Investment or bullion gold coins , a category that was inaugurated by the Krugerrand in 1967 , are a simple option for small investors in gold, who can accumulate pieces of one ounce or less, with the guarantee of mint houses of prestige and enormous liquidity.
These coins are not usually presented in blister packs , but are sold loose or in tubes of 20 or more units, available to investors who want large quantities.
It is frequent, especially in countries such as the United States, that certain issues of these coins, in which certain special conditions apply are embalmed and labeled by authorized companies that are in charge of the certification of the state of the coins with a view to their subsequent commercialization in the collectors’ market.
This happens, for example, with the special issues of the American Eagle in silver in a proof version, or in metals such as platinum or palladium. They are coins that, although investment, arouse some interest in the collectors’ market due to their special conditions. Hence the interest in certifying their condition, to put them on the collection market.
In the case of gold bars, we have also seen that there are various formats , depending on their weight. The largest are the so-called banked ingots, weighing 400 troy ounces (12.44 Kg) , which are the ones that central banks usually house in their vaults.
These ingots are made by melting the gold in molds and subsequently engraving the required data on its surface: maker’s mark, weight, purity, numbering and “Good Delivery” stamp .
For lower grammage ingots, especially the smallest ones (up to one gram in weight), a technique similar to coin minting is used: a die stamps the pieces on a gold sheet that passes under the machine.
These bars, the manufacture of which has proliferated in recent years due to investor interest in physical gold, are the ones that are usually ‘packaged’ in a heat-sealed blister .
This blister pack, in addition to protecting the ingot from stains or scratches (it must be remembered that gold, in its purest form, is a soft and malleable metal) acts as a certificate of guarantee , since it includes the signature of the refinery or mint, the number, the watermark and the barcode that identifies the piece.
The only disadvantage of such packaging is that the owner of the bar will not be able to touch the gold. But in exchange for not enjoying that feeling, the advantages offered by this presentation of the ingots are very important: it identifies the ingot with its individual manufacturing number , the manufacturer with its brand, and includes additional security measures such as watermarks and others. technological innovations.
In this way, if the client, when the time comes, decides to commission the company to sell the gold on his behalf, it can ensure that the ingot it sells is the one that the client bought at the time and not another.
If the client decides to open the blister pack at his own risk and expense to enjoy the touch of gold, he must know that:
• Once open, it cannot be closed again . In fact, some refineries include formulas to bring up a message indicating that the plastic has been opened.
• The open blister implies that the bar is no longer attached to its guarantee certificate , so the doubts about its authenticity are greater than if it were correctly packaged.
• The refinery or mint that manufactured it may reject its repurchase , because it may have been tampered with.
• Its sale on the secondary market is much more complicated , since it would have to be made to other merchants who are willing to buy it, possibly for a lower price than it would be obtained if it were in its corresponding blister pack and, therefore, attached to its certificate of authenticity.
In fact, the very refineries that devised this system are launching new products that highlight the importance of keeping the ingots in their packaging.
The problem of counterfeits
The blister pack is nothing more than an additional security measure to make it difficult for the bullion to be counterfeited . A phenomenon that has increased exponentially with the rise in the price of gold in recent years, and against which refineries and mints are taking extreme security measures.
In this fight against counterfeiting, blister packs are one more tool that, although they cannot prevent counterfeiting 100%, they can serve to hinder the work of criminals.
Therefore, if you are lucky enough to be an investor in physical gold and have bars at home, know that they are best kept in their blister packs .
