Historical Price Query for Precious Metals
Why Historical Precious Metal Prices?
Looking up historical precious metal prices is far more than a novelty for data enthusiasts. Anyone who owns physical gold, silver, platinum, or palladium needs reliable historical data for very practical use cases — from tax returns to insurance claims.
Returns & Performance
"What would my gold be worth today that I bought in 2015?" — this question can only be answered if the exact purchase price is known. With our historical price query, you can look up the LBMA fix for any date and compare it with today's price. This lets you calculate the actual performance of your investment over months, years, or decades.
Furthermore, comparing multiple metals over the same period provides a well-founded assessment of which precious metal performed better in which market phase. Gold and silver often move in the same direction, but the amplitude differs considerably — silver typically fluctuates more strongly.
Taxes & Documentation
For the tax treatment of precious metal sales, the acquisition price is crucial. Physical gold is tax-free in Germany after a holding period of 12 months (§ 23 EStG). Within that period, the gain must be taxed at the personal income tax rate. If the original purchase receipt has been lost, the historical daily rate can be used as proof.
Insurance & Claims Settlement
In an insurance claim — such as theft or fire damage — the insurer requires the value of the precious metals at the time of the loss. Historical price data provides a transparent, market-based valuation basis that is accepted by appraisers and insurance companies.
Research & Backtesting
Analysts, asset managers, and private investors use historical data for backtesting investment strategies. How would a monthly savings plan on gold since 2010 have performed? What drawdown would palladium have suffered during the COVID crash? Such questions can only be answered with reliable historical prices.
Which Prices Do We Show?
Not all precious metal prices are equal. There are significant differences between spot prices, futures, and the official LBMA fix — and depending on the use case, a different reference is the right choice.
The LBMA PM Fix — Our Reference Price
Our historical price query is based on the LBMA PM Fix (London Bullion Market Association). It is determined on business days at 3:00 PM London time through an electronic auction process and is regarded worldwide as the authoritative daily reference for the physical precious metals market.
Banks, refineries, mining companies, and central banks use the LBMA fix for the settlement of delivery contracts, the accounting of precious metal holdings, and the calculation of ETF share values. It is thus the gold standard for binding price quotes — unlike spot prices, which change by the second.
Difference: Spot, Fix, and Futures
- ◆ Spot price: The current market price for immediate delivery. It fluctuates by the second and is traded on electronic exchanges such as COMEX and LBMA OTC. Our dashboard shows the live spot price.
- ◆ LBMA Fix: A daily fixed reference price that reflects the average of a multi-minute auction. It serves as the binding settlement rate for the global market.
- ◆ Futures price: The price for delivery at a future date (e.g., 3 months). Futures include an interest and storage component and therefore usually trade slightly above the spot price (contango).
Data Sources & Quality
We obtain LBMA fix data through a professional financial market API that is directly connected to the official LBMA auction results. Prices are automatically imported daily and validated against published LBMA statistics. Our database contains over 45,000 records covering gold, silver, platinum, and palladium in multiple currencies.
Tip: For tax documentation and insurance claims, the LBMA PM Fix is recommended, as it is recognized by tax authorities and appraisers as an official reference. Use the spot price only if you need the exact price at a specific time of day.
Historical Gold Price Milestones
The gold price has gone through dramatic phases over the past five decades. Every price surge and every crash can be traced back to specific economic or geopolitical events. Understanding the history helps you better understand the present.
Nixon Shock — End of Bretton Woods
President Nixon ended the dollar-gold peg at $35/oz. The collapse of the fixed exchange rate system released the gold price from its artificial floor and turned it into a freely traded commodity.
First Major Rally — $850/oz
Runaway inflation, the oil crisis, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan drove gold to a record high of $850/oz. Adjusted for inflation, that equates to over $3,000/oz today — a level that was not reached again for decades.
Twenty-Year Low — $255/oz
After two decades of falling prices and aggressive central bank selling, gold hit its low at around $255/oz. Many central banks, including the Bank of England, sold large portions of their gold reserves during this period — in hindsight, at the worst possible time.
New All-Time High — $1,920/oz
The aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the European debt crisis, and quantitative easing by central banks drove gold above $1,900/oz. In the following years, the price corrected to around $1,050/oz (late 2015) before a new ascent began.
COVID Rally — $2,075/oz
The COVID pandemic, worldwide lockdowns, and unprecedented monetary expansion made gold the safe haven of choice. In August 2020, the price crossed the $2,000/oz mark for the first time, reaching $2,075/oz.
New All-Time Highs — Above $2,800/oz
Massive central bank purchases (especially China, India, Turkey), geopolitical tensions, and the expectation of falling interest rates drove gold above $2,800/oz. For the first time in history, the euro price exceeded the €2,600/oz mark — a strong signal for European investors.
Historical lesson: Every major gold price rally was triggered by a loss of confidence in the monetary system or by geopolitical crises. Gold structurally benefits from uncertainty — this fundamentally distinguishes it from stocks or bonds.
How to Calculate Returns Correctly
Anyone holding precious metals as an investment wants to know how the investment has performed. The key distinction is between nominal and real (inflation-adjusted) returns — and both should be annualized to make different time periods comparable.
Nominal vs. Real Return
- ◆ Nominal return: The pure price change without accounting for inflation. Formula: (End value − Start value) ÷ Start value × 100.
- ◆ Real return: The change in purchasing power after deducting inflation. With a nominal return of 8% p.a. and an inflation rate of 3% p.a., the real return is approximately 5% p.a.
- ◆ Annualized return (CAGR): The compound annual growth rate. Formula: (End value ÷ Start value)1/n − 1, where n is the holding period in years.
Example Calculation
Purchase: 1 ounce of gold on Jan 2, 2015 for €1,060/oz (LBMA PM Fix)
Today: Gold price at approx. €2,600/oz
Nominal return: (2,600 − 1,060) ÷ 1,060 × 100 = +145.3%
Holding period: approx. 11 years
Annualized return: (2,600 ÷ 1,060)1/11 − 1 = approx. 8.5% p.a.
After deducting average inflation (~2.5% p.a.), a real return of around 6% per year remains — significantly above the interest rates on savings accounts or government bonds over the same period.
Why the Entry Point Matters
Precious metals pay no dividends and no interest — the entire return comes from price changes. That is why the entry point has a dramatic impact on the outcome. Anyone who bought at the 2011 high of $1,920/oz had to wait until 2024 to significantly exceed their entry price in dollars. Those who bought in 2015 or 2018, on the other hand, enjoyed triple-digit returns.
For this reason, many financial experts recommend a regular savings plan (dollar-cost averaging): By making monthly purchases at fixed amounts, you smooth out your entry prices and reduce the risk of buying at the worst possible time.