There are at least 3 ignorant people on eBay

piecesofme

as witnessed by this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Johnson-Matthey-assayers-8-Refiners-Fine-Gold-999-1-troy-oz-/162346453372?hash=item25cc9a497c:g:lPIAAOSwjDZYbZ16
Completely fake bar bid up to almost $900, my God. Information/educating is as only as good as the recipient of it decides.

OPA

reported

1630Boston

For my own edification, though I would never buy on ebay, what jumps out at you to determine it fake.
Thanks

ricko

I do not know enough about bars to judge that ..... I too would be interested in the pick up points (PUP's). Cheers, RickO

derryb

same seller also has JM silver bars for sale

DrBuster

Plastic case like that is the first flag that immediately popped for me.

Meltdown

This is a fake my local bullion place has. Sadly they have a pretty fair collection of fakes.
This one came in a plastic case originally. I know the weight was off, not 31.1g - I think also the JM font pattern on the reverse of the fake was fatter than a real bar.. that may also have been the case on the obverse.

Also, it does not even register as silver.

mariner67

Plastic case, appearance, seller's description stating may not all be made of gold and "no warranty of any kind" all scream fake.

asheland

Those jump right out at me as fakes, but I've handled JM bars since the 1980's.
Anyone new though, be ware... They look a little legit. I despise these sellers. Absolute crooks!

derryb

Doesn't the radius of the rounded corners help to indicate fake? Can't recall where I saw pics comparing the two.

Wingsrule

The font and the lack of a serial number are two quick "tells"

piecesofme

JM bars of this style, silver or gold, that don't have a serial number...(news flash) is a counterfeit.

OPA

Unfortunately it's still up. We need more members to report this auction.

JohnnyCache

@derryb said:
Doesn't the radius of the rounded corners help to indicate fake? Can't recall where I saw pics comparing the two.

Not the same make obviously but you might be thinking about this picture from an older post on here.
I saved it myself for reference.

and for good measure...

JohnnyCache

We could/should start a single "Fakes" PUP's / image page for long term reference

asheland

@JohnnyCache said:
We could/should start a single "Fakes" PUP's / image page for long term reference

Thank you for posting the comparison pics. They are an asset to the community!

JohnnyCache

silvercoins.com/fake-silver-coins-14-ways-to-spot-counterfeits/

https://fakebullion.com/![]
visualcapitalist.com/test-for-fake-gold-silver/

1630Boston

In reality, do ALL silver bars have a serial number ?
The 'genuine ' Silvertowne bar pictured above does not appear to have one.

ricko

Thanks for the information. While not presently buying silver bars, I could, at some point, pick some up. I will use this thread to educate myself.... Cheers, RickO

AUandAG

reported

asheland

@1630Boston said:
In reality, do ALL silver bars have a serial number ?
The 'genuine ' Silvertowne bar pictured above does not appear to have one.

Many legitimate bars are without a serial number.
I have new Sunshine mint bars with a blank area where a serial number could be. It's just the way they make them.
I believe Silvertowne does similar...

Downtown1974

@asheland said:

@1630Boston said:
In reality, do ALL silver bars have a serial number ?
The 'genuine ' Silvertowne bar pictured above does not appear to have one.

Many legitimate bars are without a serial number.
I have new Sunshine mint bars with a blank area where a serial number could be. It's just the way they make them.
I believe Silvertowne does similar...

You're right asheland. I didn't even realize it. I just got a 10 oz sunshine mint bar from JM Bullion this week. No serial number. Just a blank space where one could be engraved.

Wingsrule

For clarification - for the style of bars shown in the OP's ebay link and Meltdown's post, JM did not produce bars WITHOUT a serial number.

piecesofme

@Wingsrule said:
For clarification - for the style of bars shown in the OP's ebay link and Meltdown's post, JM did not produce bars WITHOUT a serial number.

Exactly! If people would pay attention and not try to overthink it, they'd get it, maybe.
Sunshine Mint, Silvertowne bars, etc. are NOT Johnson Matthey bars. JM bars had serial numbers, even the new ones do. I swear, try to educate and people just don't want to simply listen what was said on 1/10 at 6:35 PM CT.
What one Mint does doesn't mean it's an across the board thing. Get it? Great!

piecesofme

Funny to see how the auction was obviously shilled too, by a newly created account at the start and end of the auction LMAO...with 3 bid retractions, all on 1/10, from most likely legit bidders that realized the bar is fake. Safe to say the seller still has their fake bar purchased from alibaba.com, and the seller has also been added to AE's watch tower, all but destroying any chance to have meaningful precious metal listings, even if the items are legit.

asheland

@Wingsrule said:
For clarification - for the style of bars shown in the OP's ebay link and Meltdown's post, JM did not produce bars WITHOUT a serial number.

Correct. Johnson Matthey used serial numbers always. (except for select earlier poured bars)

asheland

AE's watch tower is a service to us all!

ADG

Thanks for the info on fake bars. Anyone with more pix / diagnostics to ID fakes please chime in.