Ways to Tell If the Gold is Real

Gold is one of the most valuable and sought-after commodities on the planet. Because of its value, inexpensive jewelry can be made to look more expensive if it appears to contain gold, even if that gold is fake. If you have a gold item, whether it is scrap or a valuable heirloom, you may be interested to know if it is an imitation or real gold. This is especially true if you are looking to buy such an item. Here are some ways you can tell if the gold you have or are looking to buy is real.

This article discusses the following steps :

Test its size and weight
Magnet test
Testing gold by its sound
Ceramic test
Nitric Acid Test
Look for Hallmarks
Look for Bluish or Greenish Tint on Your Skin
Drop the Item in Water
Test With Nitric Acid
The Float Test
Test its size and weight
This test applies primarily to bullion coins and simply involves checking the size and weight of your coin. Bullion coins are made to a set of specifications, giving you a reference point to test the authenticity of your gold.

Gold is one of the densest metals on the planet, with physical properties that are incredibly hard to replicate. This means that any metal used to copy a gold coin will likely be much less compact, and it would take more of it to replicate a certain weight of gold.

A fake one ounce Britannia, for example, would therefore need to be wider and/ or thicker to match the weight of a real one. Similarly, a fake gold Britannia with the same thickness and diameter as a real one would be noticeably lighter. Knowing the specified weight, diameter, and thickness of your gold coins will allow you to easily identify a fake.

Magnet test
This is another very easy test you can carry out at home with minimal equipment needed. Unlike most metals, gold is not magnetic and a real gold bullion coin, bar, or piece of jewellery will not stick to a magnet. You can try this at home with any reasonably strong magnet.

Try to pick your gold coin up with a magnet. If you are able to, you know that your coin, bar, or jewellery is made from, or at least contains, one or several other metals. Care should be taken with this method, however, as gold is not the only non-magnetic metal and it a fake coin could well pass this test. We recommend that you use the magnet test alongside one or several of the other tests mentioned in this article to be sure.

Testing gold by its sound
The ‘ping’ test, as this is commonly known, allows us to tell if a coin is made from real or fake gold by listening to the sound it makes when struck. Precious metals will make a long, high-pitched ringing sound when struck as opposed to base metals, whose respective sounds will be duller and much shorter. Balancing your coin on the end of your finger and tapping it with another coin should make a ringing sound, and the difference between a coin made from pure gold and one made from a non-precious metal should be obvious.

Ceramic test
Dragging your gold over a ceramic plate is another quick and uncomplicated way to test your gold. Simply draw your gold across an unglazed ceramic plate, applying slight pressure. If you can see a gold mark on the ceramic once you’ve done this, then the gold is real. However if the mark is black then it is fake.

Nitric Acid Test
The least straightforward of these tests, partly because you risk doing permanent damage to your metal in doing so unless, of course, it is pure #