Buy gold bars for your investment portfolio
If you're looking for a way to invest money into gold and get the lowest price per ounce, there's no better way of doing that than buying gold bars.
Coins sure are more attractive than gold ingots, but all that manufacturing significantly jacks up the price. With that said, that doesn't mean that gold ingots don't come in different shapes, sizes, and designs. Just one quick look at our extensive collection will prove that.
Unlike coins, gold bars are a staple of the industry—everyone from your average Joe to central banks buying and storing them. You simply can't go wrong buying gold bars!
A short history of gold bars
The first mention of a gold bar can be tracked down to a historical record of one Tacitus and his Annals, Book XVI. In this book, he references a story told by Cesellius Bassus in which he claimed to know the whereabouts of shapeless golden ingots to win the favor of Emperor Nero.
Although the gold was never found, this story shows that ingots where a known commodity in pre-Roman times, but most likely not in the bar shape we know today. Ingots where the earliest type of gold bars and they where made from melted gold poured into clay molds.
Nowadays, most of the world's gold is mined in Africa, but during the 18th century, the foremost gold producer was Brasil. In the literature of that period, we can find references to gold mining and gold bars. The mined gold from Brasil has been transported to London, where it was probably melted and poured into molds.
These documents don't describe the size nor the purity of these bars, merely the total value of the gold bullion. This indicates that these gold bars have not been in a standard size.
The first official gold reserves were created by the Bank of England. The mined gold was minted into guineas, which in those days where the standard gold currency coin. However, by the end of the 18th century, gold became extremely scarce, so it was taken out of circulation. It was either exported or used to fund military operations.
The exact origins of today's standard gold bars are unknown. What can be said with certainty is that the Bank of England was the one that made the standard gold bar popular.
Why buy gold bars?
Although gold isn't used as a currency today, it's value makes it superior to any other currency. Gold promises a long-term store of value. Compared to other major currencies like the Mark, Yen, ECU, and Euro, which dropped its value throughout the years, this precious metal has not depreciated.
One of the main reasons why people like purchasing gold bars is because their premiums are so low that they're almost nonexistent. You can find bars that cost less than $1 over spot price. This is much lower than gold bullion coins that sometimes cost as much as five dollars over the spot price.
With gold, you can do something that you can't with almost no other investment, and that is holding it in your hands. It can withstand fire, water, and even the passage of time, which makes it ideal for long-term wealth preservation.
What's more, you can convert it into cash whenever you want and you can do that almost everywhere in the world. Since it's a precious metal, the price of gold won't drop, but most likely go up in the coming years. Because it outlasted every major currency throughout history, it can be expected that history will repeat itself in the future.
You may struggle with deciding whether to invest in gold bars or gold coins. It's recommended to choose a gold bar because it's less expensive than a gold coin. With gold coins, you're paying more just for their appeal. That is because coins have an intricate design, that requires greater labor and machining costs.
Another fantastic thing about gold bars is that they are much easier to store than gold coins. A gold bar will take up much less space than the same number of ounces in coins. If we take a look into history books, we can find out that gold bars were originally designed in that form for the ease of storage.
What Gold Bar Size Is The Right Choice For You?
If you didn't already know, gold bullion bars come in many sizes. You can buy a gold bar that weighs as little as one gram, or, if you have a high net worth, you can go for the granddad of all gold bars, the 400 oz gold bullion bar.
Before you set out and start looking for gold bars to purchase, figure out in what size you're going to purchase them. And, unfortunately, when it comes, bars made out of precious metals, bigger isn't always necessarily better. Generally speaking, the heavier the bar, the smaller the premium.
Why is that? It's only logical that a massive gold bar should represent a better investment. Well, big gold bullion bars aren't as divisible as smaller ones. When you sell a big gold bar, you are liquidating a massive portion of your investment.
This is why it's more piratical to purchase a gold bar that is smaller so you can later trade it in for the exact amount of cash you need.
What's more, you won't be able to sell a large gold bar as easily as you would a small one. There are very few investors that can afford a 100-ounce gold bullion bar. On the other hand, most precious metals resellers will happily purchase your 10 or 20-ounce bars.
This doesn't mean you should refrain from buying a gold bar that is 100 ounces plus in weight. The larger the gold bar the smaller the premium, which means you're getting a better price per ounce. Still, you are losing all other advantages. You will find an investor that can purchase a large bar, provided that they have a couple of bars denominated in smaller weights.
Even though smaller gold bullion bars have a higher premium, they're more affordable than let's say a 50-ounce bar. And owning a bit of gold is still better than owning no gold.
How To Authenticate Gold Bars
Another essential thing you need to pay attention to when purchasing gold bars is the brand. Before you make the final move, make sure the bar has proper stamping and a recognized hallmark.
