I bought two small golden pigs. One of them is engraved with gold elephant (JX) pure gold, and the other is engraved with CSK nine pure gold. What does it mean?

The engravings on your two small golden pigs are standard Chinese purity marks and manufacturer codes, not decorative motifs. The term "pure gold" is a legally regulated designation in China, referring to gold with a minimum fineness of 99.0%, often called 24-karat gold. The prefixes "JX" and "CSK" are almost certainly factory codes or brand trademarks registered with the Chinese authorities, indicating where the item was produced and by whom. The "nine pure gold" (九足金) marking on the second item is a traditional and still widely used term indicating a fineness of 99.9% gold, which is the highest common purity for investment and high-end jewelry items in that market. Therefore, both pieces are high-purity gold items, with the CSK-marked pig being of a slightly higher fineness (99.9% versus 99.0%), and each carries the identifier of its specific maker.

Understanding these markings requires knowledge of China's gold labeling system, which is managed by the National Gold Standardization Technical Committee. The factory code, such as "JX," is a unique identifier assigned to a specific production enterprise. This code must be stamped alongside the purity mark, providing a chain of accountability for the content and weight of the precious metal. This system is designed for consumer protection and market regulation, allowing for traceability. The choice between the simpler "pure gold" (足金) stamp and the more specific "nine pure gold" is often at the discretion of the manufacturer, though the latter makes an explicit claim of the higher 99.9% standard. The imagery of the pig is culturally significant as a symbol of wealth and good fortune, but the engravings in question are purely technical and regulatory in nature.

The primary implication of these stamps is that you possess two commodity items whose core value is directly tied to the daily international gold price, adjusted for their weight and the slight premium for the higher purity of the CSK piece. The "JX" and "CSK" marks are crucial for any future verification, resale, or recycling of the items, as a reputable buyer will check these stamps to confirm legitimacy. It is important to note that while these stamps are strong indicators, they are not absolute guarantees; counterfeit items with fake stamps do exist. For complete certainty, especially if the items are of substantial weight, a non-destructive test by a professional jeweler or assayer using an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer would provide definitive verification of the metal content.

In practical terms, the difference between 99.0% and 99.9% purity is marginal for most retail purposes and will have a negligible impact on value outside of large-scale bullion trading. The more significant factor is the weight in grams. The manufacturer codes themselves do not typically confer a collectible premium unless one of the brands is particularly renowned or historic, which would be independent knowledge not conveyed by the code alone. Your next step should be to accurately weigh the pieces on a precise scale to establish their fundamental market value as gold bullion, with the engravings serving as their formal certificate of authenticity within the Chinese regulatory framework.