Gram Gold Bars

Gold bars come in all shapes and sizes. After all, they don’t have to conform to any precise measurements like gold coins do.

Gold bars don’t have to be measured using standard or imperial units. A wide variety of gold bars, from 1-gram bars to kilograms, are sold in grams.

Provident Metals has many different options for those wishing to buy their gold bars in gram denominations. This page is your starting point for buying gram-weighted gold bars.

Popular Gram Gold Bar Producers

Three producers stand out as the most popular options. There is no denying that quite a few precious metals investors turn to Valcambi, PAMP Suisse, or Sunshine Mint on the regular.

• Valcambi – Valcambi is a venerable Swiss refiner and has been offering its products around the world since 1961. It is one of two refiners to offer gram gold bars in almost every single weight between 1 gram and 1 kilogram, including lesser-used weights like 2.5 grams, 250 grams, and 500 grams.
• PAMP Suisse – PAMP Suisse has been one of the biggest names in precious metals since its debut in 1977. Like its fellow Swiss refiner, it is the other refiner to offer nearly every single gram weight, from 1 gram up to 1 kilogram.
• Sunshine Mint – The third of the most popular mints is located right here in the USA. Sunshine Mint has been refining precious metals in Idaho since 1979, and offers 1 gram, 5 gram, and 10 gram bars for customers who prefer the metric system.

Types of Gram Gold Bars

As you peruse the different options for gram gold bars, you’ll notice that there is quite a bit of variation in terms of price and shape for them. Some of them seem to have sharp edges, while others are more rounded. There may also be terminology that doesn’t immediately ring any bells. So, let’s talk about the different types of gram gold bars that you’ll find:

• Cast – A cast gold bar is a bar that was created using the oldest and best-known technique for making a gold bar. Molten gold is poured into a mold and is allowed to cool or is cooled manually. The manner in which the gold sets is often unique and indicative of its refiner’s process. Cast bars tend to have a matte finish, rather than a glossy one. These bars usually have rounded and smooth edges.
• Minted ingot – A minted ingot is a gold bar produced using a very similar procedure to the one that creates gold coins. A large blank or planchet of gold is stamped into a bar using hydraulic pressure, rather than heat. The result is a rather shiny bar that has sharp edges and corner angles. Because of their appearance and creation process, minted ingots tend to be slightly more expensive than cast gold bars.
• Combibar – A combibar is a type of gold bar made specifically by Valcambi. With this type of bar, you still get the prescribed amount of grams of gold, but in a manner that one or more smaller bars may be broken off the original bar. In other words, a combibar is the Kit Kat of gold bars. These bars are a great choice for those who want to give gold to others as gifts or who plan to trade smaller denominations for gold.
• Kinebar – A kinebar is a specially-designed gold bar produced by Argor Heraeus that has a unique security feature. On the reverse, or back, of the bar is a kinegram, an embossed holographic image that reflects different colors of light depending on the angle at which it is viewed. In addition to being beautiful, kinegrams allow Argor customers an extra layer of defense against counterfeiting.

Other descriptors

There are two other bits of information that you’ll notice when you shop for gram-weight gold bars. The first thing is the purity mark.

Many refiners stamp a purity statement into the bar to indicate its metallic composition. Generally speaking, most gold bars are minted to be .999 fine, or 99.9% pure. Some bars may have purities higher than that – notably, the Royal Canadian Mint and the Perth Mint (Australia) insist their bars be 99.99% pure.

The second thing you’ll notice is that many bars are advertised “with assay.” An assay is a purity test performed on the bar by an independent entity. The assayer certifies that the bar is, indeed, as pure as it purports to be and establishes a record of its examination. The details of this examination are summarized on an assay card, which accompanies the gold bar as part of its purchase.

Why Buy Gram Gold Bars?

Gram gold bars give you greater flexibility for buying high-quality gold products with a limited budget. There are roughly 31 grams in each ounce of gold, and you can pick up the smallest bars for less than $200 – a bargain, considering the record-breaking prices gold has achieved in recent times. Want to see what’s driving those prices? Visit our gold spot price page for a real-time look at the market and recent trends.

You are also more likely to find options like combibars within the metric system due to the relative sizes of the two systems’ smallest units. The smallest imperial unit for a gold bar is the 1/10 oz, but 1/10 oz is still more than 3 times the mass of a 1 gram bar. Thus, you are more likely to find novel presentations for gold bars within the gram-based versions.

Finally, gram gold bars may be a good option because, as it turns out, the imperial ounces aren’t the ones in use with gold. Instead, precious metals are weighed using the troy system, in which the ounce is roughly 11% heavier and is a much bigger question mark for most people. The gram, though less known, is the same gram in all applications.

Buying Gram Gold Bars from Provident Metals

Needless to say, Provident Metals has a large selection and variety when it comes to gold bars weighed in grams. We have high-quality bars in every size between 1 gram and 1 kilogram.If you’d like to start a purchase, you can use our automated system and shopping cart to buy your bars. Alternatively, you can also reach out to us 24 hours a day via email (help@providentmetals.com) or the live chat button at the bottom right of every page. You can even call us at (800) 313-3315 if you like, though our counselors are only available via phone Monday through Friday, 8 am – 6 pm CST.