Gold bars

A gold bar, also called gold bullion or a gold ingot, is a quantity of refined metallic gold 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 ingots. Smaller bars may be manufactured by minting or stamping from appropriately rolled gold sheets. The standard gold bar held as gold reserves by central banks and traded among bullion dealers is the 400-troy-ounce (12.4 kg or 438.9 ounces) Good Delivery gold bar. The kilobar, which is 1000 grams in mass (32.15 troy ounces), is the bar that is more manageable and is 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.

Based upon how they are manufactured gold bars are categorised as having been cast or minted with both differing in their appearance and price. Cast bars are created in a similar method to that of ingots whereby molten 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 makes each bar unique and easier to identify. Cast bars are also cheaper compared those that are minted 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 a smooth and even surfaces.

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 most refineries serial numbers are only reserved for large bars (over 250g) with smaller ones having no serial number at all due to their small value.

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