New Traceability and Authentication Technologies

As technology evolves, so do the methods used by counterfeiters and other bad actors in attempting to circumvent any new features put in place to ensure the authenticity and traceability of products. This is particularly true in the currency industries and, most relevant here, in the case of precious metals and numismatic products.

Many companies continue to advance their protective technologies – whether this focuses on authentication, certification or traceability – and below are a few examples.

Switzerland-based DNA-marking provider

Haelixa, is working with Argor-Heraeus Latin America, the leading international gold refiners and bar manufacturers, and Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile (Codelco) to trace metals.

Haelixa has created a unique DNA marker for Codelco to apply onsite to 99.99% of its gold bars. Once at the refinery, the provenance of the bars is verified through 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 and 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.

Tracking, certifying and verifying gold

TrueGold Consortium – 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 allows the physical gold to have 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 as well as 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 in a transparent and measurable way.

NGC enhances security

Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC) – one of the world’s largest grading services – is introducing a new high-security hologram as part of its efforts to combat counterfeiting and create a safer marketplace for NGC-certified coins, tokens and medals. Among the innovative hologram enhancements are a QR code and a numerical security code that are unique to the specific encapsulated collectible.

When the QR code at the left of the hologram is scanned by a smartphone, it takes the user to the collectible in NGC’s Certification Verification tool. This allows a prospective buyer to quickly learn more about the collectible, including its NGC Census population data and, for many coins, its NGC Price Guide value.

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

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

The enhanced hologram is part of NGC’s ongoing efforts to protect the hobby from counterfeit collectibles. NGC also provides a wide-ranging Counterfeit Detection resource on its website in order to educate collectors and dealers. In addition, NGC is the Official Grading Service of the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation, working to help authorities bring counterfeiters to justice.