ounce bar of pure gold. It was chained to a display table and kept safe by an armed guard. At the time, in 2005, the bar was worth $220,000. 

Today, the same bar is worth $667,700. In just seven years, gold prices have jumped by 203%. But it's not the eternal fascination with gold that has boosted the price. With growing levels of worldwide uncertainties, mounting inflation risks and government distrust, people are clamoring for gold primarily as insurance.

According to the World Gold Council, 2011 saw gold bars and coins reach nearly $77 billion in sales, versus 2002's $3.5 billion. And in November alone, the U.S. Mint's sales of the popular American Eagle coins jumped 131% in the wake of the election. With the market for gold growing at a feverish pace, it's now more important than ever to know that your gold is the real deal-especially with gold prices looking to break through the $2,000 mark in the new year.

Here's why... Gold counterfeiting is nothing new. In fact, just recently there were reports of fake gold bars from China turning up in New York. Instead of gold, their centers were stuffed with tungsten. But rest assured there are a number of methods you can use to mitigate the risks of ending up with counterfeit gold. Some are simple, quick and inexpensive. Others are more elaborate, detailed, and not so readily accessible. Here are seven ways to find out if the gold you own is real:

Fake Gold Test #1: Size

Whether we're talking about coins, wafers, or bars, the producers of these items usually have very exacting standards. So a little research goes a long way to making sure you get what you expect. Find out what the true dimensions of the item should be, then compare them to what you have. To do this, buy yourself a good quality pair of calipers so that you can measure the diameter, thickness or other dimension of your gold item very precisely.

Gold is a very dense metal, so some counterfeiters may make a coin in a wider diameter, in order to compensate for a less dense metal. If you compare gold to iron, it takes twice the volume of iron to equal the same weight of gold. Plating other metals with gold still allows them to match the proper weight, but the size would be off. The difference could be very minor, but if you know what to look for, you can spot the fake.

Fake Gold Test #2: Magnetic

Gold is not magnetic. So if it sticks, your gold is fake. But to do this, you'll need a stronger than average magnet. The kind available from a specialized hardware store should do it. Keep in mind that counterfeiters obviously know this too. So they'll typically use metals that aren't magnetic to avoid this type of detection. Just don't use this test alone.

Fake Gold Test #3: Weight

Obviously, one true and tested way of being sure you get what you ordered is by quantity. And weight is a great way of checking. Get yourself a good quality, precise scale. Then, based on the stated weight on your coin, wafer or bar, it should match up perfectly. Keep in mind though, that gold is weighed in troy ounces. One troy ounce is equal to about 1.09714 "avoirdupois" ounces, which is the normal 1 ounce measurement we use in everyday life.

Fake Gold Test #4: Visual

Knowing what you're looking for will certainly help here. It's a learned skill, but keep an eye out for anything that looks odd or abnormal. A decent, strong magnifying glass goes a long way to pinpoint oddities. You can search for high quality images of your coin or bar, then compare that with what's in your hands. Be meticulous in your search for minute details, all of which must be spot on.

Gold coins are a good option for gold "investments." You see, counterfeiters will often (but not always), fake larger gold items because it's more worth their while. After all, if you're going to go through all of the painstaking trouble and risk, the payoff might as well be big. The test methods I've described so far apply to pretty much any form of "investment" gold. But if you take the leap and acquire a larger-sized gold item, there are a few other tests that can be performed for veracity. The truth is, anyone who owns gold in the form of a larger bar, say 10 ounces and up, ought to consider having it verified.

Fake Gold Test #5: Assay

One option is known as the fire assay test. This is typically used by gold explorers/miners who require absolute certainty that their drilled samples are the real thing. Fire assays are an ancient method. They are the most widely used and considered the most reliable. The downside is that it involves drilling into the gold bar to provide at least ½ gram (0.2 ounce) to be tested. Some feel removing even a small quantity of the bar will take away from its integrity.

But some gold bullion dealers, for their own assurance, will decide to cut your bar if you've agreed to sell it to them. Another downside with fire assays is that you're really only testing the small portion you've sent to the testers. So if there is a void or other metal in the center of the bar, the test won't find it. Assay testers will usually take about three days and charge about $35 to test a gold sample. They'll also provide an official signed report with the results.

