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Cool Chinese bullion, but this one's real

LancastercoinLancastercoin Posts: 251
in Precious Metals
This is a gold tael (37.43g) from a reputable Hong Kong bullion manufacturer, King Fook. They are one of the authorized manufacturers of the kilo bars that are deliverable on the HK commodity exchange. The tael is the traditional Chinese weight unit for precious metal. The shape is a stylized version of what you get if you pour molten metal into a hot sand mold, then shake it.


image

Comments

  • mkman123mkman123 Posts: 6,849 ✭✭✭✭
    Like I said I don't trust anything chinese.

    These taels are faked like crazy but yours might be real since you bought it from a reputable person but they are so readily available by counterfeiters that people can be had.

    4 words is all everyone needs to know when purchasing chinese bullion:

    "Don't trust chinese bullion"
    Successful Buying and Selling transactions with:

    Many members on this forum that now it cannot fit in my signature. Please ask for entire list.
  • carscars Posts: 1,904
    I have seen those before. Very neat but not something I'd care for myself.
    Its all relative
  • LancastercoinLancastercoin Posts: 251
    I actually didn't buy this from King Fook, it was just a walkup bullion buy. But I do trust my eyes, my gold tester, and my experience. A blanket statement like "don't trust Chinese bullion" is a little too much for me. I've dealt with quite a few Chinese and American Chinese for the last few years, and I can still say it's only white guys who have ever cheated me on coins. Of course, if you just mean on ebay then I'm with you 100%. The situation in China is so bad right now that all the low grade Chinese dollars I come across I sell into the mainland Chinese market - supposedly the counterfeit situation is so bad that starting collectors there can't easily find genuine examples.
  • gecko109gecko109 Posts: 8,231 ✭


    << <i>Like I said I don't trust anything chinese.

    These taels are faked like crazy but yours might be real since you bought it from a reputable person but they are so readily available by counterfeiters that people can be had.

    4 words is all everyone needs to know when purchasing chinese bullion:

    "Don't trust chinese bullion" >>




    Silly nonsense Mike. I have over 70 pieces of Chinese gold bullion, and every single piece is legit. Let me ask you something. If you wanted to produce fake gold bullion, exactly what metal would you choose to do so?image
  • MMRMMR Posts: 372
    I tend to not want to buy anything "chinese" if I can find an equal product for around the same price from a non chinese source. I just don't see any point in supporting the people who are helping to destroy this country.
    My eBay auctions - nothing now
  • WeissWeiss Posts: 9,941 ✭✭✭✭✭
    It is beautiful in its own right. And I understand they have a long history. But I can't look at it without thinking it was made last week in a factory in Guangzhou. And because of its association with the Chinese government, and their complicity in ruining a hobby that's been a part of my life since early childhood, it's just too tainted. I wouldn't want it at any cost.
    We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.
    --Severian the Lame
  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 32,232 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Pandas are one thing. You can buy them if you are careful. There are counterfeits out there.

    However, an item such as this I would only buy as scrap after doing a specific gravity test. Then I would burn it. The Chinese government is too tolerant of counterfeiting, and I treat Chinese items accordingly. If they do not want to be considered the country of origin of counterfeit crap, they should clean up their act.

    TD
    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • WeissWeiss Posts: 9,941 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Pandas are one thing. You can buy them if you are careful. There are counterfeits out there.

    However, an item such as this I would only buy as scrap after doing a specific gravity test. Then I would burn it.

    TD >>



    Which is a good point: The threat of Chinese bullion counterfeiting may become too heavy to ignore. When it does, chopping, aqua regia, specific gravity, and ultimately melting will be the order of the day. That's why I got mostly out of my best numismatic pieces and went heavy into the most trusted bullion pieces I could. I honestly won't mind if someone wants to dunk or even punch a hole in my one-ounce Pamp bars if it is necessary. That's why I bought them. By the same token, I wouldn't pay a premium for bullion that has a higher risk of counterfeit and that is, judging by the posts in this thread, discounted by at least some people familiar with bullion.

    Gimme gold and silver. With a few exceptions and for the foreseeable future, I'm buying with the expectation it's going to need to be ripped in half and smeared on a touchstone in order to sell. And I'm fine with that.
    We are like children who look at print and see a serpent in the last letter but one, and a sword in the last.
    --Severian the Lame
  • mrearlygoldmrearlygold Posts: 17,858 ✭✭✭


    << <i>I tend to not want to buy anything "chinese" if I can find an equal product for around the same price from a non chinese source. I just don't see any point in supporting the people who are helping to destroy this country. >>




    LOL then you should be ready to storm the gates in washington not China.

    Coin's for sale/trade.


    Tom Pilitowski
    US Rare Coin Investments
    800-624-1870

  • mudskippiemudskippie Posts: 540 ✭✭


    << <i>LOL then you should be ready to storm the gates in washington not China. >>



    What?
  • gecko109gecko109 Posts: 8,231 ✭


    << <i>

    << <i>LOL then you should be ready to storm the gates in washington not China. >>



    What? >>



    I believe his point is that the policies put in place (and being put in place) by OUR government is far more detrimental to us than anything the Chinese are doing to us. But now I have entered the very dangerous and muddy waters of political discussion. And since I value my ability to post to this fantastic forum, I will go no further with my personal thoughts.image
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