If you want to sock away gold for TEOTWAWKI* but lack the funds to buy it at $1,135 an ounce, get some gold-plated tungsten coins. Tungsten and 24K gold have almost the same density, so fakes mimic the real deal in a water displacement test. (The Archimedes-in-the-bath thing.) But don’t try this trick with more sophisticated traders: Sound travels faster through tungsten, and end-times precious-metal barons might carry ultrasonic detectors to spot fakes. If you suspect you’re the one getting chumped, get the propane torch from your go-bag. (You do have a propane torch in your go-bag, right?) It burns at 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to melt the gold layer and reveal the tungsten core.
*Prepper-speak for "the end of the world as we know it."
