The smallest commercially available gold bar is the 1 gram bar with a fineness of 999.9. This bar is often used as a symbolic gift or bought by private individuals who want to have a small bar in their possession in order to be able to pay small amounts with gold in an emergency. Especially to be able to pay for small purchases in an emergency, the table bars of 5, 8, 10, 12, 20, 25, 50 or 100 grams are an interesting alternative to single 1 gram bars.

Even if there are a few rather exotic small bars or coins with an even lower weight, the advantage of the 1 gram bar is that it is available from many manufacturers, in this purity grade of 999.9 and with special security features and even as a fair trade version.

Who produces 1 gram bars

Various refiners produce 1 gram gold bars, in Switzerland for example these:

Argor-Heraeus

Metalor

Pamp

Valcambi

Px Precinox

These refineries also produce the bars that are sold by various banks under their own brand. The bars of the ZKB, for example, come from Argor-Heraeus.

How 1 gram bars are made

After raw gold or recycled gold has been refined to a fineness of 999.9, long gold strips are made from it. In a further step, 1 gram plates are punched out of these gold bands, which are then stamped with the necessary embossing.

In contrast to larger bars, these small bars are not cast.

The purity of the 1 gram bars

The refineries in Switzerland today actually only produce 999.9 gold bars. Even a purity of 999 is still often found on the market. The exotic fineness 999.5 exists, but is more common with platinum.

995 is the lowest purity that just meets the LBMA's Good Delivery Standard, which is why no bars are produced below this purity. The purity of 995 for bars is the lowest that is still exempt from VAT under the Federal VAT Ordinance. Bars with a fineness lower than 995 are subject to VAT.

What are the security features

1 gram bars are sold sealed in plastic, so-called blisters. The certificates are also sealed in the blisters. When buying precious metals, you should generally make sure that the certificates are still present and that the blisters are sealed.

The Kinebar from Argor-Heraeus is supposed to be particularly forgery-proof because it has a full-surface laser engraving on the back.

The price of 1 gram gold bars

Of course, the price of 1 gram gold bars is also based on the gold price on the stock exchange. Since the production steps and for a punched hundred gram bar are the same as for a one gram bar, the price premium is of course proportionally much higher. This is the reason why the one gram bar is a rather unattractive size for buyers. However, with its high spread, it is still suitable as a symbolic gift.

Buy and sell 1 gram gold bars

The 1 gram gold bar is very common and popular. For this reason it is easy to trade with it. 1 gram gold bars can easily be bought and sold on premesec.ch

Picture reference: goldbarren_1g_blister.png Copyright: Austrian Mint