Assay, serialisation and bullion documentation.

Read the bar before reading the marketing.

A bar may display a producer name or mark, metal, fineness, nominal weight and serial or lot identifier. The combination differs by product and production run. A photograph is useful for identification, but it is not a substitute for confirming the exact item and documentation in the quotation.

When a particular marking format matters, request confirmation against the quoted lot. Do not infer a producer relationship, accreditation or guaranteed origin from a catalogue heading alone.

Assay can appear in different forms.

Assay information may be presented on the bar, on sealed packaging, on a card or in a separate document, depending on the product. “Assay-packaged” should therefore describe the actual product being quoted, not an assumption applied to all minted bars.

For a corporate control process, define whether intact packaging is mandatory, whether the serial must match an accompanying record and whether independent inspection is required at the completion point.

Serialisation is an identifier, not the whole provenance record.

A serial number can help reconcile a physical unit with a packing list or certificate. It does not, on its own, establish every change of custody, the seller’s title or the suitability of a proposed completion route. Those questions belong to transaction due diligence and release documentation.

If individual serials must appear on the invoice, packing list or release instruction, include that requirement before executable terms are accepted.

Define the documentary pack in the RFQ.

Document requirements vary by buyer, jurisdiction, provider and transaction structure. The useful approach is to state the required outcome and let the quotation identify what can be supplied.

• Producer and product identification.
• Metal, purity, weight and unit count.
• Serial or lot reconciliation where applicable.
• Invoice and packing-list requirements.
• Inspection, collection, delivery or custody documents required for release.
• Internal approval conditions that must be satisfied before completion.