Fake Gold Test #6: X-ray

X-ray testers are another option to check your gold. Jewelers will sometimes use these to test any gold they buy. The tester quickly performs chemistry analysis to determine what elements are present in the gold. They also can tell the purity and fineness of the metal. X-ray testing does have a ±1% accuracy rating, so while minor, there is some chance for error.

The other drawback is that it's essentially a surface test, so if there's a void or another material in the center of the bar or coin, then X-ray testing won't detect it. On the plus side, it's nondestructive and non-intrusive, so the integrity of your gold won't be compromised. You'll know, at least, if the surface of the item is real gold.

Fake Gold Test #7: Ultrasound

Ultrasound testing is a way to "look into" your gold. It uses the same ultrasound technology familiar to all pregnant women. Essentially, this method scans the item, providing a digital image of the gold bar. If there is an air gap or other material inside the gold bar, this will show up as a darker area on the screen's image. This is expensive equipment, so it may be challenging to find someone who could provide testing services.

The advantage is that ultrasonic flaw detectors can actually "see" the inside of your bar, so the results provide a high degree of confidence in the bar's integrity. If you want to see exactly how this works, click here to view a short video demonstration. Of course, there are other tests you can do to mitigate your risk of ending up with a fake. Probably the single most important thing you can do is to buy your gold from a reputable dealer. While it sounds obvious, a little research can go a long way.

Ask friends or acquaintances for referrals and check the website of a government mint for "partner" bullion dealers. Also, consider buying from dealers that offer a product guarantee, as well as a future promise to repurchase anything they previously sold to you. Keep in mind, though, that the biggest counterfeiter of all is your own central bank.

Since the 2008 crisis, the Federal Reserve has created trillions of dollars out of thin air. So your best insurance against even more fiat money counterfeiting is to own some physical gold. Just be sure you know who you're buying from and what you're getting. 

How to Market Cash Gifting Programs the Right Way!

What comes to your mind when you hear the words "Cash Gifting"? You can ask 10 different people and you will most likely get 10 different answers. Whatever the response, everyone will agree that cash gifting has been around since day one; ever since currency was created! A person may give or receive a gift of cash as a present, a prize, or a kind gesture. I remember when I was a kid and every time my uncle Joe came to our house for Sunday pasta and wine, he would come up to me and squeeze my cheeks of my face and say, "You're a good boy" and put a $10 bill in my shirt pocket!! Ahh!! The gift of cash! 

Exchanging cash gifts has become a huge income opportunity online. People all across the world are generating hundreds and thousands of dollars daily by getting involved with the cash gifting opportunity. Cash gifting has become one of the fastest and easiest ways to make a living on the internet working at home! It won't be long before cash gifting overtakes network marketing in the income-generating activity arena. Each day, there are new and different groups of individuals that are involved in the cash gifting activity. A majority of these groups focus on helping one another generate wealth in abundance. You need to do your homework if you are considering becoming involved in the cash gifting activity. There are many cash gifting programs out there on the Internet that fall quite short of being legal because of the structure.

Too many people will become excited about cash gifting, without thinking about the consequences if not done correctly. Believe me - there are simple-mined folks out there thinking that the money will start rolling in without doing a stitch of work. Although many cash gifting programs don’t like to identify themselves as a “business” you have to realize that certain business truths will still apply particularly to the extent when it comes to advertising and marketing. The numbers do not lie! On most offers, you will usually get a 1 - 4% response from prospects that are interested in what you got to say. For example - if you wish to have 100 people actually sign up to your program, your campaign offer will need to have at least 10,000 people to consider your proposal.

So you need to do a little work in the beginning and do some serious marketing. If not, then reality will strike you faster than a dodging bullet and you will become one of the many rejected, dejected, sorrowful individuals who believe that cash gifting does not work and is total bullshit. The self-defeatist attitude has once again struck poor little Johnny because he was expecting barrels of money to be coming to his front door or in his mailbox! If you are really serious and want to make TONS of money, then you need to listen up and learn how to get people to become interested in your program. This includes how to market cash gifting programs, how to find new people, how to advertise cash gifting and how to promote a cash gifting program successfully. Sounds like the building blocks to any new successful business venture, doesn't it?

