Gold Bar Questions Answered
Values on this page use gold spot at $4,197.40/oz · updated
These are the questions readers ask most often, in plain words, with a link to the full guide behind each answer. Nothing here is advice about what to buy or when. It is general information, written from the pages banks, Costco and the regulators publish, and from the live gold price of $4,197.40 per troy ounce. Where a fact depends on a company's own page, the answer says so, because those pages change. If something here conflicts with what a bank or dealer tells you today, trust the company's current written terms, and ask for them in writing before any money moves.
Banks
Can I buy gold bars at my bank?
Probably not at a large US bank. We found no page on Bank of America's, Chase's or Wells Fargo's site offering gold bars for sale, though CBS News says some banks sell bars and coins without naming any. Ask your branch directly, and read can you buy gold from a bank for the questions to put to them.
Which banks sell gold bars?
Outside the US the list is longer. CIBC's own page lists 1 oz and 1 kg bars, and the Royal Canadian Mint's page says TD, RBC and BMO sell too, while Scotiabank stopped in 2021. Raiffeisen Switzerland and Commerzbank in Germany describe bars on their pages. The full dated table is on banks that sell gold bars.
Do banks buy gold bars back?
It depends on the bank and the bar. One Canadian bank, CIBC, ties any buy-back to proof of purchase, the bar's condition, and whether it still sells that product. Many other banks say nothing about it at all. Get any buy-back promise in writing before you pay, as explained in whether banks buy gold bars back.
Is gold in a safe deposit box insured?
The FDIC says a safe deposit box is not a deposit account, so its contents are not covered by FDIC deposit insurance, and banks generally do not insure them either. Check your home or renter's policy and ask an insurance agent. The details are in gold bars in a safe deposit box.
Costco and other places to buy
Does Costco sell gold bars?
Yes, through its website and for members only. Two examples among the listings we checked were a PAMP Suisse bar of one ounce and an Argor-Heraeus bar of ten grams. Each product page states its own purchase limit and shipping terms, and those terms change, so read the live page. Our full walk-through is Costco gold bars.
Can I return a gold bar to Costco?
Costco's return policy page lists precious metals as non-refundable, and its product pages say the same. A trade source says Costco does not buy bars back either, so plan on selling to a dealer or another buyer later. Compare that with your other options before you order.
Where should I buy a gold bar?
The usual places are a local coin shop, an online bullion dealer, a phone dealer, Costco, or a bank in the few places where banks sell. Each trades off price, buy-back and convenience. Where to buy gold bars compares them and shows where Augusta Precious Metals fits.
Can I buy a single bar from Augusta?
Probably not. Augusta states a $50,000 minimum for cash and IRA purchases, which is about 11.9 ounces of gold at today's price, far more than one bar. The button on this site requests a free information kit, and Augusta then calls you. Read the honest-fit section on the where-to-buy page first.
How do I buy a gold bar step by step?
Pick a size, find the spot price, ask the seller for its price in writing, compare that price with spot times weight, ask about buy-back and delivery, pay by a traceable method, and check the bar when it arrives. How to buy gold bars walks through each step with the price checker.
Prices and sizes
How much is a gold bar worth today?
At the live price, a 1 oz bar holds $4,197.40 of gold and a 10 oz bar holds $41,974. That is the metal's value at spot, before any seller's premium. What you pay is higher, and what a buyer pays you is usually lower, as shown on how much a gold bar is worth.
What does a gold bar cost?
The price is the spot value of its gold plus a premium the seller sets, so it differs by seller, size and day. We print no premium for any seller. Use the table and checker on gold bar price to turn any quote into dollars and percent over spot.
How much does a 1 oz gold bar weigh?
A 1 oz gold bar holds one troy ounce, which is 31.1035 grams, 9.7 percent heavier than a regular ounce. Bar sizes run from 1 gram to a 400 ounce bank bar. See 1 oz gold bar and gold bar weight for the full size ladder.
What is a kilo gold bar worth?
A 1 kilo bar holds 32.1507 troy ounces, which is $134,950 of gold at today's spot price. Banks that sell bars in Canada and Europe often list this size. Premiums and storage differ from a 1 oz bar, covered on 1 kilo gold bar.
Checking a bar and this site
Two questions come up after the buying questions: how to be sure what arrives is genuine, and how far to trust the numbers on a page like this one. Both have short answers, and both depend on checking a source yourself instead of taking anyone's word, including ours.
How do I know a gold bar is real?
Start with the seller, then look for sealed assay packaging, matching weight and size, and clear markings. A magnet cannot prove gold. If you doubt a bar, ask a dealer to test it before you pay or accept it. Our checklist is how to tell if a gold bar is real.
Is the gold price on this site live?
The page is rebuilt from fresh market data several times a day and shows the time it was last updated. If your browser runs scripts, the numbers re-tick each minute. With scripts off you still see the last rebuilt values and their time stamp. Start from the live gold price on the home page.
Where these answers come from
Bank answers come from each bank's own web pages, read on the dates shown in our tables, plus the Royal Canadian Mint's page for the Canadian banks whose own pages we could not read. Costco answers come from its precious metals pages and return policy. Price answers are arithmetic on the live spot price. Regulator points come from the CFTC, the FDIC and the IRS. None of it is a quote from a seller, and we print no seller's premium. Corrections are dated in each guide's update history, and the about page explains how we are paid.
Data sources: Spot price via api.gold-api.com · COMEX futures (GC=F) via Yahoo Finance. Prices are for informational purposes only and may be delayed. Figures on this page were generated . Gold is quoted in US dollars per troy ounce.