The Most Affordable Gold Bars to Buy in 2024

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Investors are rushing to buy gold bars this year due to a combination of economic factors that have created uncertainty and concerns about the future, driving interest in safe-haven assets like gold.

As housing prices and mortgage rates have become inaccessible to first time home buyers, more millennials are shifting their focus to alternative stores of wealth, such as gold. Gold has long been viewed as a tangible asset that can store value effectively over time.

Since gold historically tends to maintain or increase in value during inflationary periods, many younger investors are turning to gold to protect their purchasing power in the long term for when housing becomes more affordable.

With high inflation and low rates from savings accounts, extra cash sitting in the bank is loosing purchasing power. By converting cash savings into fractional gold bars, investors can preserve wealth in a tangible asset that holds its value over time, providing financial stability in uncertain economic environments.

Many financial analysts, like JP Morgan, expect the price of gold to continue to rise over the next few years. Buying gold bars is buying a tangible asset that cannot be printed or manipulated by central banks.

While deals on Costco gold bars can be sometimes be appealing, it is often more practical to buy gold bars in smaller increments that are more easily affordable to buy on a regular basis. Fractional gold bars are made with less than an full ounce of gold, making them more affordable, but share the same characteristics as the larger sizes.

Fractional Gold Bars

Fractional gold bars are smaller-sized bars that weigh less than the standard 1-ounce bar. These are available in weights like 1 gram, 2.5 grams, 5 grams, 10 grams, and 20 grams.

PAMP Suisse 20 Gram Lady Fortuna Gold Bar
PAMP Suisse 20 Gram Lady Fortuna Gold Bar – Premium Range: 3-6%

These bars provide an accessible entry point into gold investing for those who may not be able to purchase larger quantities of gold in one go and retain all the benefits of gold as an investment but in smaller, more affordable units.

Fractional gold bars are manufactured by many of the worlds’s leading refineries, including PAMP Suisse, Valcambi Credit Suisse and the Perth Mint. Other less known brands include Argor-Heraeus, Istanbul Gold Refining and Asahi Refining.

All investment-grade gold bars are made from 24k gold that is refined to 99.99% purity.

Premiums Vs. Melt Value

The premium for buying fractional gold bars is generally higher than for larger bars, due to the increased cost of production, packaging, and distribution on a per-gram basis.

Smaller bars, such as 1 gram or 2.5 grams, typically carry a premium ranging from 15% to 35% over the spot price of gold.

Mid size bars, like the 5 gram have slightly lower premiums, 10% to 20% is common.

Larger fractional bars, like the 10 gram or 20 gram sizes have lower premiums and can be found for as low as 5% to 15%, as they are closer in size to the standard 1 oz gold bar.

Comparing Gold Bar Premiums

While fractional gold bars offer flexibility, their premiums are higher than those of larger bars. However, they are still favored by investors who want affordable, smaller increments of gold and liquidity for the future.

20 Gram Gold Bar Premium Chart

Each 20 Gram Gold Bar contains 0.643015 troy ounces of gold, roughly 2/3 of an ounce.

Valcambi 20 Gram Gold Bar in Assay Package
Valcambi 20 Gram Gold Bar in Assay Package – Typical Premiums 2.5%-5% over spot
BrandAverage Premiums over Spot
PAMP Suisse 20 g Bar 3%-6%
Valcambi 20 g bar2.5%-5%
Argor Heraeus 20 g Kinebar3.5%-7%
Britannia 20 g bar3.5%-7%
Geiger Edelmetalle 20 g bar4%-5%
Valcambi 20 g Combibar9%-15%
Secondary Market 20 g bars1.5%-4%
Chart Showing Average Dealer Premium over Spot Price for various brands of 20 Gram Gold Bar

10 Gram Gold Bar Premium Chart

Each 10 Gram Gold Bar contains 0.321507 ounces, roughly 1/3 of a troy ounce.

Britannia 10 gram gold bar
The Royal Mint Britannia 10 gram Gold Bar – Typical Premiums 3%-9% over spot
BrandAverage Premium over Spot
PAMP 10 g Lady Fortuna Bar5%-9%
Argor Heraeus 10 g Kinebar4.5%-8%
Britannia 10 g bar5%-9%
Perth Mint Kangaroo 10 g bar4%-8%
Secondary Market 10 g bar3%-7%
Valcambi 10 g bar4%-8%
Chart Showing Average Dealer Premium over Spot Price for various brands of 10 Gram Gold Bar

5 Gram Gold Bar Premium Chart

Each 5 gram gold bar contains 0.160754 ozt.

