# I inherit a 400 oz bar of Swastika stamped Nazi Gold from WWII - Can I sell it on ebay? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 16, 2015, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749 "2015-11-16T23:09:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/1 "2015-11-16T23:09:37Z")
I was viewing [this fascinating wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_gold)on a huge Nazi gold cache discovered at the end of WWII and I wondered what would happen if I somehow came into possession of a 400 troy oz bar of gold with a Nazi stamp on it. If I put it on eBay could I sell it the same way people sell regular old gold bars? Would it have a premium value because of it’s history? ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/2 "2015-11-16T23:17:10Z")
Are you serious? Did you really inherit 400 oz of gold. Or do you know of someone who did? If you did, I would be extremely careful about selling it. It is worth a whole lot of money and many people would think of ways they could cheat you or rob you. I would go visit a reputable dealer and speak to them in private and only if you feel comfortable, you can proceed to arrange for the sale. But I think you must be joking or at least asking a hypothetical. If not, be very careful Do not ever advertise that much gold for sale on Craigslist for example. You can just bet that someone will try to take advantage of you and violence would not be out of the question. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/3 "2015-11-16T23:20:52Z")
I was going to say that you might run afoul of eBay’s [Nazi materials](http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/offensive.html) policy, but after reading it, I’m not sure. Nazi currency is allowed, but not Nazi propaganda. I’m not sure where Nazi gold would fall. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/4 "2015-11-16T23:25:10Z")
Per my OP it’s a hypothetical > [@](#): > > \*\*I was viewing this fascinating wiki on a huge Nazi gold cache discovered at the end of WWII and I wondered \*\* If I really had a 400 oz bar of WWII gold I would not be posting it here. > [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > Are you serious? Did you really inherit 400 oz of gold. Or do you know of someone who did? > > If you did, I would be extremely careful about selling it. It is worth a whole lot of money and many people would think of ways they could cheat you or rob you. I would go visit a reputable dealer and speak to them in private and only if you feel comfortable, you can proceed to arrange for the sale. > > But I think you must be joking or at least asking a hypothetical. If not, be very careful Do not ever advertise that much gold for sale on Craigslist for example. You can just bet that someone will try to take advantage of you and violence would not be out of the question. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/5 "2015-11-16T23:28:04Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > But I think you must be joking or at least asking a hypothetical. If not, be very careful Do not ever advertise that much gold for sale on Craigslist for example. You can just bet that someone will try to take advantage of you and violence would not be out of the question. That would make for an interesting Craigs List ad. 12.4 kg Nazi gold bar - Local pick up - No trades - Serious Buyers only! ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/6 "2015-11-16T23:42:33Z")
> [@astro](#): > > That would make for an interesting Craigs List ad. > > 12.4 kg Nazi gold bar - Local pick up - No trades - Serious Buyers only! “Cash Only…! Small denominations…! Must come alone because I be a-scared…!” Reply to [RobUBlind-Sukah@GMAIL.com](mailto:RobUBlind-Sukah@GMAIL.com) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/7 "2015-11-16T23:50:30Z")
How’d you know my email address? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/8 "2015-11-16T23:55:21Z")
You wouldn’t sell it to an individual. You’d sell it to one of those “we buy gold” professional firms. They would melt it down. You’d email them and get a quote on the price per ounce without disclosing how much gold you have. Or, you’d have it held in escrow by an insured handler of valuable stuff like this, and a professional auction house would sell it off to wealthy people. The fact that it is Nazi gold means it has a higher market value than the raw metal. I think in most countries it is perfectly legal to sell it, with the exception of Germany. It’s a straightforward process. Stash it in a safe deposit box in a bank until you decide who to sell it to, so nobody can come to your house and rob you. ---
**Author:** ![WF\_Tomba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d9b06d/32.png) [@WF\_Tomba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WF_Tomba)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/9 "2015-11-17T00:24:24Z")
Does the likelihood that the Nazis obtained the gold illegally affect the legality of selling it? ---