A reputable gold bar should have its weight, purity, refiner, and registration number stamped on it. It's paramount that the bar your purchasing has this information stamped in because otherwise, you're going to have a tough time selling it.
And if you end up purchasing a bar that doesn't have a stamp on it, another way of ensuring it's reputable is by its hallmark. A hallmark refers to the brand or the refiner of the bar. You want to buy gold bars with a well-recognized hallmark, so you don't have any issues selling them later.
Here at Pacific Precious Metals, we guarantee all our gold bars come from reputable mints and refiners. You can find bars from the Royal Canadian Mint, Valcambi Suisse, and Perth Mint.
Of course, at Pacific Precious Metals, you can also find a couple of generic brand gold bars. And since these are less well-known brands, they are an excellent investment because they have a lower premium than popular brands.
Where Can I Purchase A Gold Bar
Now that you're familiar with gold bars, only one question remains. That question is where to buy gold bar?
While there are a few banks that offer gold bars for sale, their number is getting smaller by day. Most banks these days use precious metals as reserves in case things go south. This is why your best choice of finding gold bars to buy is the Internet.
Although here at Pacific Precious Metals, we have a brick and mortar shop, a great deal of our sales is done via the Internet. This way, you can do all your investing from the comfort of your home. We understand that you might be a bit skeptical when it comes to investing in gold bars over the Internet, but there's no reason to worry.
We ship all our products via the US Postal Service Priority or Express Mail, and we also use USP and FedEx. And even if the box of precious metals gets lost in transit, we will file an insurance claim so we can reship you your order or give you a full refund.
If you're still unsure about our credibility, you can always check the Pacific Precious Metals Better Business Bureau or the Yelp page.
Our Collection Of Gold Bars
We offer gold bullion bars in many mints and refiners including Perth Mint and PAMP. Of course, if you're looking for small gold bars that have a lower premium, we also offer generic gold bullion bars.
Here are some of the most popular gold bars, based on our experience and customer preference:
Royal Canadian Mint Gold Bars
Royal Canadian Mint has a 100-year long history of refining precious metals. It all began in 1908. when Ottawa Branch commissioned this company to produce its very first gold coin, Since then, this mint has made monumental strides in refining technology and is considered today as one of the most technically advanced refineries in the world.
We currently have in offer 1oz Royal Canadian Mint gold bars. These bars contain 1 Troy Ounce of .9999 fine gold, so you can rest assured you won't have any problems selling them for a hefty price.
One of the things this mint is famous for is their superior security features, which means it's almost impossible to counterfeit their gold bars. On top of that, thanks to this company's superb refining technology, each bar of precious metal they produce have a quality feel and finish and feature beautiful designs.
While these 1 oz bars do have a high premium, since they weigh only 1 oz you won't have many troubles selling them to anyone at the same price you bought it.
PAMP Gold Bars
Next time you decide to gift cash to someone you care about, why not gift them a bar of gold. While gold bars aren't known for intricate designs, there are quite a few refineries that make fantastic looking bars. One of these companies is PAMP.
PAMP was established in 1977 in Switzerland, and thanks to its commitment to producing high-purity precious metals with beautiful designs, it quickly rose to status as a well-respected precious metal refinery. PAMP gold bars are extremely popular among investors because of their purity, high-quality minting, and liquidity.
This 1oz PAMP Gold Bar contains 1 oz of .9999 fine gold and features a beautiful design of the Goddess Fortuna on the back. So, if you gift this bar to someone you care about, you're not just giving them a piece of gold, you're also gifting them good luck because Fortuna is the goddess of fortune and good luck.
While these gold bars do have a hefty premium, thanks to PAMP's reputation, you won't have any trouble selling them for the same price you bought them or even higher. At the end of the day, the price of the bar is dictated by the global market.
Gold bars are timeless
No matter what happens in the world, be it recession or war, you can rest assured that gold will retain its value. Gold will always have a stable price which is why people like to invest their money into gold bars.
The price of gold will eventually drop once humanity figures out a way to mine asteroids. But, we're still far away from that happening. For now, you can rest assured that your gold investment won't drop in price for a long time.
If you're interested in buying gold, you can check out our catalog.
If you have any questions, please let us know - either send us a note here or call us at 415-383-7411! We provide free expert consultations for anyone interested - get your questions answered and doubts removed!
Furthermore, you can visit us at Sausalito, Fremont, Palo Alto and Walnut Creek - we cover the Bay area with these four stores at the time.
Pacific Precious Metals offers a variety of gold bars that you can get both online and in-person
If you're in the San Francisco Bay Area, don't hesitate to visit us and get the best offer today!
Have a question or concern about buying gold bullion?
Get a free consultation with an expert - call 415-383-7411
You can also send us a note on our website and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
