A gold bar is worth its weight in pure gold, and with gold at about $4,000 a troy ounce, a 1 oz bar of 999.9 fine gold holds $4,000 of metal as of late 2026, a 10 gram bar about $1,286 and a 1 kilo bar about $128,600. Retail prices sit above that: roughly 1-4 percent over spot for a 1 oz bar from a known refiner such as PAMP, Valcambi or the Perth Mint, under about 1.5 percent for a kilo, and roughly 8-25 percent for a 1 gram bar, with PAMP Fortuna bars at the top. When you sell, most bullion dealers pay close to spot for a sealed, name-brand bar, typically from a few percent under spot up to about spot, and less for small gram bars or bars that are out of their packaging.
Gold moves every day, and in mid October 2026 it traded around $4,100-4,200, so check a live quote and scale the figures in this guide. The other things that decide what a bar brings are its size, its refiner, whether it is still sealed in its assay card, and whether it is genuine.
Quick answer
- Melt value at $4,000 gold: 1 g about $129, 10 g about $1,286, 1 oz $4,000, 100 g about $12,860, 1 kg about $128,600.
- Retail premium over spot: 1 g bars roughly 8-25%, 5-10 g bars roughly 5-15%, 1 oz 1-4%, 10 oz and kilo about 1-3%.
- Dealers typically buy sealed name-brand bars from a few percent under spot to about spot.
- Bars stamped "layered", "clad" or "plated" contain almost no gold and are souvenirs.
How to identify and value a gold bar, step by step
- Read the stamp. A real bullion bar shows the refiner's name or logo, the weight (1 oz, 10 g, 100 g, 1 kg), the fineness, usually 999.9 or 999.99, and on most bars a serial number. Swiss bars from PAMP, Valcambi and Argor-Heraeus usually also carry the words ESSAYEUR FONDEUR, the assayer and melter's mark.
- Check for warning words. "Layered", "clad", "plated", "GP", "HGE", "1 mil" or "1/1000" mean a thin gold coating over base metal. These souvenir bars are worth a few dollars at most. A bar with no refiner name and no fineness should be treated as unknown until tested.
- Note whether it is minted or cast. Minted bars are struck from blanks, have sharp edges and polished designs, and usually come sealed in a plastic assay card. Cast bars are poured into molds, with rounded edges and a slightly rippled surface, and are stamped by hand or machine.
- Check the assay card if there is one. The serial number on the card should match the serial on the bar. The card should be sealed, undamaged and show the refiner's branding, weight and fineness, with a signature or assayer statement.
- Weigh it. A 1 oz bar weighs 31.10 grams; a 10 g bar 10.00 grams; a 100 g bar 100.0 grams. A gold bar outside its card should weigh exactly what is stamped, within a few hundredths of a gram on small bars.
- Measure it against the refiner's published dimensions. Gold is so dense that a fake of the right weight usually comes out too thick or too wide. A caliper and the spec sheet on the refiner's website are enough to catch most fakes.
- Multiply the gold content by spot. One troy ounce is 31.1035 grams. A 50 g bar holds 1.6075 oz; a 100 g bar 3.2151 oz; a kilo 32.1507 oz.
- Get buy quotes. Ask two or three bullion dealers for their buy price on that exact bar: brand, size, and whether it is sealed. Compare against spot.
Gold bar values by size
Melt values at $4,000 gold. Retail premiums are typical ranges from bullion price trackers and dealer listings in mid to late 2026; they change with demand and differ by dealer.
| Size | Pure gold | Melt at $4,000 | Typical retail premium | Typical retail price | What dealers typically pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 gram | 0.0322 oz | About $129 | Roughly 8-25%, highest for PAMP Fortuna | About $140-160 | Below melt is common for single gram bars |
| 5 grams | 0.1608 oz | About $643 | Roughly 5-15% | About $675-740 | Near melt or a little under |
| 10 grams | 0.3215 oz | About $1,286 | Roughly 5-15% | About $1,350-1,480 | Near melt or a little under |
| 1 oz | 1.000 oz | $4,000 | 1-4% | About $4,040-4,160 | About $3,900-4,000 |
| 50 grams | 1.6075 oz | About $6,430 | Roughly 2-4% | About $6,560-6,690 | Near melt |
| 100 grams | 3.2151 oz | About $12,860 | Roughly 1-3% | About $13,000-13,250 | Near melt |
| 10 oz | 10.000 oz | $40,000 | About 1-3% | About $40,400-41,200 | Near melt |
| 1 kilo | 32.1507 oz | About $128,600 | About 1-1.5% | About $129,900-130,500 | Near melt, sometimes a test is required |
The pattern is simple: the smaller the bar, the bigger the premium, because making and packaging a 1 gram bar costs nearly as much as making a 1 oz bar. That premium does not come back when you sell. A 1 gram bar bought for $160 may fetch $120-128 at a dealer, so the small bars are good gifts and poor investments.
