How Do I Buy Gold Bars
Once you’ve chosen a trustworthy bullion broker to purchase from, the process of buying gold bars follows a few simple steps:
- Once you’ve finalized your order, choose your payment method. This is when you lock in your price.
- Choose between shipping options, local pickup, or vault storage.
- Receive your bullion, or place your investment in your IRA.
For more information, check out our helpful Gold Buyer’s Guide.
Bottom Line: Always buy gold bars from professional gold dealers or, when possible, from government mints.
Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez is a journalist, editor, and blogger who has won multiple awards from the Numismatic Literary Guild. He has also authored numerous books, including works profiling the history of the United States Mint and United States coinage.
More educational resources from the author:
Calculation : Value Of Gold Metal
This calculation determines the value of gold metal based on the weight, purity, and bid price for gold metal.
| Weight of gold |
|---|
| Gold price per troy ounce |
| Step 1: Convert the weight of the gold alloy into troy ounces |
|---|
| Weight of gold alloy = Weight of gold alloy × Conversion factor= 0 × 31.1034768 |
| Step 2: Convert the weight of the gold alloy into the weight of gold metal |
| Weight of gold metal = Weight of gold alloy × Gold purity ÷ 100= 0 × 99.9 ÷ 100 |
| Step 3: Calculate the value of gold metal |
| Value of gold metal = Weight of gold metal × Price of gold metal= 0 × 0 |
| 1 avoirdupois ounce = 28.349523125 g | 1 baht = 15.244 g | 1 carat = 0.2 g |
| 1 grain = 0.06479891 g | 1 kilogram = 1000 g | 1 masha = 0.97 g |
| 1 pound = 453.59237 g | ||
| 1 ratti = 0.1215 g |
| How many gram in a troy ounce |
How Much Is A Gold Bar Worth In 2021
When trying to determine the price of a gold bar, most people simply look at the gold price charts and make an estimation based on the gold bars weight.
This is a very inaccurate approach to determining how much a gold bar is worth since many factors come into play. The weight of the bar is important but it is not the only factor that determines the bars overall price as well see below.
To know the actual worth of a gold bar, you need to also factor in the manufacturing, handling, storage and insurance costs as these will be passed on to the investor as premiums.
This means that before undertaking any gold investment adventure, you need to conduct a thorough research and get all the facts right to avoid making grave investment decisions.
One advantage of gold bars is that they are manufactured by licensed, reputable entities hence chances of running into risk are minimal.
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Good Delivery 400oz Bar
Finally, the big guy. This is the standard gold bar that is seen in many movies, and which many people think of when they think of gold bars. This big bar weighs about 400 Troy ounces or 27.428 pounds. This is the same as 438.857 ounces or 12.441 kilograms. By comparison, it weighs about the same as a mountain bike.
The actual weight of this bar may vary from 350 Troy ounces to 430 Troy ounces, with the buyer only paying for the actual weight of the bar. These are considered investment bars and are worth about $732,000.
The shape of these bars may be a little different, depending on where they are cast or minted, but they generally measure around 7 inches long by 3 5/8 inches wide by 1 ¾ inches tall.
These bars have a minimum of 0.995 parts pure gold, so the weight of the pure gold in a 400 Troy ounce bar would be a minimum of 398 Troy ounces.
How Does The Weight Of A Gold Bar Affect Transactions
Now that you know how much each type of gold bar weighs, lets see how it affects your transaction, investment portfolio, and financial stability.
It is essential to understand that each gold bar serves various purposes. Some gold bars are better for trading, while others serve as investment opportunities.
In some cases, the weight of a gold bar is set by economic, political, and local concerns. The regional gold demand also plays a significant role in deciding how much a gold bar is worth.
Read on to find out how a gold bars weight affects transactions.
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Gold Bars As Investments & Collectibles
Gold bars are generally classified as bullion and thus purchased more for speculative motives. A large share of those who buy gold bars are doing so strictly to invest in precious metals. These investors are generally stacking gold as a form of savings. They purchase gold bars based solely on their weight and purity, looking for the lowest premium over the gold spot price.
Most gold bars weigh one troy ounce. Other common sizes are 5 oz, 10 oz gold bars, and 1 kilo gold bars . At the institutional level, you will find the largest gold bars. 100 oz gold bars are used to settle COMEX gold futures contracts in New York, while Good Delivery bars that trade in London weigh 400 troy oz. Kilobars are the standard gold bar size used by the Shanghai Gold Exchange. On occasion, companies like Credit Suisse will also offer 10 gram, 20 gram, 50 gram, and 100 gram gold bars.
There is, however, a segment of the gold bar consumer base that purchases these pieces more as collectibles. This somewhat mirrors the market trends of those who buy bullion-finish American Gold Eagles and gold rounds as collectibles, too.
