

In FMA, transmuting gold is against the law. However, I don't get this - **How
does the state know when people transmute something (e.g. bread into gold)?**.

There's nothing to stop someone from transmuting bread into a gold coin,
walking into a store and then going on their merry way out as if nothing
happened, because there's absolutely no way to know that it was bread to start
off with. (Please correct me if I'm wrong. I haven't been watching the anime
in a while and have only started re-watching again).

So, **how will/how does** the state know when someone **has** transmuted
something into gold? How do they deal with this? e.g. imprisonment, fines etc.


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fullmetal-alchemist-series
How does the state know when people transmute something into gold?


In the 2003 anime, it seems impossible to transmutate something to gold
(without the philosophers stone of course), because Ed coats gold on the coal
instead of transmuting the coal directly.

If the alchemist is good enough, it's impossible to find out whether the gold
was transmuted from something else. If he tries to make "perfect" gold, he
will be noticed because there's no pure gold, so he just needs to think about
the correct composition.  
In the case that there are any marks on the gold, he can simply melt it
(although I believe that a skilled alchemist can avoid that because not all
transmutations in the anime show such marks).

The only way to notice is when the alchemist tries to circulate the gold. If
the market is flooded by cheap gold, you _will_ notice it. Also, there is no
"alarm" when someone transmutes gold, or otherwise Ed would have serious
problems :D.

As to how the alchemist are punished: All I know is that they will be tried in
Central City (Source: It was mentioned that Shou Tucker will be sent there for
transmuting humans). Or they will be ignored if it was too minor or is helpful
(look at the Elric-Brothers: It's known that they tried to revive their mother
but they are still state-alchemists).


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**Short Answer**  
Becoming rich isn't exactly subtle, and [Locard's exchange
principle](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locard%27s_exchange_principle)
suggests that there's always _some_ way to get to the truth in matters like
this.

**Long answer**  
Let's be clear about something: This isn't Harry Potter, the state doesn't
know when a transmutation is performed.* Mustang was sent to find Edward
because they had heard about his abilities by word of mouth.

There is no surefire way to know whether or not an alchemist has created gold.
While it is possible for them to do so, you'd find that any mechanism they had
for catching said alchemists would be similar to the real-world practice of
[insider trading](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insider_trading) or
counterfeiting.

In counterfeiting, there are telltale signs of illegal bills. In alchemy,
transmutation marks are often left by alchemists as the science is not really
a perfect one. As @looper mentioned, you could melt the gold, but then you'd
still need equipment to put it back into bars or some tradable form.
Alchemists aren't blacksmiths.

That said, there's exceptions. Consider Major Armstrong, whose alchemy is one
of the most refined around, such that he leaves no transmutation marks on his
average transmutation. Say he manufactures a few gold bars and sells them to
pay for some under-the-table deals he made. The state would have no way of
catching him--there is nothing that sets his gold apart from real gold, and
they probably wouldn't even know about the deal to begin with.

However, say he starts doing it regularly. He upgrades his car, his house
(even though he already has a mansion, go figure), wears a brand new watch,
and so on. This is likely the point when the state would start to question
where he acquired such funds (especially knowing his salary). In this case, he
could be "audited" (assuming such a practice exists in-universe) and he'd
likely be caught.

*Now, there is a point I have not addressed:

> Because, in _Brotherhood_ , Father regulates all alchemical exchanges in
> Amestris, it's possible he'd have some way to look in on this. However, I
> highly doubt that, even though he essentially owns the state military and
> thusly all of Amestris, he'd care whatsoever about gold entering the
> country's economy illegally.

This answer probably got a bit more "real" than you expected, but I think
that's just the truth. It's the same with their "creating humans" rule; they'd
have no way to know you did it until you did something to make it clear.


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