Brands and what they mean for price
Bars from refiners on the London Bullion Market Association's Good Delivery list are the easiest to sell. Common names include:
| Refiner | Where | Typical bars | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PAMP Suisse | Switzerland | Minted Lady Fortuna bars in assay cards, 1 g to 100 g and up | Newer bars use Veriscan, which lets a phone app match the bar's surface to PAMP's records |
| Valcambi | Switzerland | Minted bars in assay cards, cast bars, CombiBars that snap into 1 g pieces | Also made the Credit Suisse bars found in many older holdings |
| Perth Mint | Australia | Minted bars in assay cards and cast bars | Government owned |
| Royal Canadian Mint | Canada | Minted and cast bars | |
| Argor-Heraeus, Heraeus | Switzerland, Germany | Minted and cast bars | |
| Rand Refinery | South Africa | Minted 1 oz bars | Also sold through Costco with PAMP bars |
Between these brands, premiums usually differ by a percent or two, with PAMP minted bars often a little higher. When you sell, any of them is accepted at close to spot. Vintage bars from Engelhard and Johnson Matthey trade like other bullion and sometimes draw a small collector premium. Unbranded bars, bars from small private mints, and bars that have left their assay cards are still worth their gold, but many dealers will want to test them first, and some pay a little less.
Our guide to Krugerrand value covers the most common gold bullion coin, and US gold coins covers old American gold, which works the same way: gold content first, then premium.
Fakes and how they are caught
Fake gold bars are a real problem, especially small PAMP-style bars and bars sold far below spot online or at markets. Most are gold-plated brass or copper and fail the simplest tests. The better ones use tungsten, which has almost the same density as gold, 19.25 against 19.32 grams per cubic centimeter, so a tungsten-core bar can weigh right.
| Check | What it catches | What it misses |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp reads "layered", "clad" or "plated" | Souvenir bars | Nothing; read the stamp first |
| Weight and dimensions together | Most brass, copper and lead fakes | Well-made tungsten cores |
| Magnet | Steel and iron cores | Brass, copper and tungsten, none of which stick |
| Assay card serial matches bar, Veriscan scan | Many counterfeit PAMP packages | Fakes in genuine-looking cards |
| Dealer's electronic verifier or ultrasound | Tungsten cores and plating | Rarely misses on a standard bar |
Counterfeit assay cards are made too, so a sealed card is not proof by itself. Our guides on how to tell if gold is real and how to tell if a gold coin is real cover the home tests in more detail and the ones that mislead.
A worked example
Say you inherit two gold bars from a parent's safe. One is a PAMP Suisse 1 oz Lady Fortuna bar sealed in its assay card, with the serial on the card matching the bar. The other is a small cast bar stamped VALCAMBI SUISSE, 10 g, 999.9, with a serial number, loose in an envelope with no card.
The PAMP bar holds one troy ounce. At $4,000 gold it is worth $4,000 in metal, and a bullion dealer would typically offer about $3,900-4,000 for it, sealed and undamaged. The Valcambi bar holds 0.3215 oz, about $1,286 of gold. It is genuine-looking, but it has no card, so the dealer weighs it, measures it and runs it through an electronic verifier before paying. A typical offer would be near melt or a little under, perhaps $1,200-1,280.
The pair is worth roughly $5,100-5,300 at $4,000 gold. If gold is at $4,150 on the day you sell, add about 4 percent. The order of work is: read the stamps, weigh, compare with spot, then call two dealers.
Common mistakes
- Buying or keeping a "gold bar" marked layered or clad. It is a souvenir with a trace of gold.
- Expecting to sell a 1 gram bar for what you paid. The premium is lost on resale.
- Opening the assay card. It makes the bar harder to sell and invites testing. Leave it sealed.
- Trusting a sealed card alone. Counterfeit cards exist. Buy from known dealers and check the serial.
- Relying on a magnet. Gold is not magnetic, but neither are brass, copper and tungsten.
- Selling to the first buyer. Pawn shops and storefront gold buyers often pay well below a bullion dealer's bid. Compare at least two quotes against live spot.
- Scratching or acid-testing the bar. It damages the surface and only tests the outside.
How WorthPic reads gold bar photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. For a gold bar it reads the refiner's name and logo, the stated weight and fineness, the serial number and the type of bar, minted or cast, and checks the assay card for matching details. It flags warning words like layered or clad and features that do not match the refiner's known designs. It then gives the gold content and an honest value range based on spot. What it cannot know from a photo is what is inside the bar: weight, density and metal under the surface need a scale, a caliper and a dealer's verifier. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.
What to photograph
- The front of the bar straight on, with the stamp sharp and readable.
- The back, which on many minted bars carries the design or a second mark.
- The assay card front and back, showing the serial and the seal.
- The serial number on the bar close up, so it can be compared with the card.
- The bar on a digital scale, with the reading in grams visible, if it is loose.
- The edges of a cast bar.
When to get it looked at in person
Any bar you plan to sell needs a bullion dealer's eye, and most dealers will test a loose bar in minutes with an electronic verifier. For a large bar, a kilo or several 10 oz bars, or anything without a refiner name, a dealer with an XRF or ultrasonic tester, or a refinery, settles it for real. If the bar was bought from a dealer, check whether that dealer publishes a buy price; many do, and it is a good benchmark. For a broader look at gold jewelry and scrap, see is my old jewelry real gold.