More New Developments for Protecting Gold Bars and Coins

In the ABN March 2023 issue, we looked at four developments to protect gold bars and commemorative coins from counterfeiting. As companies continue their anti-counterfeiting advancement, we look at a few more developments in this area, covering overt and covert features and digital traceability.

Overt security – holograms continue to coin it

Over the last three decades, holograms have continued to be preferred as the most used Level 1 overt technology for easier identification, yet challenging to copy. Even in the digitisation era, their usage becomes more critical as brands move towards a phygital approach, perhaps still needing a technology that can provide security, facilitate easy identification and have an eye-catching appeal. That’s why Numismatic Guaranty Company’s (NGC) relationship with holograms has been ongoing since the 1990s.

In a recent development, NGC, one of the world’s largest third-party grading services for coins, tokens and medals, has introduced a new high-security hologram to combat counterfeiting and create a safer marketplace for certified coins. Among the innovative hologram enhancements are a QR code and a numerical security code unique to the specific encapsulated collectable.

When a smartphone scans the QR code at the left of the hologram, it takes the user to the collectable in NGC’s Certification Verification tool. This allows a prospective buyer to learn more quickly about the collectable, including relevant data from the NGC Coin Census Population Report and, for many coins, its value according to the NGC Price Guide.

In addition, the QR code enables the user to compare the collectable in hand to the high-resolution images taken by NGC at the time of encapsulation. NGC has imaged virtually every coin, token and medal it has certified since late 2008. It makes these images available for free on its website – an essential resource for counterfeit detection and numismatic research.

The unique QR code and accompanying 8-digit numerical security code are among several features of the new hologram, fused to the back of the NGC holder. In addition to its security elements, the sophisticated hologram complements the aesthetics of the encapsulated collectable, as well as NGC’s holder and label, says the company.

The enhanced hologram is part of NGC’s ongoing efforts to protect the coin collecting hobby from counterfeit collectables. NGC also provides a wide-ranging Counterfeit Detection resource on its website to educate collectors and dealers.

DNA – covert-based security

Switzerland-based DNA-marking provider Haelixa works with Argor-Heraeus Latin America, the leading international gold refiners and bar manufacturers, and Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Codelco) to trace metals.

Haelixa has created a unique DNA marker for Codelco to apply on-site to 99.99% of its gold bars. Once at the refinery, the provenance of the bars is verified through the detection of the marker. The detection method is based on PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and produces a reliable forensic result.

The covert marker does not alter the product’s appearance or properties. It is applied as a fine spray that evaporates quickly, leaving the marker attached to the surface of the raw gold, where it stays detectable for years.

Digital – tracking, certifying and verifying gold

On the traceability front, Brazilian gold aggregator Fênix DTVM, in partnership with Minespider, has completed its first phase of the gold traceability project in Brazil. The two companies have integrated traceability in gold sourcing and processing activities, delivering the first fully traced gold bar to one of Fênix’s clients.

The milestone comes as Brazil’s government increases efforts to crack down on illegal gold mining in the Amazon, through legislation requiring electronic tax receipts for buying and selling the precious metal.

By the end of 2023, Fênix DTVM plans to aggregate 100% traceable gold with the Minespider traceability platform based on blockchain technology. Fênix DTVM, part of the FNX Group, made up of 12 companies, was created in 2017, started its activities in 2020 and has grown to become one of Brazil’s leading buyers and centralisers of gold.

In another traceability development, True Gold Consortium (trueGold), a subsidiary of the digital marking, tracking and measurement specialist SMX (Security Matters), is extending its authentication, certification and verification solutions beyond gold bars and coins to gold watches and jewellery.

trueGold invisibly marks the gold with a durable marker as part of a tracing solution that gives the physical gold a complete record of its journey, from mine to marketplace, to recycle and reuse. According to the company, this provides an ethical gold supply chain assurance to tangibly authenticate and provide irrefutable proof of the origination of gold for credible ESG reporting in real-time.

The non-destructive track and trace solution will now enable the provenance of gold watches and jewellery brands to be authenticated and certified in real-time. The embedded marker is detected with a unique patented reader and linked to its digital twin, which is recorded and protected by a digital blockchain platform. It is a drop-in process and can be deployed at any location along the supply chain, allowing brands to embed the durable markers in new product models and retrospectively mark older models.

The patent filed by SMX on behalf of trueGold is an extension of the security feature that is recognised by the LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) to demonstrate the gold industry’s commitment to responsible mining, ethical sourcing, recycling, and environmental and social responsibilities, transparently and measurably.