Assaying Platinum

When searching for Platinum bullion you may hear the word “assaying” frequently. If you do not know what this term means you are not alone, but the purpose of this article is to make it a bit more clear what exactly assaying is and what benefits it serves those who invest in platinum.

What is it?

Assaying is almost always found on gram sized bars and smaller ounce sized bars, such as the 1 ounce bar. The one thing all these bars have in common is that their actual size is quite small. 1 and 5 gram platinum bars are no bigger than a US Dime or a cell phone sim card which means these pieces of metal are easy to damage or lose.

Since these small bars are shipped to you most often encased in protective plastic and are meant to stay in the plastic, you have no real way of knowing if the bar inside that plastic is real or not. Assay is a certification card that accompanies all of these smaller, plastic encased bars and is more or less a certification that the platinum inside the case is actual a piece of platinum. Gram sized bars that do not come with assay should raise suspicion as nowadays nearly all of them are accompanied with assay.

Larger bars do not come with assay, though their certification usually lies within a serial number that is printed on to the bar itself and verifiable with the producing mint.

Why is it Necessary?

In today’s world, assay is necessary for smaller bars because of the exorbitant amount of counterfeits that have been hitting the market. Assay that is backed up by a good company gives the investor the peace of mind that they have not just purchased a fake.

It is also necessary because these bars come encased in plastic and are not meant to be taken out of it. If you are unable to take your bar out of its plastic case, how are you supposed to know that your bar is authentic? With larger bars you can feel them and see the serial number for certification, but those luxuries are not present with smaller bars. Assay is that added measure of security and confidence that investors are always seeking out.

Finally, assay, especially on smaller platinum bars, is necessary especially in the case that you wish to resell your platinum bar. Other buyers are going to be highly skeptical of your gram sized bars if none of them have assay. This means that it will be a noticeably more difficult and time-consuming to get rid of your bars when the time comes. A general rule of thumb is that if the bar is gram-sized or as small as 1 ounce, do not purchase it without assay. There are plenty of other places who sell similar bars with assay that it is not worth taking a risk on a bar without it.