Gold Bar
Also: Fine gold bar, Investment bar, Gold ingot
A gold bar is a standardised piece of fine gold with a defined weight and fineness that serves as a physical investment form and an internationally recognised store of value.
A gold bar is the purest and most direct form of owning physical gold. Unlike gold coins, bars carry no legal-tender face value and no numismatic premium — their value is derived almost exclusively from the current gold price and their fine weight. For private investors, central banks and institutional investors, the gold bar is therefore regarded as the most cost-efficient way to hold investment gold physically.
Manufacture: cast or minted
Gold bars are produced in two fundamental ways:
Cast bars are created by pouring liquid fine gold into a mould and cooling it slowly. The surface shows a characteristic, slightly uneven crystal structure and looks rustic. Cast bars are cheaper to produce and are therefore offered above all in larger weight classes (from 50 g upwards).
Minted bars (also: coin bars) are punched out of a rolled gold band and then stamped with fineness, weight, serial number and manufacturer logo using a minting press. The smooth, mirror-like surface and the crisply sharp stampings make them visually more refined. They are more expensive to produce, which is why the premium (agio) is noticeably higher for small denominations (1 g – 10 g).
Denominations at a glance
| Weight | Typical bar type | Target group |
|---|---|---|
| 1 g – 5 g | Minted, blister | Beginners, gift |
| 10 g – 50 g | Minted or cast | Private investors |
| 100 g – 500 g | Minted or cast | Experienced investors |
| 1 kg | Usually minted | Large investors |
| ~12.4 kg (400 oz) | Cast, Good Delivery | Central banks, wholesale |
Fineness and purity
Almost all modern investment bars are made from 999.9 ‰ fine gold (also "Four Nines" or 24 carat). This value means that of 1,000 parts by weight, at least 999.9 parts are pure gold — the remainder being unavoidable trace impurities.
Fine weight = Gross weight × (Fineness ÷ 1000)
Example: 100 g bar at 999.9 ‰
→ 100 g × (999.9 ÷ 1000) = 99.99 g fine gold
You can conveniently calculate the current melt value of a bar online.
LBMA Good Delivery – the global standard
The most important international standard for large-volume gold bars is the LBMA Good Delivery certificate of the London Bullion Market Association. An approved Good Delivery bar must meet the following criteria:
- Fineness of at least 995.0 ‰
- Weight between 350 and 430 troy ounces (approx. 10.9 – 13.4 kg)
- Clear marking: serial number, manufacturer logo, weight, fineness, year
- Origin from an LBMA-accepted refinery
Among the best-known accredited manufacturers are Heraeus, Umicore, PAMP Suisse, Valcambi and Argor-Heraeus.
Checking authenticity
Because gold is difficult to counterfeit due to its high density without missing the weight or dimensions, the authenticity of a bar can be verified with simple methods:
- Weight check on a calibrated precision scale (tolerance typically ± 0.05 g)
- Density measurement using the Archimedes principle (gold: 19.32 g/cm³; tungsten would be close but has different thermal conductivity)
- Magnet test – gold is diamagnetic and is not attracted by a strong magnet
- Ultrasonic measurement or X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) for professional testing
Our authenticity checker helps you with a quick plausibility check based on weight and dimensions.
Tax treatment in Malta
Gold bars with a fineness of at least 995 ‰ qualify as investment gold and are exempt from VAT on purchase (Directive 2006/112/EC). This distinguishes gold fundamentally from silver, platinum and palladium, on which 18% VAT (the Malta standard rate) is charged on purchase.
On disposal at a gain, Malta levies no capital gains tax on private disposals of movable assets such as precious metals; Maltese capital gains tax applies only to specific assets (immovable property, securities, business interests). There is no German-style speculation period. Note: this is not tax advice — for your individual situation please contact a tax adviser. Sources: cfr.gov.mt, legislation.mt, eur-lex.europa.eu.
On cash purchases of precious metals, customer identification obligations under the anti-money laundering rules apply once the relevant cash threshold is reached.
Premium and cost efficiency
The smaller the bar, the higher the percentage premium (agio) over the pure spot price. A 1 g bar may trade at a 20–35% surcharge, a 1 kg bar typically only 1–3%. For cost-conscious investors it is therefore worth buying the largest units possible — provided liquidity and storage allow. You will find the current gold rate and the resulting calculations in the Gold Calculator.
Storage
Gold bars can be kept at home (a safe, ideally walled-in or anchored), in a bank safe deposit box or in a specialised precious metal depository (bonded warehouse). Each option has different cost and risk profiles. For home storage, household contents insurance with an explicit precious metal clause is advisable.
In brief
Gold bars with 999.9 ‰ fineness are the purest and, in large denominations, the most cost-efficient form of physical gold investment — VAT-exempt, with no Maltese capital gains tax on private disposals, and verifiable for authenticity with established methods.