FSD is the ONLY depository facility in the United States that offers Non-Invasive On-site Assay verification

First State Depository Company, LLC, of Wilmington Delaware, one of the nations most respected rare coin and precious metals depositories, has announced an exclusive partnership with Bullion Analysis, Inc., for assay verification services. First State will be the ONLY depository facility in the United States that can now offer Non Invasive On-site Assay verification of a clients holdings to insure against counterfeit bullion products.

News reports have shown an increasing number of counterfeit bullion products entering the marketplace, specifically tungsten filled gold bars and lead filled Silver bars. These counterfeits are very deceptive and surface analysis is rarely successful in detecting these fakes.

Bullion Analysis Corporation has developed a unique testing technology that can safely verify the purity of gold, silver and platinum precious metal products. This technology is completely safe and non-destructive to the precious metal, and is effective on everything from fractional ounce coins all the way up to the full size 100, 400 and 1,000 ounce COMEX bars of gold, silver and platinum.

This technology is completely safe and non-destructive to the precious metal

Through this exciting new partnership, First State Depository Corporation now has the exclusive U.S. use of Bullion Analysis, Inc. for assay verification within a commercial Depository facility. “We have had excellent results working with our colleagues at First State Depository, and find their level of professional service and security to be unmatched. We are very pleased to provide our exclusive, non-destructive assay verification services to FSDC clients at this highly secure facility.” said Tom Woolman, one of the senior managers at Bullion Analysis.

First State Depository has a long history of providing cost effective and innovative Depository services for investors looking to take advantage of not only the long-term stability of precious metals investments, but also offering ultra secure, flexible and personalized storage solutions.This new partnership with Bullion Analysis Corporation will allow First State Depository customers access to this groundbreaking technology by offering digital deep-scan verifications of clients bullion within the FSDC vault facility and/or before they take delivery of new shipments to FSDC.

Bullion Analysis produces a tamper-resistant holographic certificate for each bar of precious metal that is scanned, containing the results of its verification analysis and the bar’s serial number and hallmark. This holographic certificate can then trade with the bullion in the future, providing peace of mind for both the current owner and adding a level of trust for future sales of your precious metals. No Other Depository in the Country can offer its customers this level verification and security. (more…)

Business already is good for a Wilmington, Delaware bullion and rare coin depository that opened three years ago, but it’s expected to be even better in the weeks ahead now that a major New York City bank depository has told many of its customers to remove their valuables.

“As soon as the news broke that HSBC was kicking out individual investors and even some commercial accounts to accommodate storage for large institutional accounts at its facility in Manhattan, I started getting phone calls from worried investors and even executives of some commercial firms who suddenly need a safe place for their gold and silver coins and ingots,” said Robert L. Higgins, CEO of First State Depository Company LLC that opened in Wilmington in June 2004.

The door to the 5,000 square foot vault weighs over 5,600 pounds. The depository has up to $400 million capacity insurance with Lloyd’s of London for the gold and other valuables shipped in from investors and companies nationwide, but Higgins says that insurance coverage may have to be increased with the anticipated additional requests for secure storage.

“It was surprising to see how many people who never owned gold before started buying it this past year. We’ve had many first-timers contact us to store their coins and precious metals purchases. Many people have put gold bullion coins in their IRAs.”

Higgins advises investors facing eviction from the HSBC depository to transfer their valuables prior to January first, whether to his depository or somewhere else, as long as it’s by year’s end.

“That way, you won’t have to pay HSBC’s annual storage fee that is payable in January,” he explained. “There’s another advantage for investors to move their valuables to Delaware. Unlike New York, there is no tax imposed on the payment of depository storage fees in Delaware.” (more…)