Gold bullion bars are highly valued as investment assets. These bars, sometimes referred to as ingots come in different sizes. Unlike other precious metals, gold is famous for keeping its value in the worst of times. It has been used as a hedge by individuals, companies and even governments. Investors have been known to rely on gold to get out of difficult financial situations. If you think you are the only one considering whether you should buy gold bullion or not or wondering what good having gold in your investment portfolio will be, you are not the only one. You will be surprised at the number of governments and central banks are buying up gold and how their reasons for doing so might not be so far removed from your own.
Gold bars come in all sizes, the biggest gold bar in the world is the Mitsubishi Materials Corporation gold bar. This bar weighs a whopping 250 kg. It measures 45 by 22.5 cm at its base and has a height of 17 cm. When it was displayed to the public at Japanese Toi Gold Museum in 2005 it was valued at $3.68 million. The value of the bar today is estimated at $16.1 million.
Gold bullion bars are made of the purest quality gold. Gold is a soft metal and hardly anything that is made of gold is made with just pure gold otherwise it would get easily damaged. For instance, jewellery is never made of pure gold otherwise it would not be durable enough to withstand being worn every day. The purity of gold is measured in karats and the purest form is 24 karats. To make gold jewellery sturdier and more durable, other metal alloys are mixed in with the gold reducing the purity to 18, 14 or 10 karats.
Gold bullion bars on the other hand always contain 99.9% pure gold. Gold bullion bars are made to exacting measurements. Some of the largest bars can weigh up to 100 troy ounces or 3.11 kg. You can find smaller bars. The most popular bullion bar is a kilobar which weighs 32.15074 troy ounces. However, it isn’t a practical thing to buy and keep in the house and it is also not as liquid as bullion coins or smaller gold bars.
You can buy brand new gold bullion bars or you can buy gold bullion bars that have been slightly used. If you opt for “slightly” used bullion bars there are a couple of things you should check like the condition of the bar, the labelling, the hallmarks but most importantly, the current market price of gold. You should always insist on getting certificates of authenticity or some sort of paper seal verifying the originality of the bar. You stand a better chance of making a substantial amount of money if your bar is listed on the London Bullion Market Association’s good delivery list.
The largest gold bullion bar reserve in the world is the US Federal Reserve Bank. It holds the U.S government’s gold as well as gold from other foreign governments. In 1973, this depository held 11,000 tons of gold bullion bars however in 2019, the depository had 5,620 metric tons of gold bullion bars.
It is estimated that this amount could change if the government or other governments continue dip into their own gold reserves to service their debt. This is likely to happen because of the rising demand for gold.
The bottom line: Whether you have gold bars you bought as investment or received as a gift you should know you have a product that is made of the purest quality of gold which means you have something with a high value. You can rely on your gold bars in times of need. Gold bullion bars will prove to be a worthwhile investment in future.