Gold Bullion Bars

Gold bars are the most often bought form of gold bullion and are acquirable from almost any certified gold seller all over the world. Therefore it's one of the easiest ways of investing in physical gold, gold bars come in various sizes and weights(ranging from super light bars to heavy kilogram bars). They're also the most easy to measure form of gold bullion. Below is the information you need on gold bars.

Types of Gold Bars

Gold bars can be classified into 2 types of bars; minted bars and cast bars. Cast bars are produced by pouring gold into a cast, they�re the simple version of a gold bar. Minted gold bars are stamped bars made out of cast bars. Usually the stamped cast bars are a little more expensive as the cast bars.

Gold Bar Weights

There are many different gold bar sizes all over the world. The smallest gold bar made by man is a 0.3 gram bar(generally produced for jewel purposes) and the largest is a 250KG bar(owned by mitsubishi). The smallest gold bar for sale for the general population in the United States is usually a 1/2oz or 1oz bar, in Europe the smallest bar for sale is usually 1 gram. The heaviest bars you can buy in a standard gold selling shop in the United States are usually 10oz bars and in Europe 1000 gram bars. Sometimes heavier bars can be bought as well. The standard gold bar used by banks and gold reserves(aka London "Good Delivery" bars) is 400oz or 12,4 kilograms. Learn more about gold weight units here.

Purity

Most gold bars in the world consist out of 99% to 99,5% pure gold, meaning they are close to 24k in purity. But in some regions they are purer or less pure. Gold bars made in Thailand for instance, only have a 96,5% purity and in some regions they make bars that consist out of 99,9% pure gold. Be sure to check out the purity of a gold bar before acquiring it. There is nothing to worry too much about though, when acquiring any gold bar all over the world from any certified gold seller you are always paying for its weight in gold. Gold bars are the purest form of gold bullion you can buy, more pure as the general gold coin or gold jewellery.

Prices

A good tip for people who want to invest a larger sum of money into gold bullion is to buy as heavy as possible gold bars you can acquire. It is better to buy 1 large bar as several small ones. This is because the gold bar manufacturers add production costs to the market price of the gold bars they sell. If you buy fewer bars you pay less extra costs for your gold investment as when you buy a ton of smaller bars.

Different Bars in Different Regions

Gold bars are made all over the world, in various countries and continents. Gold bars from different regions usually differ from eachother because many countries have different standards when it comes to manufacturing gold bars. Below is a list of types of different gold bars that exist:

Kilogold Bar: The Kilogold bar is the most popular gold bar in the world. It is widely used by European private investors and is about 32.5 oz in weight.
Tola Bar: The Tola is a weight unit used for gold in various Asian countries like India and Pakistan. Tola Bars come in 10tola bars and 1 tola equals 3.75oz. The Tola Bar is very popular worldwide with private investors.
London "Good Delivery" Bar: This is the most well known type of gold bar in the world, it has the standard "gold bar look" you see in the movies. It is 400oz(12,4 kilograms) in weight and is mainly used by banks.
Tael Bar: The Tael bar is a Chinese gold bar. The name comes from the weight unit the Chinese use to measure gold; Tael. The Tael weight unit is used in China, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Taiwan. The Tael gold bar is usually manufactured in biscuit form.
Mitsubishi Bars: Mitsubishi is a Japanese company and produces rainbow gold bars since 1990 in different kind of forms and shapes. Unlike other gold bars, the Mitsubishi bars only have a 75% purity.
Baht Bar: The Baht bar is an Thailand bar. These gold bars are weighted in the Baht weight unit that's used in Thailand. Baht bars come in 10baht form. 1 baht equals 4.9oz.
Ornamental Gold Bars: Ornamental bars are special bars and are often produced in limited edition versions. They are sold with a higher premium because of their rarity.