Marking is also a fundamental process in the precious metals sector and gold bars in particular. By law, every gold bar, from the smallest to the largest, must OBVIOUSLY be marked and serialized before being placed on the market, for reasons of security, coding and traceability of the same. According to the rules imposed by LBMA (London Bullion Market. the market in London dedicated to gold and silver) each bar must have certain characteristics, one of the most important of which is, without a doubt, the marking bearing information about the bars themselves: characteristics, weight, producer, origin and serial number.
Another standard: the HIN code The Craft Identification Number (CIN) or Hull Identification Number (HIN), standardized as EN ISO 10087:2006, is a permanent unique fourteen-digit alphanumeric identifier issued to all vessels in Europe. The metal HIN plate is applied to various even hidden parts of the hull. An example CID/HID might appear "GB-BCC-6434-L-9-09," where "GB" is the ISO 3166-1 country code , "BCC" would be the Manufacturer's Identification Code (MIC) of XYZ Company.
The operation of marking orstamping gold bars, as is easy to imagine, must in no way change the bar itself in its basic characteristics, i.e., shape, size, and most importantly, weight. Thus, the only technologies permissible in the marking process are those that fully respect these characteristics.
How do you mark a gold bar?
Among the various marking technologies, the most suitable for gold bars are mainly four:
1) strike marking
2) microdot marking
3) smear marking
4) laser marking
Striking marking for gold bars
This is the most economical and, at the same time, fastest and deepest solution for marking a gold bar. The technique involves manual or pneumatic machine handling, normally used with numbering devices for serializing the bar as shown in the picture.