To be honest with you - about 75% of the people that get involved with cash gifting fail at generating cash online within the cash gifting community. But this should not be that much of a shock to you since in any business venture that one undertakes, will either fail within the first 6 months to 1 year. And we are talking about any new business venture whether it be network marketing, affiliate programs, brick and mortar businesses. The reason is that most people did not do their homework upfront prior to making the investment. With the cash gifting opportunity, the main reason most people are failing is the result of them not knowing how to market the cash gifting activity on the internet as well as offline. There is no secret advertising plan that you can use to start generating cash gifts. The methods of advertising to make money online with anything, including cash gifting, aren't hard. You just have to learn how to implement different strategies, and test them to see which ones work for you.

Bottom Line! There is BIG money with cash gifting. If you got your head on right and are serious about making money online with cash gifting, you need to learn how to promote first. And that is a fact, Jack! Cash gifting is an outstanding opportunity, but it will not work for you unless you learn how to market it.

In a nutshell - There are only two forms of marketing you can utilize for any cash gifting program. These are free advertising and paid advertising. If you master both free advertising and paid advertising, then there is no reason why you shouldn't be successful with cash gifting.

Let's take a look at what 99.9% of the successful marketers of cash gifting are doing and bringing home the bacon!! It is not necessary to use all of these methods to succeed, but the more you use, the better chances of you succeeding are so much greater!

Word of Mouth: In this electronic age, we often forget about just normal communication. Don’t be shy to mention what you are doing to people as you speak with them. Of course, not everyone will get it but there will be a number of people who will instantly get excited. Let people know what you are doing! 

Create A Capture Page: Also called “landing pages” or “squeeze pages.” These pages create a short one-page explanation of your program with a link to click on what to do next. You sometimes will have a little more control on this type of web page rather than promoting the duplicated website that is offered by your cash gifting program. If you already have a website, you could create a new page off your existing website and promote your cash gifting program. If you don’t already have a website, you can get a free page from many, many companies. Some of the more popular offers are from wordpress, blogger and Google Sites.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Make sure that the text on your page mentions the important keywords that people would be searching for. And also try to do link exchanges. This is where you link to other websites and in exchange, they will link back to you. Google will rank your page higher if it detects inbound links to your page.

Write An Article: Create an interesting article that gives information on your topic. This should be written maybe with your personal slant, offering an aspect of the topic that maybe has not yet been mentioned elsewhere. There are many services that will syndicate your article for a reasonable fee. And/or you could post this article on your website.

Make A Video: Create a positive and to-the-point video and post it on youtube or one of the other video-posting sites. Make sure you include the keywords that you think people will be searching for so people will find your video.

Cooperative Advertising: This is where many, many people pitch in and share the cost of an ad. There is always some type of “ad rotators” where, based on how much you pay, your ad will show up in a certain percentage of the time. Normally an ad for one person would be prohibitive. But if each person contributes a nominal fee, you can get a piece of the promotional pie.

Build Your Own Highly-Profitable Opt in Email List: The best way to make money on the internet is to market your offer to your OWN profitable opt in list. I found a fantastic viral program that will add 5 ADDITIONAL subscribers for every ONE that joins your list - on total autopilot. You can easily build your list into the thousands in no time with this amazing free system. Check out 5iphon Hardcore. A quality opportunity seeker mailing lists offers sub-categories targeted including: opportunity seekers, MLM leads, extra income seekers, home businesses, work from home, get rich quick buyers, mail order buyers and much more. Make sure that the leads are fresh and not over promoted. You can use your list for postcard mailings or email campaigns.

I recommend Wired4Money as the best source to rent names for opportunity seekers! You get double opt-in mailing lists and double opt in email leads and these names are 5-7 day fresh. This company collects contact information from people who have specifically requested to receive “opportunity seekers” information from an opt in list-service. If you are buying labels, you will be the ONLY user of the names you buy!!!! (No one else will have those same names.) If you are buying an email list, the names you buy will be used only by 3 customers and then the names are purged from their system. So you know that any lists you rent from this company are super fresh.

