GOLD BAR PRICES FOR | INDEPENDENT · NO SIGNUP

Advertising disclosure: this site earns a commission if you become a customer of Augusta Precious Metals through our links, at no cost to you. It never changes our prices, our bank research or our copy. Full disclosure.

How to Tell if a Gold Bar Is Real

Reviewed by the Gold Bar Guide Editorial Team · Updated October 9, 2026

Quick answer: Start with who sold it to you, because a bar from a seller you can trace is far safer than any test you run afterward. Then look at the sealed assay packaging, the weight and size against the stated figures, and the markings on the bar. No single home check, a magnet included, can prove a bar is gold. If a bar matters and a doubt is left, ask a dealer to test it before you pay for storage or a resale.

Check the seller before you check the bar

Most bad outcomes with gold bars begin before the bar exists in your hands. Someone calls you, pushes you to move fast, and offers a bar at a price that sounds like a favor. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission's list of ten questions to ask before buying physical metals opens with a plain rule: do not respond to unsolicited cold calls. The same list suggests finding a reputable dealer by starting local and checking consumer groups and your state attorney general.

So the first check is a question about the seller. Can you find the business without help from the person who called you? Do they put the price, the weight and the fineness in writing? Do they tell you what they would pay to buy the bar back? Our live gold price page shows what gold is worth by the ounce right now, and the arithmetic on it is the same for any honest seller: weight times the spot price, plus whatever the seller adds. If a quote lands far below that line, the problem is more likely the bar than your luck.

The Federal Trade Commission describes the pattern on its own pages. People posing as metal dealers or rare coin merchants push urgency, and the FTC points readers to the CFTC's fraud alerts and says to report the problem to the CFTC. A seller who will not slow down is a reason to stop.

Look at the sealed assay packaging

A new retail bar often arrives sealed in a card or blister that carries its own assay certificate. The trade calls this "in assay." Costco's listing for an Argor-Heraeus 10 g bar describes a credit-card-sized blister with an official assay card, and its listing for a PAMP Suisse 1 oz bar uses the words "New in Assay." Those are Costco's own words about the products it lists, and they show what sealed packaging looks like in practice. Our guide to PAMP Suisse gold bars covers how to read one of those cards beside the bar.

The sealed card does a few jobs at once:

  • It keeps the bar and the certificate together, so the paper you hold belongs to the metal you hold.
  • It shows the weight and fineness the maker says the bar has.
  • It gives you something to compare against the bar's own stamp.

Do not break the seal to look closer. A bar that comes out of its card is harder to resell as new, and a seller that gets it back may treat it as a used item. If you want to inspect a bar, do it through the window of the packaging first. Check that the card is flat, that the print is sharp, that the bar sits straight and that nothing looks reglued.

Packaging can be copied, so a good-looking card is a point in a bar's favor and not a verdict. This is why the seller comes first and the card comes second.

Compare the weight and size

A gold bar is a known quantity of metal, and its weight is printed on it. A 1 oz bar holds one troy ounce, which is 31.1035 grams. A regular ounce is lighter, 28.3495 grams, so a kitchen scale set to ounces will mislead you unless you convert first. Our gold bar weight guide lays out the sizes and the conversion.

Weigh the bar on a scale that reads in tenths of a gram, still in its card if it is sealed, and subtract nothing you cannot account for. A card adds weight, so a sealed bar will read heavier than the metal inside. Once a bar is out of its packaging, the reading should come close to the marked weight. A bar that reads well under its marking is a reason to stop and ask. A bar that reads exactly right is only a point in its favor, because a copy can be made to weigh the right amount.

Size works the same way. A minted bar has a fixed footprint and thickness for its weight, and a maker's catalog lists those. If the bar in your hand is visibly thicker, thinner or shorter than the maker's picture and numbers, compare again before you pay.

Read the markings

The London Bullion Market Association sets the rules for the large bars that banks and refiners trade. Its Good Delivery standard says a bar must show a serial number, the refiner's assay stamp, the fineness and the year of manufacture, and only refiners on the Good Delivery List may make one. Those are the large bars of roughly 400 troy ounces, not the bars you buy at retail, but the same four items are what to look for on a smaller bar:

  1. A serial number. It should match the number on the assay card or certificate, character for character.
  2. A maker's stamp. You should be able to match the name and logo to the maker's own pictures.
  3. The fineness. Minted retail bars are commonly marked .9999, which is 99.99 percent gold. The LBMA's large bars carry a minimum fineness of 995.0 parts per thousand.
  4. The weight. It should agree with the card.