There are many reasons one might buy gold bars for collectible pursuits. One of the most common reasons is to own an array of gold bars bearing the logos and stamps of various refineries and mints. However, some gold bars manufactured many years ago by private mints are scarce. Many of the gold bars have become collectible on the merits of their real or perceived rarity.
Why Buy Gold Bars
Buying gold bars is almost always cheaper than buying the same weight in gold coins – and the bigger each bar, the lower the cost by weight.
Depending on your local tax regime, you can reduce or completely avoid paying sales tax by buying gold bars instead of coins, too. Your savings will also depend on the quality of the gold bars you buy.
Trading Good Delivery gold bars – guaranteed to be of 99.5% fine or above – can then cut your tax bill again in many countries, because these 100- and 400-ounce gold bars are defined as investment gold and eligible for personal retirement plans. Good Delivery gold bars reduce your costs further still by retaining main market deliverable status. Depending on your point of view the elimination of private possession and insurance arrangements is also a plus.
Smaller gold bars such as 100g gold bars bought and stored at home, on the other hand – or even kept in a bank safety deposit box – present three big drawbacks.
Specialist gold-bar storage programs – such as gold pool accounts and certificate schemes – offer to help cut out the hassle of taking physical possession. This can certainly help reduce the premiums you pay to buy gold and sell. But their storage fees still run up to 1.5% per year.
That’s a significant charge for owning gold bars – a passive investment that pays you no interest. There is a much cheaper route, however, into buying gold and owning it outright.
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Why Should You Consider Investing In Gold Bars
Why not? Gold has stood the test of time as a stable form of investment. It has enabled investors to safeguard their wealth for centuries and therefore investing in gold is indeed a wise decision.
Perhaps the most satisfying benefit of holding physical gold is that you get the chance to have total control over your wealth, unlike having your investments in a banks savings account.
As you might know, the future of the dollar is uncertain and therefore converting a portion of your wealth to gold will certainly protect you against future risks.
Gold will therefore enable you to crash-proof your retirement and give you some sense of security.
If you considering rolling over your IRA or 401k to gold or silver, you can check out our top-rated Gold IRA Company Here> > .
Now, lets dive in and explore the common factors that affect the price of a gold bar.
Pamp Suisse 1 Oz Gold Bars Overview
For the serious gold buyer, the 1 ounce bar tends to be a preference. One ounce bars come in varying purities and many different designs. There are also minted 1 ounce bars as well as cast bars. If you are looking for a beautifully designed 1 ounce gold bar from one of the best fabricators in the industry, then the single ounce PAMP Suisse gold bar may be an excellent choice.
Gold Bar Highlights:
-
Contains one troy ounce of .9999 fine gold
-
Available with assay card
-
May be eligible for purchase in an IRA
The name PAMP Suisse is synonymous with quality, craftsmanship and value. This newly designed 1 ounce gold bar from PAMP is no exception. You may not find a finer single ounce gold bar on the market today.
PAMP Suisse, or Produits Artistiques Metaux Precieux, is considered by some to be the worlds leading bullion brand, and with good reason. Translated, the companys name means artistic precious metals products, and there is no doubt that its products are all works of art in their own way.
PAMP has been in operation for nearly three decades, and in addition to its assaying services, the company is also a leading fabricator and processor of all materials bearing gold, silver and/or platinum group metals. After refining of the materials, the company can deliver it in fine metal ingot form, grain, alloys, sponge or salts. The company produces both minted ingot bars as well as cast bars and collectibles.
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Gold Bars Manufacturers: Government Mints Vs Private Mints
Gold Bars are precious metals bullion which have been manufactured for centuries, under government regulation.
Government Mints, such as the Royal Canadian Mint or Perth Mint, represent government institutions which have the absolute right to produce legal tender bullion. Each gold bullion bar produced by a government mint must be obligatorily commissioned and regulated by the National Treasury Department’s, otherwise, they can be subject to criminal charges. On the other hand, private mints have the flexibility of producing a wide range of uniquely designed gold bars.
When you go to buy gold bars available for purchase, they presently are produced by notorious private mints, such as PAMP Suisse, Credit Suisse, Argor-Heraeus, Republic Metals Corporation, Istanbul Gold Refinery, Valcambi, Scotiabank, Ohio Precious Metals and Sunshine Mint. These companies manufacture bars made of gold of with various outstanding designs, like the and PAMP Suisse Gold Bars, and especially popular and newly designed 1 oz. PAMP Suisse Gold Bar. One of the newest, and perhaps most remarkable gold bar pieces is the Gold CombiBar from Valcambi. These bars are made of several bar segments and can be easily separated into smaller gold bars, making them a flexible investment opportunity.