Perth Mint 5 gram Kangaroo Gold Bar
Perth Mint 5 gram Gold Bar in CertiCard Security Case Assay – Typical Premium Range 4.5%-12% over spot
BrandAverage Premium over Spot
Perth Mint 5 g bar5%-10%
PAMP 5 g bar7%-12%
Secondary Market 5 g bar4.5%-8%
Britannia 5 g bar8%-12%
Chart Showing Average Dealer Premium over Spot Price for various manufacturers of 5 Gram Gold Bar

1 Gram Gold Bar Premium Chart

Each 1 gram gold bar contains 0.0321507 ounces.

Argor Hereaus 1 gram Gold Bar
Argor Hereaus 1 gram Gold Bar – Typical Premium Range 15-30% over spot
BrandAverage Premium over Spot
Valcambi 1 g bar17%-25%
PAMP 1 g bar18%-30%
Britannia 1 g bar25%-30%
Secondary Market 1 g bar15%-25%
Perth Mint 1 g bar20%-25%
Chart Showing Average Dealer Premium over Spot Price for different manufacturers of 1 Gram Gold Bar

How to Buy the Cheapest Gold Bars

Finding the cheapest fractional gold bars requires a strategic approach to comparing prices across multiple dealers and using tools that offer transparency in premiums and market rates.

Websites like FindBullionPrices.com allow investors to compare real-time prices from multiple reputable dealers. By providing real-time price updates, this platform helps identify the lowest premiums over spot price for fractional gold bars, allowing users to find the lowest prices for gold bars by factoring in premiums and spot prices.

Additionally, Secondary market fractional gold bars can often be found at lower premiums than newly minted bars. These are previously owned bars that are still in excellent condition and may offer significant savings.

Many dealers offer discounts for certain payment methods, such as bank transfers, ACH and wire transfer payments. Always factor in shipping costs, which can vary between dealers and affect the overall price.

Purchasing larger quantities of fractional gold bars can sometimes lead to volume discounts, reducing the per-bar cost.

Using a combination of price comparison tools, secondary market opportunities, and bulk purchasing can help you find the cheapest fractional gold bars when you’re ready to invest.

In most cases, secondary market gold bars will have the lowest premiums and will over the best value to investors.

Divisible Gold Bars Can Help in Being Prepared

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Divisible gold bars are a popular solution for helping investors stay prepared for any financial emergency. These physical gold bars are a tangible asset that you can store at home alongside other valuables and are available from a variety of manufacturers in a variety of sizes and weights that can provide immediate liquidity.

Having fractional gold bars set aside is wise for financial preparedness because it offers a reliable and accessible reserve that can be used in times of need. Gold’s status as “real money” is backed by its physical properties, intrinsic value, and historical role as a medium of exchange and store of wealth, making it one of the most trusted assets to hold in uncertain times.

Gold is highly liquid and can be quickly and easily converted into cash, making it a practical asset to hold for emergency needs when quick access to funds is necessary.

Three of the leading precious metals refineries in Europe mint divisible gold bars that allow investors to break off the amount necessary if it becomes necessary to sell.

PAMP Suisse Multigram

The PAMP Suisse Multigram gold bars are especially suited for investors who appreciate the flexibility of smaller divisible units. They are also perfect as thoughtful, valuable gifts for special occasions.

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PAMP Suisse Multigram+25 Gold Bars

Each unit of gold is the same as every other unit and ensures that all gold of a particular weight and purity is valued the same.

In the Multigram+ series, multiple 1 gram bars are presented in a single sheet, where each bar is in its own compartment within a larger assay card. This card is perforated, allowing individual bars to be detached without compromising the remaining bars’ security and authenticity. Individual 1 gram gold bar is packaged in a sealed protective assay card, which includes the bar’s weight, purity, and a unique serial number.

The packaging is designed not only for protection but also provides essential assay information about the metal content and certification.

Argor-Heraeus GoldSeed 10×1 gram Gold Bar

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Argor-Hereaeus GoldSeed 10×1 gram gold bars

The GoldSeed 10x1gram is unique divisible gold bar from Argor-Heraeus that is presented in a circularly arranged assay which represents an innovative approach to combining traditional investment with modern concerns for being prepared for a variety of situations.