**Author:** ![Nefario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/59ef9b/32.png) [@Nefario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefario)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/10 "2015-11-17T01:00:37Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > … you might run afoul of eBay’s [Nazi materials](http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/offensive.html) policy, but after reading it, I’m not sure. Nazi currency is allowed, but not Nazi propaganda. I’m not sure where Nazi gold would fall. This comes up with collectible 1930’s German radios (Volksempfänger) that are related to my hobby interest and have the Swastika logo. Generally sellers blur out that part of their photos, everyone knowledgable knows what they’re looking at, and there’s no problem. If this was an actual sale I’d be more concerned about being ripped off through Paypal. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/11 "2015-11-17T01:09:53Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > I was going to say that you might run afoul of eBay’s [Nazi materials](http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/offensive.html) policy, but after reading it, I’m not sure. Nazi currency is allowed, but not Nazi propaganda. I’m not sure where Nazi gold would fall. Assuming you had such a thing — stamps, coins and related (but not military/Party) medals are allowed. I would go with one or two of the bullion/world coins categories. I’ve sold a few Third Reich coins and they usually pull a better price on eBay than they would in a shop or local coin show. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/12 "2015-11-17T01:25:53Z")
The value of the raw gold is more than $400,000 at today’s prices. I would personally have it melted down (or melt it myself) into much smaller bars and sell it to different dealers at spot prices over time. I suspect a single large gold bar embossed with a Nazi logo and authenticated is probably worth a good deal more than that but the number of buyers is small, you have to provide a chain of ownership for the authentication to be legit and there are serious tax implications as well. I am not suggesting that people cheat but gold is very easy to melt and reform so that becomes a pure commodity that is virtually untraceable as long as you don’t try to unload too much of it at once. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/13 "2015-11-17T01:44:32Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > The value of the raw gold is more than $400,000 at today’s prices. I would personally have it melted down (or melt it myself) into much smaller bars and sell it to different dealers at spot prices over time. I suspect a single large gold bar embossed with a Nazi logo and authenticated is probably worth a good deal more than that but the number of buyers is small, you have to provide a chain of ownership for the authentication to be legit and there are serious tax implications as well. > > I am not suggesting that people cheat but gold is very easy to melt and reform so that becomes a pure commodity that is virtually untraceable as long as you don’t try to unload too much of it at once. This is what I was thinking. How are you going to prove that you actually have a World War II relic rather than a gold bar that you cast with a swastika last week? There might also be legal issue over ownership. A lot of Nazi gold was illegal loot and the real owners have been filing claims for their stolen property since the war ended. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/14 "2015-11-17T01:56:13Z")
You could melt it down and have it made into fillings. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/15 "2015-11-17T08:48:23Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > You could melt it down and have it made into fillings. Yeah, I’m sure you’re making a reference to where the gold might have come from originally. Ditto with gold bullion printed at certain years during the Nazi regime. Probably at least a few bits of the gold in the coin stolen from murdered corpses. Disturbing…but probably raises the sale value of the item… ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/16 "2015-11-17T15:55:23Z")
Is a stamped gold bar considered currency ? I wonder if the Nazi stamp would make it more valuable than the melt weight ? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/17 "2015-11-17T18:46:36Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > This is what I was thinking. How are you going to prove that you actually have a World War II relic rather than a gold bar that you cast with a swastika last week? Get it carbon-dated. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kimberlyxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b487fb/32.png) [@kimberlyxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimberlyxx)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/18 "2015-11-17T18:57:55Z")
sell it to a collector not ebay u will prob get deleted maybe arrested ---
**Author:** ![kimberlyxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b487fb/32.png) [@kimberlyxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimberlyxx)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/19 "2015-11-17T19:00:22Z")
wf tomba thats why im thinking the poster may get arrested. Im sure i read the people who found the nazi gold train got arested or maybe im imagining it im not sure. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749/20 "2015-11-17T19:08:14Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > Yeah, I’m sure you’re making a reference to where the gold might have come from originally. Ditto with gold bullion printed at certain years during the Nazi regime. Probably at least a few bits of the gold in the coin stolen from murdered corpses. > > Disturbing…but probably raises the sale value of the item… Don’t touch that, it’s been in someone’s mouth! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-inherit-a-400-oz-bar-of-swastika-stamped-nazi-gold-from-wwii-can-i-sell-it-on-ebay/737749.md?page=2)