Gold Bullion Bars
Top Companies That Sell Gold
Many companies, both big and small, sell gold. However, you need to understand that most of these companies are unverified. Avoid buying gold from sellers unless you can verify their authenticity. Unless you have testing equipment or a smelter, your best option is to buy only from professional gold dealers. You can check out our list of top companies to buy from below.
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Gold Bar Price Basics
The base prices of all gold products are determined by the gold spot price. The gold spot price is a live price, meaning the price for gold is constantly changing . Since January 2018, the price for gold has not gone below $1,250 per ounce. In late 2019 to early 2020, the gold price has risen to levels as high as $1,650 per ounce.
Now, the price of gold bars is not exclusively determined by the spot price. In fact, it is exceedingly rare for a bullion dealer to have gold bars available at spot price. Every gold bar will have some sort of premium on top of the inherent value of the gold they contain. Depending on the dealer and the mint of the bars, these premiums can vary wildly. I will talk about the latter later in this post.
Check out our blog post on How to Buy Gold Bars
Most Popular Sizes Of Gold Bars To Buy
Gold bars come in an array of sizes, from 1 gram to 400 ounces. As a rule of thumb, the larger the bar, the lower the premium on the spot price per ounce. The spot price is the price for the raw metal gold and the premium is the price of refining and producing the bars.
The net cost for producing the bigger bars and the smaller ones is quite similar, and since the bigger bar has more gold in it, the bigger bars are more profitable from the production perspective. Its a better investment to go for bigger sizes if you can afford it. Standard bar sizes are 1 ounce, 10 ounces, 100 grams, 1,000 grams/1 kilogram and 1 gram.
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How Much Is A Gold Ingot Worth
How Much Is a Gold Ingot Worth
A gold ingot is sometimes also known as a gold bullion or a gold bar. Its a quantity of refined metallic gold, made by a trained bar producer. The manufacturing process must meet required standards of processing, labeling and record keeping. Liquid gold is poured into a mould, which is where the word ingot comes from. The process of producing smaller gold bars differentiates, as these are made by minting or stamping sheets of gold bullion.
The London Bullion Market Association , has created the set of Good Delivery Rules that bar producers have to adhere to. Founded in 1987 by the Bank of England, it is responsible for trading practices, refining standards and the certification of bullion used to make gold and silver bars.
What Does a Gold Ingot Contain?
The LBMA requires gold ingots to contain 99.5% pure gold, i.e. 995.0 parts per thousand fine gold. Gold ingots can vary in size but under the Good Delivery rules, bars are required to weigh 350-430 troy ounces . An example would be that a 400oz ingot would contain 398oz of fine gold.
The Good Delivery Rules recommend that the length at the top should be 210-290mm. The width 55-85mm and the height should be 25-45mm. You may also see certain marks on the ingot like a serial number, a refiners hallmark, fineness and year of manufacture.
Who Makes Gold Ingots?
How to Work Out the Price of a Gold Ingot
Gold Bullion Company Products
Why Invest in Gold Bars?
How Much Does A Standard Cast Gold Bar Weigh
The standard gold bar that’s held and traded internationally by central banks and bullion dealers is known as the ‘Good Delivery’ bar. It typically weighs in at 400 troy ounces , and measures 7 inches x 3 and 5/8 inches x 1 and 3/4 inches, however dimensions and weights can vary between different institutions and uses.
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So Whats The Best Value Gold Bars When Buying
The price you pay for physical gold will generally reduce as you buy more. In the case of gold bars, if you calculate the price per gram, larger bars are far better value than small gold bars. Infact any gold bars below an ounce in weight are really not of great value due to the high production cost. Most new small bars will be beautifully manufactured to include being encapsulated in a plastic cover, complete with certification. In comparison, similar size gold bullion coins such as Sovereigns and Britannias, can be bought at lower premiums as theyre sold loose. 100g gold bars offer decent value, with 250g and 500g slightly better again, and 1kg trading pretty close to the underlying spot price.Watch our related video How much is a gold bar worth
So 1kilo bars are the best for worth
The problems with 1kg gold bars are that many people cant afford to invest £30k+ into gold at once and secondly, it limits flexibility. After all, if you buy a 1kilo gold bar to reduce the cost as far as possible, then you cant liquidate £10k worth of gold if you need to. Youre forced to sell the whole bar or nothing at all.
An alternative method to buy gold bullion at the best value is to approach quantity discounts in another way, depending on how much you have to spend. While 1kilo bars undoubtedly offer the best value, discounts are still available for buying a quantity of more modest-sized gold bars .
How Much Does A Gold Bar Weigh
These heavy gold bricks are comprised of 400 troy ounces of pure 24k gold . A troy ounce is the industry standard for weighing and pricing precious metals, based on the ancient unit of weight developed by the Romans.
A troy ounce is 1.09714 standard ounces.
That means, 400 troy oz gold bars weigh around 27 pounds or 12.4 kilograms each about the same weight as a dumbbell.
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