A gold bar, also called gold bullion or gold ingot, is a quantity of refined metallic

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

of any shape that is made by a bar producer meeting standard conditions of manufacture, labeling, and record keeping. Larger gold bars that are produced by pouring the molten metal into molds are called

ingot An ingot is a piece of relatively pure material, usually metal, that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing. In steelmaking, it is the first step among semi-finished casting products. Ingots usually require a second procedure of s ...

s. Smaller bars may be manufactured by minting or stamping from appropriately rolled gold sheets. The standard gold bar held as gold reserves by

central bank A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is an institution that manages the currency and monetary policy of a country or monetary union, and oversees their commercial banking system. In contrast to a commercial bank, a centra ...

s and traded among bullion dealers is the Good Delivery gold bar. The kilobar, which is in mass, and a 100 troy ounce gold bar are the bars that are more manageable and are used extensively for trading and investment. The premium on these bars when traded is very low over the spot value of the gold, making it ideal for small transfers between banks and traders. Most kilobars are flat, although some investors, particularly in Europe, prefer the brick shape.

Types

Based upon how they are manufactured, gold bars are categorized as having been

cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William ...

or minted, with both differing in their appearance and price. Cast bars are created in a similar method to that of

s, whereby

molten Melting, or fusion, is a physical process that results in the phase transition of a substance from a solid to a liquid. This occurs when the internal energy of the solid increases, typically by the application of heat or pressure, which i ...

gold is poured into a bar-shaped mold and left to solidify. This process often leads to malformed bars with uneven surfaces which, although imperfect, make each bar unique and easier to identify. Cast bars are also cheaper than minted bars, because they are quicker to produce and require less handling. Minted bars are made from gold blanks that have been cut to a required dimension from a flat piece of gold. These are identified by having smooth and even surfaces.

Security features

To prevent bars from being counterfeited or stolen, manufacturers have developed ways to verify genuine bars, with the most common way being to brand bars with registered serial numbers or providing a certificate of authenticity. In a recent trend, many refineries would stamp serial numbers even on the smallest bars, and the number on the bar should match the number on its accompanying certificate. In contrast to cast bars (which are often handled directly), minted bars are generally sealed in protective packaging to prevent tampering and keep them from becoming damaged. A hologram security feature known as a Kinegram can also be inserted into the packaging. Bars that contain these are called

Kinebar A kinebar is a gold bar which contains a hologram to protect its authenticity. Kinebars use a hologram called a "Kinegram", a diffractive optically variable image device (DOVID) which is embossed into the gold substrate. "Kinegram" is a trademark ...

s. File:Kinebar3.jpg, 1 oz diffractive

kinebar A kinebar is a gold bar which contains a hologram to protect its authenticity. Kinebars use a hologram called a "Kinegram", a diffractive optically variable image device (DOVID) which is embossed into the gold substrate. "Kinegram" is a trademark ...

File:Gold Ingot 100g Perth Mint.JPG, Bar in protective casing

Standard bar weight units

Gold is measured in

troy ounce Troy weight is a system of units of mass that originated in 15th-century England, and is primarily used in the precious metals industry. The troy weight units are the grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy ounce (20 pennyweights), and ...

s, often simply referred to as ounces when the reference to gold is evident. . Commonly encountered in daily life is the avoirdupois ounce, an Imperial weight in countries still using British weights and measures or

United States customary units United States customary units form a system of Units of measurement, measurement units commonly used in the United States and Territories of the United States, U.S. territories since being standardized and adopted in 1832. The United States cust ...

. The avoirdupois ounce is lighter than the troy ounce; . The standard gold bar held and traded internationally by central banks and bullion dealers is the '' Good Delivery'' bar with a nominal weight. However, its precise gold content is permitted to vary between and . The minimum purity required is 99.5% gold. These bars must be stored in recognized and secure gold bullion vaults to maintain their quality status of Good Delivery. The recorded

provenance Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...

of this bar assures integrity and maximum resale value. * One tonne = 1,000 kilograms = 32,150.746 troy ounces. * One kilogram = 1,000 grams = 32.15074656 troy ounces. * One tola = 11.6638038 grams = 0.375 troy ounces. * One

tael Tael (),"Tael" entry
at the metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the definition of the Intern ...

. In Taiwan and Hong Kong, a tael is equivalent to 37.429 g. * TT (ten tola) = 117 grams (3.75 oz) Tola is a traditional Indian measure for the weight of gold and prevalent to this day. Many international gold manufacturers supply tola bars of 999.96 purity.

Manufacturers

Largest gold bar

The world's largest gold bar stands at , measuring at the base and high with 5 degree draft angle (equal to ). It was manufactured by the Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, a subsidiary of

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 187 ...

. It went on display at the Toi Gold Museum on 11 July 2005. Its gold content was valued in 2005 at 400 million yen (approximately US$3,684,000 at the time). , it is worth approximately US$16.1M, not accounting for the premium associated with being the world's largest gold bar.

Explanatory notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gold Bar

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (un ...

Gold objects