Mismatches matter more than missing details. If the serial on the bar and the serial on the card differ, that bar goes back to the seller. If the stamp is soft or the lettering uneven next to the maker's own photographs, ask why.

Some makers add their own security features. Costco's listing for the PAMP Suisse bar names Veriscan, so that is a feature the listing mentions. How such a feature works is a question for the maker and the seller, and you should ask for the instructions before you rely on it.

What a magnet can and cannot show

A magnet is the check people mention first, and it is the least useful of the lot. Gold on its own is not drawn to a magnet, so a bar that clings to one deserves a hard stop and a call to the seller. The reverse does not follow. A bar that ignores a magnet has not shown itself to be gold, because plenty of other metals ignore magnets too, and a copy can be built from them.

Treat a magnet as a way to catch the clumsiest copy and nothing more. No home test, whether magnet, scale or a look under a lamp, can turn a doubtful bar into a proven one. That job belongs to the seller you chose and the sealed packaging, and when those leave a gap, it belongs to a dealer with equipment made for the purpose.

When to ask a dealer to test it

Ask for a test when any of these apply:

  • You bought a bar outside its sealed card, or the card has been opened.
  • The serial number, stamp or weight does not match the paperwork.
  • The seller was someone you found through a cold call or a message you did not ask for.
  • You are about to pay for storage, insurance or a resale, and a doubt remains.
  • The bar was a gift or an inheritance and nothing about its origin is written down.

A dealer that tests a bar tells you what it found and what the test can and cannot show. Ask before you hand it over what the test costs, whether it marks the bar, and whether the dealer will put the result in writing. Our guide to how banks treat gold bars they did not sell explains why a bar of unknown origin is harder to sell back anywhere.

When to walk away

Walk away from any deal where the pressure runs one way. The warning signs are short:

  • A caller you did not expect, with a price that is only good today.
  • A request to pay by a method that cannot be undone, or to ship money before you see paperwork.
  • A seller who cannot give you the bar's weight, fineness and maker in writing.
  • A "semi-numismatic" label. The CFTC's list says that term has no special meaning.
  • Anyone who says they are from a government agency and asks you to buy gold bars and hand them over. The FTC has published a consumer alert on that scheme, and real agencies do not ask this. Check the FTC's current page for its exact wording.

If you have already paid, report it, and the FTC's pages point to the CFTC for metals fraud.

Our step-by-step guide to how to buy gold bars puts the seller checks in order, and the where to buy gold bars comparison shows how each channel answers the questions above. For the Costco route in particular, see Costco gold bars, where the listing wording about sealed assay packaging is quoted in full.

What this can't tell you

This page can't tell you that a particular bar in your hands is genuine. It can't tell you what your seller's records are worth, what a given dealer will charge to test a bar, or what any buyer would pay for it tomorrow. It also can't replace a test by someone with the equipment. It lists the checks in the order that protects you most, and the first of them happens before you pay.

FAQ

Can a magnet tell me if a gold bar is real?

No. A bar that sticks to a magnet is a warning sign, but a bar that does not stick has proved nothing, because many other metals ignore magnets and a copy can be made from them. Use the seller, the sealed assay packaging, the weight and the markings first, then ask a dealer to test the bar.

Should I open the assay card to look at the bar?

Not if you can avoid it. A bar that leaves its sealed card is harder to resell as new, and the card and certificate are part of what the bar is. Look through the window, compare the serial and weight to the paperwork, and break the seal only when a dealer needs to test.

What do the numbers stamped on a gold bar mean?

A serial number identifies that one bar and should match its paperwork. The fineness shows how pure the gold is, and .9999 means 99.99 percent. The weight is the amount of metal. Large bars made to the LBMA standard also show the refiner's stamp and the year made.

How do I know a seller is honest?

Start with how the contact began. A call you did not ask for is a warning. Then look for a business you can find yourself, a price tied to the spot price, written terms and a stated buy-back policy. The CFTC suggests starting local and checking your state attorney general.

Is an old gold bar from a relative real?

You cannot tell from the look of it. Without paperwork, a dealer's test is the way to find out, and the dealer should explain what the test shows. Ask for the result in writing before deciding whether to sell, keep or store it.