Opt-In Safe Lists: A “safe list” is a mailing list of subscribers who have “opted in” to request your information. This means that when you send out an email to the list, you will NEVER be accused of spamming! There are hundreds of safe lists you can join. The Mega Safelist Network is very good and is available through blast4traffic. They have a list of 70 MILLION Targeted - Opt-In Prospects That’s 2.3 MILLION Every Day! All emailing goes out from their servers. The most amazing thing is that they only charge $34.50 for a Lifetime membership!

Leads Generator with Phone Broadcasting: Leads Tool Direct is an amazing lead generator. I've talked to the creator, Paul Farman and he is the real deal. He offers a very exciting bundle of products. His “scrapers” are programmed to collect emails or phone numbers from parts of the internet that you can control. You can even specify the topic area, like “income opportunity” or “weight loss” etc. Then he includes a sophisticated phone broadcaster that will automatically call people with your pre-recorded message. (You don’t have to use the phone broadcaster if you prefer to only collect the email addresses!) Here is the great part: Once you buy his program, you get free upgrades for LIFE. If you were to purchase all 7 of his scrapers and products INDIVIDUALLY, the price would be $679. But he is offering a bundle package for $297. He only sells this via affiliates I am one of his affiliates. You actually make two payments: $97 to Paul Farman and $200 to the affiliate (Howard Richman.) 

Fliers: Fliers don’t cost too much and give people a physical “thing” to hold in their hand which sometimes can be better than an email.

Classified Ads in Newspapers and Magazines: Post a quick concise headline with a phone number in your local “throw away” paper can be pretty cheap and reach quite a broad audience.

Post Online Classified Ads: You can use such online posting media such as Craigslist or Backpage. There are some cash gifting programs which do not allow this type of advertising, so you should always respect the rules of the program that you have joined.

Forums and Blogs: Sign up for many different forums and blogs and post a little comment and link back to your web page.

Social Networking Channels: Facebook, Twitter, MySpace are some of the big social networking channels, but there are many more. “Viral marketing” is what they call the magic of people telling others and those in turn telling others. With the right campaign, you could have instant success.

PPC (Pay Per Click) Programs Such as Google AdWords: FORGETABOUTIT!!! These are ways that you literally pay for your ad to be listed near the top of Google search results for desired keywords. The problem is that in most cases, the leads that this will generate will NEVER outweigh the COSTS and you will be saddled with an overwhelming bill by the end of the month. Unless you have DEEP POCKETS, stay away from PPC campaigns. 

What Is A Professional Finder?

What Is A Finder?

Would you believe that most people, even people who call themselves finders, do not really know what a finder is. Although so much has been written about the easy money fortunes being made as a finder, most people do not know what a finder is, or how to earn finder's fees. Well, let us stop for a darn minute here and explain. In order to define what a finder is, let's first point out what a finder is not.

• A finder is not a dealer. Dealers take-on a product, or service for sales and promotions. Dealers are only responsible for distributing the product, or service, from the main source to the end user.
• A finder is not a pre-seller. Pre-sellers take a selling price from a product source and add-on what they feel to be a fair margin of profit, and sell it. When a sale is made, the pre-seller buys the product from the source and ships it to the buyer.
• A finder is not a representative of, or agent for, either buyer or the seller. Representatives and agents are authorized by their clients to negotiate the purchase, or sale, of specific services and products. They can legally sign documents obligating their clients.

There you have it. Very many people who call themselves finders are not really finders at all. They are really Salesmen, Agents/Representatives, and/or Pre-sellers. The answer to the question is; that a finder is nothing more than a "match-maker" for a fee.

The Professional Finder simply matches qualified buyers with qualified sellers, or vice versa. In business life also, the meaning of the word "find" is just that. Where a sale of something is involved, you find a buyer.

The Business of Finding

Where an acquisition of something is involved, you find a seller. We have found that the best way to find one party to a business transaction is to look in your own community (buyer or seller). Then match up his/her needs with those of another party (buyer/seller) in another city, state, country and away from your local community.

But you don't have to stop here. You can also bring together two parties - one in Florida, and the other in Singapore, even if you live in Kansas City. Many Professional Finders are doing this and making a fortune.

The advent of the Internet has brought the world of communications to your fingertips. So Google away my friend and bring together a buyer and seller of any commodity!

Find out more about the Finders Fees Business!

Vince Conti