Divisible gold bars allow for a flexible approach to investment. The individual bars are ideal for gifting or trading, providing a practical and elegant option for transferring wealth or paying with gold in small increments. In emergency situations or times of economic instability, divisible bars can be used as a form of currency or barter, providing smaller, more practical units for everyday transactions. Owners can sell or trade small portions of their gold holdings without liquidating the entire bar. 

The GoldSeed bar provides immediate access to ten individual 1 gram gold bars that is minted with .9999 fine gold. Divisible gold bars are a popular way to buy a pragmatic option that offers investors flexibility and easy liquidity.

Valcambi Gold Combibars

The Valcambi Combibar is an innovative gold investment product that combines the security and stability of gold bullion with unmatched flexibility and practicality. Its unique design and features make it a valuable tool for financial preparedness, suitable for a wide range of scenarios from economic uncertainty to long-term wealth preservation.

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Combibar 1 oz Gold Bar, pre-scored to be easily divisible into individual 1/10 oz gold bars

Whether used for investment diversification, emergency preparedness, or as a portable store of wealth, the Combibar line offers significant advantages to modern investors looking for divisible gold bar options.

The Combibars are available in an array of weights, sizes and denominations that range from as small as 5 grams to as large as 100 grams.

Available Weight Denominations

The Valcambi Combibar is also available in a variety of other precious metals, including silver, platinum and palladium for those interested in creating greater diversity in their portfolio.

Fractional Gold Bars from PAMP Suisse

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PAMP Suisse Lady Fortuna 10 gram gold bar

PAMP Suisse is one of the most notable and trusted names in precious metals. Since 1984, the company has been located in Castel San Pietro with a state of the art refinery operation that purifies gold and silver that is mined throughout the world.

Beginning in their first year of operation, the company include fractional the 1/2 troy ounce, 20 gram, 10 gram, 5 gram sizes that are all still minted today.

PAMP Suisse gold bars have featured the Lady Fortuna design since 1979. Other front designs have been introduced throughout the history of the company.

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PAMP Suisse 2.5 gram Heart Pendant with Zebra Hologram

In the 1980s, the company expanded the fractional gold bar sizes to include 1 gram, 2.5 gram as well as 1 tola (11.7 grams).

In addition to the Goddess of Luck design, PAMP has developed and issued more than 50 unique and illustrative designs that have included flowers, birds and animals, Zodiac signs, Hindu gods, Buddha and other religious icons.

PAMP 24k Gold Bar Pendant Jewelry

In certain years, PAMP has included a line of fractional gold bars designed to be worn as pendants on a necklace. Some 24k gold pendants simply show the lady fortuna design into an oval shape on the obverse. A small hasp hole is manufactured into the top of the design with a small gold chain link attachment incorporated to make it easy to wear as jewelry on a chain.

The PAMP gold pendants are stamped on the back with their weight and purity and include the mint hallmark. They have been minted in a variety of denominations as small

PAMP Lunar Gold Bars

In 2012, PAMP launched the Lunar Calendar Series of gold bars. The series captures a unique design each year based on the 12 year cycle of the Chinese lunar calendar. The series is issued annually with three weight denominations of 100 gram, 1 troy ounce and the smaller 5 gram gold bar.

For the current year, the PAMP Suisse Lunar Series incorporates a lovely and warmly designed Rabbit. The design includes a tipped over basket as a reminder of the good that the animal brings to the world with butterflies fluttering above.

The back of the design includes the reverse of the portrait on the front, showing the back of the hare and his fluffy tail in front of the basket. The weight and purity are stamped on the back.

Newly minted 2023 Lunar 5 gram gold bars are offered sealed inside a specially designed assay card that includes a matching serial number that is laser-engraved on the bar.

All PAMP Suisse fractional gold bars are minted with .9999 fine gold.

Government Mint 1 Gram Gold Bars

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The selection of government mint one gram gold bars available from online bullion dealers are minted are an excellent way to stack gold in fractional increments.

The dealer premiums for 1 gram bars can seem high when comparing them against a solid full ounce, however, they remain a practical options for incremental buying fractional gold.

Investors interested in buying quantities of 1 gram gold bars should consider the Valcambi CombiBars.

Newly minted gold bars come sealed inside a manufacturers assay card. This can provide extra assurance that you are buying an authentic and genuine product. Most gold bars can be tested with SIGMA Precious Metal Verifier while remaining encapsulated in the plastic assay case.

