Education Knowledge

What Are The Elements In A Gold Bar?

The human mind is an amazing thing. You could suddenly have a thought about anything, with seemingly no context. One such query might be: what does a bar of gold consist of or more specifically, does a bar of gold contain any other elements, apart from gold?

What Are The Elements In A Gold Bar?

Varying Levels Of Purity

 

Gold has the chemical symbol of ‘Au’ and its purest form is 999.9 gold, which is the global standard for pure gold. The tiny amount of other elements might include copper, but in 999.9, this is minute. The bar is regarded as pure gold.

 

Gold alloys include the following:

 

  • Yellow Gold (22k) – this is 91.67% gold, 5% silver, 2% copper and 1.33% zinc
  • Rose Gold (18k) – 75% gold and 25% copper
  • Pink Gold (18k) – 75% gold, 20% copper and 5% silver
  • White Gold (18k) – 75% gold and 25% platinum or palladium

 

Hallmarks & Stamps

 

Every bar of gold would have a series of stamps and hallmarks that demote:

 

  • Characteristic
  • Maker
  • Origin 
  • Weight
  • Purity

 

When you make an appointment with a gold bullion dealer with a view to purchasing gold, they would present the commodity for you to inspect. Gold bars typically come in felt pouches, with a wide range of weights (both metric and imperial), from a 1-gram ingot, right up to a 1-kg bar. One popular weight is the ounce, with quarter and half ounce ingots. The dealer will show you where the stamps are located on each bar. If you are wondering where to sell gold in Adelaide, Google can put you in touch with a leading gold bullion dealer and they pay the spot price for your gold.

 

Gold Coins

 

Many investors prefer to store their wealth in gold coins, with minted editions such as:

 

  • American Eagle
  • American Buffalo
  • Canadian Maple Leaf
  • South African Kruggerand
  • Kangaroo Gold Coin

 

Coins come in a range of sizes and designs, and most are 999.9, while a few are 96.175 pure.

 

Gold As An Investment

 

More and more private investors are turning to gold, as global markets are currently facing a period of uncertainty and the best type of gold to buy for investment purposes is 999.9 pure. You may have already purchased your gold a few years ago, when prices were much lower and now you think the price is peaking, in which case, pay your local gold bullion dealer a visit and receive cash.

 

Selling Scrap Jewellery

 

You might have a few old gold jewellery items that you no longer wear and would like to get the best price for your scrap jewellery, in which case your local gold bullion dealer is the place to go. You get the best price when you visit a gold bullion dealer’s offices and Google can help you to find the nearest venue.

 

To conclude, the only element in a bar of 999.9 is gold, while there are less pure versions of gold, measured at 22k, 18, 14k and 9k, which are alloyed with copper, silver and platinum.

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