Physical bullion is secured only to the standard of the verification and custody discipline applied to it. The following modules set out the controls exercised at intake and the protections conferred upon you as bailor under the contract of custody and bailment governed by the law of Scotland.
Verifying assay certificates
Match the serial number on the certificate to the number stamped on the bar itself — not to the packaging or invoice.
Check the actual refiner and bar specification against the current LBMA lists where relevant; a certificate alone does not establish Good Delivery status.
Cross-check the certificate directly with the refiner's own verification service; never rely on a scan supplied by the seller.
Sealed assay cards should be intact. A re-sealed or re-laminated card is treated as unverified until independently re-assayed.
Spotting physical counterfeits
Weigh and measure: tungsten-cored fakes match weight but almost never match both dimensions and displacement volume.
Use ultrasound or conductivity testing for bars above 100 g; acid and scratch tests only read the surface layer.
Inspect stamping depth and font consistency under magnification — soft, shallow or uneven characters are a red flag.
Insist on intake photography and independent verification before any bar enters or leaves a vault.
Your bailment rights under Scots Law
Read the signed agreement to determine whether the arrangement is allocated custody or bailment and how legal title is treated.
Confirm any non-pooling, lending, encumbrance and insolvency terms in the signed agreement and supporting records.
Inspection, accounting and redelivery rights depend on the signed agreement and applicable law.
Obtain legal advice on the custodian’s duties, remedies and applicable jurisdiction.
Avoiding digital and physical gold scams
Treat any unsolicited approach promising below-spot bullion or guaranteed returns as fraudulent.
Refuse 'certificate-only' or unallocated schemes with no genuine item-level bar list and no right of physical redelivery.
Verify vault addresses and company registration independently; cloned websites and lookalike domains are common.
We never ask for passwords, seed phrases or full card details, and never change payment details by email. Confirm any such request on your secure line.
Custody information
Institutional Custody & Security FAQ Matrix
Eighteen definitive answers on vault security, Scots Law ownership, desk operations and account compliance — the same standards applied to every client allocation.