From a practical perspective, each 1 gram gold bar is a small store of wealth. Having even a small stack of these stored at home is a good way to be prepared for uncertainty to come.

The Britannia series of gold bars is minted by the Royal Mint and shares the design motif with other bars and coins in the series. The Britannia 1 gram gold bar is an excellent choice to complement your investment in silver Britannias.

The reverse design shows the Royal Mint hallmark along the top with the same wave and familiar maritime theme along the bottom. The center is stamped with the weight 1 gram and purity, 999.9 fine gold.

The Perth Mint of Australia is well know for meticulously designed gold bars minted to the highest levels of purity. It’s hard to go wrong when considering 1 gram Perth gold bars as a new addition to your portfolio.

The layout on the front features the Perth Swan logo at the top and shows the purity and weight very prominent. The reverse of these 24k gold bars shows a diagonally repeating bounding kangaroo design that alternates between a frosted and proof-like finish.

The Royal Canadian Mint’s 1 gram gold offering comes in the form of the MapleGram coin. The MapleGram Gold Coin is a miniature version of the larger Maple Leaf.

Each 24k 1 gram gold coin comes encapsulated in a sealed assay that includes the all of the important details. MapleGram coins are also available in sheets of twenty-five 1 gram coins that are perforated for easy separation.

Budget Friendly Fractional Gold Bars

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Gold is the oldest form of money that is generally recognized everywhere in the world. It is also traded as a futures market commodity and daily trading activity around the world effects the price.

The global trading activity can cause the gold spot price to change every minute around the clock six days per week.

Today’s gold spot price is based on buying a futures contract that contains a 10, 50 or 100 troy ounces of gold. Beyond the price of the metal, there are additional costs that can stack up for fulfillment and delivery.

Some of the gold bars moving out of the COMEX vaults in recent months make their way to both government and private mints for pressing, pouring, machining and casting into smaller and more affordable weight denominations.

Today, there are thousands of available products when shopping for a gold investment. Investors that are considering fractional gold bars have many to choose from.

Fractional gold bars are ones that are minted with a weight of less than 1 troy ounce. In some cases they are measured in fractions of an ounce in increments that are similar to coins, such as 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz and 1/2 oz.

Most of the newly minted gold bullion in the marketplace today are produced by refineries and mints in Europe and Asian where measuring with the metric system is standard. It’s becoming much more common to find gold bars for sale are measured on a gram scale than in fractions of an ounce.

Gold gram bars are an excellent choice to add to your investment stack. They are extremely liquid and easy to convert to fiat if needed. They are also a lot friendly on the wallet than buying a full ounce at time.

And having an assortment of different size gold gram bars may be a practical way to be prepared if you ever need to barter. There are even some options available to buy half gram gold bars from various manufacturers.

When it comes to pricing, smaller gold bars are typically in a price range that is affordable to a wider range of investors. It is also important to remember that smaller bars will frequently have a higher dealer premium than larger sizes.

Less than $100

One Gram Gold Bars

Fractional one gram gold bars are a practical and popular investment option. They are perfect for stacking and can be purchased affordably.

Online bullion dealers offer newly minted 1 gram gold bars in their factory sealed assay card which helps assure that you’re buying an authentic product. Many local coin shops that carry products from Valcambi will often break off gold Combibars into the 1 gram increments. A variety of online dealers do this as well and will sell them as secondary market 1 gram gold bars.

Less than $500

2 Gram Gold Bars & 2.5 gram gold bars

Various refineries manufacture 2 gram bars and 2.5 gram gold bars for investors to capture some savings on the premiums. Both of these sizes are convenient, interesting and unique size denominations.

Sometimes you can find these in the bargain bin at local coin stores as there are only a few refineries making newly minted bars in these sizes.

5 gram gold bars

Five gram gold bars offer a significant savings in premiums over smaller sizes. You will find that premiums will be lower on Random 5 gram gold bar than smaller size fractional gold bars.

Newly minted bars are manufactured by notable private mints such as PAMP Suisse and Valcambi. There are also various 5 gram gold bars that are backed by government mints such as Perth and the Royal Mint.

Less than $1,000

10 gram gold bars

The next option for those with a slightly higher budget is the 10 gram gold bar. These bars contain .3215 troy ounces of gold, just slightly less than 1/3 of an ounce.

The denseness of these bars can be felt in your hand. Newly minted bar will come sealed in a sealed plastic assay card holder, while secondary market 10 gram gold bars will most likely be shipped in a plastic coin flip.