Gold Bars

Gold Bullion Bars

When most people hear the words “precious metals investing,” the first thing that comes to mind is gold bars. Usually this brings about mental images of vaults filled with stacks of gold bars, but in reality many investors do not even come close to these fairy-tale amounts of the yellow metal.

The topic of gold bars seems like a fairly self-explanatory subject, but there is a lot of information that many people do not know. Before investing any amount of money in the precious metals market it is important that you educate yourself about all there is to know in an effort to be the soundest investor you can be. This page will walk you through all facets of gold bars and gold bar investing in order to answer any and all questions that you may have.

Sizes of Gold Bars

Gold bars range from being as small as 1 gram to as large as 400 ounces and beyond. Smaller, gram-sized bars are reserved more for beginning investors and those who would like to give gold as a gift. The smaller bars on their own do not constitute a very large investment in gold, though as you accrue more of them your investment becomes more and more substantial.

Investing in gram-sized bars one at a time is one way to invest, but it is quite expensive. As it is with the purchase of other types of goods, the more gold you buy in one order, the less expensive it is per ounce. This means that if you were to piece together 31 separate 1 gram gold bar purchases for a total of around one full ounce, the total price you pay would be much more than purchasing a single one ounce gold bar. The reason a similar amount of gold will bring with it a much different bottom line price tag is because there are premiums involved with the production and assaying of these bars. This means that in this hypothetical situation you would be paying 31 separate premiums whereas a 1 ounce gold bar purchase would require you to pay only one premium.

The most popular sized gold bar is the 1 ounce variety. These bars are small enough to store safely and easily, yet large enough to constitute a substantial investment in gold. While there are many larger sizes of gold bars, 1 ounce bars are arguably the most purchased.

Companies Who Produce Gold Bars

While most similarly sized gold bars look and feel the same, they are produced by a wide array of companies. Just like you can get the same pair of jeans from a bunch of different companies, you can get the same sized gold bar from any number of mints. Just like jeans from different companies are not the same price, gold bars produced by different mints will also be priced differently.

The power of a brand name carries just as much weight in the precious metals industry as it does in just about any other. This is true to the point where people who are loyal to a specific brand are willing to pay more for a bar produced by one company than they would for a similarly-sized bar produced by someone else. Some of the mints who produce gold bars that you may come across are listed below:

• Credit Suisse
• Ohio Precious Metals
• PAMP Suisse
• Royal Canadian Mint
• Sunshine Mint
• Valcambi

Premiums Incurred on Gold Bar Purchases

If you are in the market for gold bars you will more than likely be paying close attention to the spot value of gold. The spot value is the current market value of gold per ounce. Of course, if you are buying gold and silver from an online site, such as ours or even locally at a coin shop, you can’t expect to get it at spot value. This is because it costs mints money to refine the metals and also to stamp each piece. These prices get passed down from the mints and distributors to the sellers and in turn to the investor. Because of this, there are premiums attached to every gold bar.