News

**Black H@t** · (This post was last modified: 09-19-2012 04:43 PM by Black H@t.)

Tungsten-Filled 10 Oz Gold Bar Found In The Middle Of Manhattan's Jewelry District

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It is one thing for tungsten-filled gold bars to appear in the UK, or in Germany: after all out of sight, and across the Atlantic, certainly must mean out of mind, and out of the safe. However, when a 10 ounce 999.9 gold bar bearing the stamp of the reputable Swiss Produits Artistiques Métaux Précieux (PAMP, with owner MTP) and a serial number (serial #038892, likely rehypothecated in at least 10 gold ETFs across the world but that's a different story), mysteriously emerges in the heart of the world's jewerly district located on 47th street in Manhattan, things get real quick. Moments ago, Myfoxny reported that a 10-ounce gold bar costing nearly $18,000 turned out to be a counterfeit. The discovery was made by the dealer Ibrahim Fadl, who bought the PAMP bar in question from a merchant who has sold him real gold before. "But he heard counterfeit gold bars were going around, so he drilled into several of his gold bars worth $100,000 and saw gray tungsten -- not gold. The bar was filled with tungsten, which weighs nearly the same as gold but costs just over a dollar an ounce."

What makes so devious is a real gold bar is purchased with the serial numbers and papers, then it is hollowed out, the gold is sold, the tungsten is put in, then the bar is closed up. That is a sophisticated operation.

MTB, the Swiss manufacturer of the gold bars, said customers should only buy from a reputable merchant. The problem, he admits, is Ibrahim Fadl is a very reputable merchant.

Raymond Nessim, CEO Manfra, Tordell & Brookes, said he has reported the situation to the FBI and Secret Service.

The Secret Service, which deals with counterfeits, said it is investigating.

And cue panic on the realization that virtually any gold bar in the world, not just those in Europe and Australia, which have already had close encounters with Tungsten substitutes, but also New York may be hollowed out and have a real worth of a few dollars max. Which, sadly, is fitting considering our main story from last night was the realization that an unknown amount of Chinese iron ore had either never existed or had simply vaporized, and was no longer serving as the secured collateral to various liabilities circulating in the electronic ether. After all, only the most naive out there could conceive of gold being sacrosanct when every other asset class is being diluted to infinity by a regime that has long since run out of money.

As for gold-based transactions on West 47th street: look for that market to grind to a halt at least for as long as it takes for this scandal to be forgotten too.

The only open question remaining will be how much of the gold located 90 feet below Libert 33 is in the same Tungstenized format. For what it's worth: it is unlikely we will ever find out.

This is what glaring gold counterfeiting looks like.

Source:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/tungsten-f...y-district

**LoP Guest** lop guest User ID: 89915 09-19-2012 04:50 PM

A pin worthy thread. Will lop pin it though?

Why would they since everyone is on the dole here and could give two shits about something like this.

What needs to be done is to mint these bars into shapes that are less likely to be tampered with. Three or four large holes in the design would work. The. You could just increase the width or height of bar to compinsate.

**LoP Guest** lop guest User ID: 121078 09-25-2012 08:34 AM

wow gold should melt off Tungsten really fast.

just saying

Trippynana

**royalyflushed**

what isnt being reported is the melting temperature of tungsten

It melts at 6,191° F (3,422° C)

So all these nice 'bars' and stuff have to be manufactured in a FOUNDRY. This isn't the kind of thing that one off type guys have access to.

This scandal is an institutional fraud.

**LoP Guest** lop guest User ID: 78866 09-25-2012 09:14 AM

those crazy clintons, what won;t they do next

**LoP Guest** lop guest User ID: 66934 09-25-2012 09:15 AM

royalyflushed Wrote:

what isnt being reported is the melting temperature of tungsten

It melts at 6,191° F (3,422° C)

So all these nice 'bars' and stuff have to be manufactured in a FOUNDRY. This isn't the kind of thing that one off type guys have access to.

This scandal is an institutional fraud.

**Adveser**

LOL. People hoarding gold or large sums of money in general deserve it.

**AC488** I got no balls User ID: 488 09-25-2012 09:20 AM

I've read elsewhere that some gold coins are being filled with chocolate too...

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**LoP Guest** lop guest User ID: 88191 09-25-2012 09:47 AM

AC488 Wrote:

I've read elsewhere that some gold coins are being filled with chocolate too...

link to image: http://imgupld.lunaticoutpost.com/graphi...615B31.jpg

i ate my savings years ago Tissue

**LoP Guest** lop guest User ID: 123219 09-25-2012 10:13 AM

LoP Guest Wrote:

royalyflushed Wrote:
what isnt being reported is the melting temperature of tungsten

It melts at 6,191° F (3,422° C)

So all these nice 'bars' and stuff have to be manufactured in a FOUNDRY. This isn't the kind of thing that one off type guys have access to.

This scandal is an institutional fraud.

People can make their own mini foundry

**Shugyosha** · **Shugyosha** Ronin For Hire User ID: 119766 09-25-2012 10:18 AM **Posts: 908**

Black H@t Wrote:

What makes so devious is a real gold bar is purchased with the serial numbers and papers, then it is hollowed out, the gold is sold, the tungsten is put in, then the bar is closed up.

Ok, not likely how this is done. In reality, somebody, say, a neighbor of Foxconn, is making these tungsten blanks. Then somebody, say, a neighbor of Foxconn, is coating them with a layer of gold. Then somebody, say a neighbor of Foxconn, made fake stamps and stamps these new ingots to match real the real gold ingots, which lie safe in a... safe, say, somewhere in the neighborhood of Foxconn ;-)

Or Denver. Foxconn or Denver ;-).

"Buy gold or silver"... yeah, great idea ;-)

**Alex Jones** lop guest User ID: 123220 09-25-2012 10:30 AM

We know the FED is behind this, so why not heat up some tungsten to 7000 degrees and pour some into Bernanke's ear? That ought to loosen some tongues at the FED.

**Pope Frank**

LoP Guest Wrote:

LoP Guest Wrote:
royalyflushed Wrote:
what isnt being reported is the melting temperature of tungsten

It melts at 6,191° F (3,422° C)

So all these nice 'bars' and stuff have to be manufactured in a FOUNDRY. This isn't the kind of thing that one off type guys have access to.

This scandal is an institutional fraud.

People can make their own mini foundry

Welders can melt tungsten.

**Pope Frank**

What's the moral of the story?

Don't drill holes in your gold.

**Bean There** lop guest User ID: 119367 09-25-2012 12:40 PM

Rehypothecated - now there's a word you don't hear every day - behind 10 different exchange-traded funds.

Fractional reserve even here. How fun is that? Jptdknpa