24k Gold Banknote Review - Is it Real or a Scam

Okay so lets get right to it, 24k Gold banknotes are selling all over the internet for about $3-$5 U.S. The question is are they real?? And are they worth it??

When I was roaming around Ebay I found these 24k Gold Banknote auctions, I also found them on Listia.  The banknotes come in different denominations that resemble U.S. currency. They looked cool all shiny like a 'Golden Ticket' from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. As I like things that are cute and more importantly.. shiny, I decided to bid on a couple of these auctions figuring they'd be a cute and cheap Christmas stocking stuffer. Well I was surprised at how high the bidding on these items was going. Okay maybe $3 bucks was fair, that works out to $1 for the bill and $2 for shipping. But some of these auctions were rocketing out of control, one reaching $9 for a single bill. WHAT!!??

After some persistence, and bidding on every single banknote auction everyday for a week. I finally won a 10 dollar banknote for $1.93 cents w/ free shipping. Still a bit high for my taste (I'm pretty cheap), but OK I got one now. When it arrived it came with a small sheet of paper claiming to be a certificate of authenticity. It even claimed to have a  unique 4 digit serial number that was supposedly assigned to the banknote & that the banknote is legal tender. I haven't been able to find that elusive number anywhere on the banknote though, and I can state as fact this is NOT legal U.S. tender. Meaning you CAN'T spend it... no matter whats written on that little "Certificate of Authenticity".

 In the auction item description it was made very clear that the banknote was made of pressed gold leaf, then because of its ultra thin and brittle nature had to be heat pressed to some kind of plastic coating. And as I hold this in my hand and look closely at it, I can't say that they lied or really mislead me. The auction description was pretty straight forward, except for one word that I just can't let go of... investment. Is this a viable investment??????

 The banknote itself looks very nice, and as a novelty item I would reluctantly pay a few bucks for it. However its the main claim to fame that has me concerned, it claims to be a 24k .999  pure gold investment. 
Now don't get my wrong, the banknote is very attractive. The pressed images on both sides are very nice and reminiscent of the gold plated First Day Issue stamps of the 80's or 90's... which then sold for much more than they were worth and can now be bought for about $1 each. Now I'm going to accept the word of the seller that this is 24k gold leaf. But even IF that is true, then how much are these worth really.

Lets do some math... Lets say current gold price is $1400 per ounce 24k gold. Now in the title of several auctions it claims these are 5.5 grams. But my guess is that's total weight which includes the flexible plastic outer shell. So to make this easy lets say the pressed gold bill is exactly 1 gram. There are approximately 28 grams in an ounce. And if current gold price is 1400, that makes each gram worth around $50. Now correct my math if its wrong, it was my worst subject in school. But to me, I don't see how anyone in there right mind would auction off a gold banknote worth $50 for at tops $9 each... do you? So lets cut it down some more, even if the gold bill were 1/4 of a gram it would still be worth $12. Its just not likely that these have that much gold in them

Okay lets forget gold content for a minute and do some common sense profit analyses. Professional meaning full time Ebay auctioneers sell for a profit, not a loss. And although they may occasionally accept a loss on an item, they would never accept a loss on items consistently cause they would go broke. So lets say the average 24k banknote selling price is $2.50. Most of the auctions I've seen are free shipping, which is about $1.69 minimum if they use 1st Class Pkg for tracking purposes, paid by the seller. So that means they sold you the actual banknote for about 80 cents. Oh and there's seller Ebay & PayPal fees, around 10% so we're down to about 75 cents to the seller. Now the seller needs a profit, and most don't settle for less than 80% profit, which means they likely bought that bill  for about .25 cents. Now of course they likely bought in bulk, and were required to spend several hundred dollars for several thousand bills, basic commerce. Oh and don't forget the supplier, he had to make a profit too, which means the actual banknote was probably only worth about 5 cents to start.

My point with all this is, if there is 24k gold in these banknotes, which I choose to believe there is. The amount is so minor that the envelope you received the bill in is probably worth 10x more than the gold in the banknote. That's not to say this is a rip off, I'm just pointing out that this IS NOT an INVESTMENT.

If you think this is a nice looking bill, and you like collecting things that are shiny and new, then go for it. I did, and I'm not disappointed. Just go into this knowing that these banknotes are novelties, something fun to have hanging in a frame or given to a  friend or family member as a cute collectible. I may buy a couple more to use as a stocking stuffer, but I won't pay more than a few bucks each.

Now if I'm wrong about any of this, and you can PROVE to me that these are a good GOLD investment & not just a passing novelty item, I'll rewrite this to reflect your proof.