Kinebar
A kinebar is a gold bar that has a diffractive optically variable image device (similar to a security hologram) embossed into the surface of the gold. The device used is a "Kinegram" made by OVD Kinegram AG (Switzerland). Bar The Kinegram technology is exclusively provided to governments, and is intended both as a high-security feature and for visual appeal. Union Bank of Switzerland, through Argor- Heraeus SA (subsidiary of Commerzbank), has been applying the kinegram as a security device to the reverse of its minted bars since December 1993. The kinebar, now produced by UBS AG, is a registered trade mark of UBS. Argor-Heraeus gold Kinebars were introduced in 1994 in the following weights - 1 g, 2 g, 5 g, 10 g, 20 g, and 1 oz. The 50 g and 100 g gold Kinebars were subsequently released in 2012. File:Kinebar3.jpg, Kinebar one troy ounce File:Kinebar.jpg, Kinebar certificate File:Kinebar2.gif, Kinegram See also * Gold as an investment Of all the precious metals, go ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gold Bar
A gold bar, also known as gold bullion or a gold ingot, is a quantity of refined metallic gold that can be shaped in various forms, produced under standardized conditions of manufacture, labeling, and record-keeping. Larger varieties of gold bars, produced by casting molten metal into molds, are called ingots. Smaller bars are often created through minting or stamping from rolled gold sheets. Central banks typically hold the standard Good Delivery gold bar in their gold reserves and it is widely traded among bullion dealers. Additionally, the kilobar, weighing , and the gold bar are popular for trading and investment due to their more manageable size and weight. These bars carry a minimal premium over the spot price of gold, facilitating small transfers between banks and traders. While most kilobars have a flat appearance, a preference for brick-shaped bars exists among some investors, particularly in Europe. Types Gold bars are classified based on their production pro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Diffractive Optically Variable Image Device
A diffractive optically variable image device (DOVID) is a type of optical variable device; a security feature based on visual effects created by diffraction. The acronym was coined by Ian Lancaster of Reconnaissance International in 1995. He pointed out that the security print industry was wary of holograms and similar diffractive devices because they were used as decorative, promotional and toy items, proposing the use of DOVID as a means to differentiate security diffractive optical devices from these other uses. Device DOVIDs are incorporated in government-issued documents of value (banknotes, passports, visas, identification credentials and driver licenses) to increase their counterfeit resistance. Brand protection is another application of DOVIDs. DOVIDs contain micro- or nanostructures in the form of diffractive gratings. Due to these structures, they exhibit optically variable effects such as dynamic chromatic, holographic, and kinematic effects, two- or three-dimensional ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Security Hologram
Security holograms are labels with a hologram printed onto it for sale security reasons. It is argued by the International Hologram Manufacturers Association that holograms on security labels are difficult to forge because they are replicated from a master hologram which requires expensive specialized and technologically advanced equipment. However, security holograms have also been criticised for their ineffectiveness, because equipment for manufacturing holograms has become significantly easier to access, and because few people have the expertise and equipment to authenticate them accurately. Security holograms are used widely in several banknotes around the world, in particular those that are of high denominations. They are also used in passports, credit and bank cards as well as quality products. Holograms are classified into different types with reference to the degree of level of optical security incorporated in them during the process of master origination. The dif ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Embossing (manufacturing)
Sheet metal embossing is a metalworking process for producing raised or sunken designs or relief in sheet metal. In contrast to coining (which uses unmatched dies), embossing uses matched male and female dies to achieve the pattern, either by stamping, or by passing a sheet or strip of metal between patterned rollers. It is often combined with foil stamping to create a shiny, 3D effect. Process The metal sheet embossing operation is commonly accomplished with a combination of heat and pressure on the sheet metal, depending on what type of embossing is required. Theoretically, with any of these procedures, the metal thickness is changed in its composition. Metal sheet is drawn through the male and female roller dies, producing a pattern or design on the metal sheet. Depending on the roller dies used, different patterns can be produced on the metal sheet. The pressure and a combination of heat actually "irons" while raising the level of the image higher than the substrate to m ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Union Bank Of Switzerland
Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) was a Swiss Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company located in Switzerland. The bank, which at the time was the second largest bank in Switzerland, merged with Swiss Bank Corporation in 1998 to become UBS. This merger formed what was then the largest bank in Europe and the second largest bank in the world. UBS was formed in 1912 through the merger of the Bank in Winterthur and Toggenburger Bank, both founded in the early 1860s. UBS then continued to grow through acquisitions, including Aargauische Kreditanstalt in 1919, in 1945, Interhandel, Interhandel Basel in 1967, Phillips & Drew in 1986, and Schröder, Münchmeyer, Hengst & Co. in 1997 among others. The historical UBS logo comprises the initials "UBS" horizontally, crossed by vertical "SBG", referring to the name of the bank in German. "UBS" ceased to be considered a representational abbreviation for the Union Bank of Switzerland after the bank's 1998 merger with S ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Heraeus
Heraeus is a German technology group with a focus on precious and special metals, medical technology, quartz glass and sensors as well as electronic components. Founded in Hanau in 1851, the company is one of the largest family-owned companies in Germany in terms of revenue. Heraeus employs 16,400 people in 40 countries and generated a total revenue of €25.6 billion in 2023. The headquarters and head office are in Hanau, Germany. History 1660: Pharmacy as the origin of the group The origins of the Heraeus family business go back to the 17th century. In October 1660, Isaac Heraeus (1636-1676) took over what was then the Faucque pharmacy in Hanau-Neustadt, east of Frankfurt. In 1668, he opened his own pharmacy on the market square in Hanau-Neustadt under the name "Zum weißen Einhorn", which later became the ''Einhorn Pharmacy''. The Einhorn Pharmacy was run as a count's court pharmacy for a total of six generations until the middle of the 19th century. 1851 – 1888: Fou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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UBS AG
UBS Group AG (stylized simply as UBS) is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland, with headquarters in both Zurich and Basel. It holds a strong foothold in all major financial centres as the List of largest banks, largest Swiss banking institution and the Private banking, world's largest private bank. UBS manages the largest amount of private wealth in the world, counting approximately half of The World's Billionaires among its clients, with over US$6 trillion in assets (AUM). Based on international deal flow and political influence, the firm is considered one of the "biggest, most powerful financial institutions in the world". UBS is also a leading market maker and one of the eight global 'Bulge bracket, Bulge Bracket' banks. Due to its large presence across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, EMEA and Asia–Pacific markets, the Financial Stability Board considers it a Systemically importa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Troy Ounce
Troy weight is a system of units of mass that originated in the Kingdom of England in the 15th century and is primarily used in the precious metals industry. The troy weight units are the grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy ounce (20 pennyweights), and the troy pound (12 troy ounces). The troy grain is equal to the grain unit of the avoirdupois system, but the troy ounce is heavier than the avoirdupois ounce, and the troy pound is lighter than the avoirdupois pound. Legally, one troy ounce (oz t) equals exactly 31.1034768 grams. Etymology Troy weight is generally supposed to take its name from the French market town of Troyes where English merchants traded at least as early as the early 9th century. The name ''troy'' is first attested in 1390, describing the weight of a platter, in an account of the travels in Europe of the Earl of Derby. Charles Moore Watson (1844–1916) proposes an alternative etymology: ''The Assize of Weights and Measures'' (also known as ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gold As An Investment
Of all the precious metals, gold is the most popular as an investment. Investors generally buy gold as a way of diversifying risk, especially through the use of futures contracts and derivatives. The gold market is subject to speculation and volatility as are other markets. Compared to other precious metals used for investment, gold has been the most effective safe haven across a number of countries. Gold price Gold has been used throughout history as money and has been a relative standard for currency equivalents specific to economic regions or countries, until recent times. Many European countries implemented gold standards in the latter part of the 19th century until these were temporarily suspended in the financial crises involving World War I. After World War II, the Bretton Woods system pegged the United States dollar to gold at a rate of US$35 per troy ounce. The system existed until the 1971 Nixon shock, when the US unilaterally suspended the direct convertib ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal, a group 11 element, and one of the noble metals. It is one of the least reactivity (chemistry), reactive chemical elements, being the second-lowest in the reactivity series. It is solid under standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions. Gold often occurs in free elemental (native state (metallurgy), native state), as gold nugget, nuggets or grains, in rock (geology), rocks, vein (geology), veins, and alluvial deposits. It occurs in a solid solution series with the native element silver (as in electrum), naturally alloyed with other metals like copper and palladium, and mineral inclusions such as within pyrite. Less commonly, it occurs in minerals as gold compounds, often with tellurium (gold tellurides). Gold is resistant to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |