You are not the only one who has ever held a 24 karat gold bar or coin and wondered if it was real. It’s normal to want to know that your gold investment is real and not just flashy and pretty. Fortunately, specialists and collectors alike have a number of dependable ways to check if your gold bars and coins are authentic.

First, take a close look at your gold. Real coins and bars from well-known mints will have all the important indications, like weight, purity, the year they were made, and for bars, a unique serial number. Look for designs that are sharp and clear, edges that are well-defined, and printing that is always excellent quality. Micro-engraving, microscopic security marks, holograms, or complex designs that make it harder to fake coins are common on many modern coins, like the popular Britannia. You can see these intricacies with just a magnifying lens.

The next step is the basic magnet test. Gold is not a magnetic metal, therefore if a little magnet pulls on your coin or bar, it’s a good clue that it’s a fake or a gold-plated product made of less expensive metals. This fast and very useful home test is a good first step.

Another easy way is to weigh your gold and measure its size. Use a digital scale to weigh your gold coin or bar and then compare it to the official specifications for that item. Even tiny differences could be a sign of trouble. Calipers can help you measure the item’s thickness and diameter to make sure it’s real, since real gold is quite dense and fake gold typically has measurements that are a little wrong.

Some collectors like to use the sound or “ping” test, which is an old trick. When you lightly tap a real gold coin, it will make a clear, distinct ringing sound. This approach isn’t as accurate as others, but it works better for coins than bars. It’s a good way to tell whether anything is a fake.

Professionals use advanced technologies to be more sure of things. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) tools can quickly check the metal content of an object without hurting it. If you check inside a bar or coin using an ultrasound equipment, you can see if there are cheaper base metals hiding under a thin covering of gold. These products are common in the industry, but most people who use them are professionals because they are so expensive.

Don’t forget to write things down. Certificates of authenticity that match the serial numbers on your gold goods come with real gold investments from trusted merchants. These papers are very important for proving that your gold is real should you want to sell or exchange it later. Keep them safe.

To sum up, checking if your gold bars and coins are real requires a mix of careful observation, sophisticated tests you can do at home, and professional tools when necessary. Combining a few of these approaches is the greatest way to protect your investment and make sure that your gold is real.