Gold bars
Reasons to buy gold bars from philoro:
philoro exclusively works with well-known, international companies, such as Valcambi in Switzerland, to ensure the high quality and authenticity of the gold bars. The gold is extracted under ethical conditions for both the workers and the environment. philoro offers a diverse range of gold bars and provides you the opportunity and flexibility to invest your wealth the way you want to.
Things to consider when buying gold bars:
The bar should have counterfeiting protection. philoro places particular emphasis on unique security features to protect against any manipulation. Bars from LBMA accredited manufacturers guarantee the highest quality and sustainability of the bar. That is why philoro only distributes bars from LBMA accredited manufacturers. Increased security measures and a suitable safe are recommended for storing gold bars in your own home. When storing gold bars externally, such as in a depot or safe deposit box, your precious metals should be fully insured and under the highest security measures.
What does the LBMA accreditation stand for?
LBMA stands for the London Bullion Market Association, which coordinates the trade in gold and silver on the London Bullion Market. Since 1919, the price for gold has been determined in London, this created a space for LBMA members. This includes international banks, manufacturers, processors, producers, and traders around the world.
Strict quality requirements must be met for a gold or silver bar manufacturer to receive a LBMA accreditation. In addition, the manufacturer must follow specific guidelines regarding ethicality.
What are the advantages of gold bars?
Gold bars are an excellent tool for diversifying your investment portfolio.
Due to the simple production and the resulting low surcharge for production, gold bars are closer in price to the pure material value, compared to gold coins, and are therefore often cheaper.
Gold bars are available in different denominations.
Unlike paper money, gold bars are not infinitely reproducible and are therefore more resistant to inflation.
They are considered the ultimate crisis currency.
Gold bars offer flexibility.
They can be transported or sold anytime, unlike other investments such as real estate.
The value of Gold bars is globally recognized.
Thanks to their insensitive surface, cast gold bars are more resistant than minted ones.
Gold bars are corrosion resistant.
Is it advisable to remove gold bars from their packaging?
It is not advisable to remove a bar from its blister pack. The blister pack protects the bar from scratches and other wear and tear. An untouched bar and an intact blister pack increase the resale value and attractiveness of your gold bar. CombiBars®, on the other hand, must be removed from the blister pack if you want to sell the pieces separately.
philoro packages all minted bars weighing 1 g to 500 g in securely sealed safety blister packs. In addition to serving as a protective cover, the blister pack also contains the authenticity certificate for bars up to 100 g. For heavier bars, the certificate is not sealed in with the bar, but is issued separately at the time of purchase. Cast bars are not provided with a blister pack due to their uneven surface.
What is a tablet bar (CombiBar®)?
A tablet bar consists of multiple interconnected smaller (e.g.,1 g) bars that, together, create a tablet format. Both gold and silver, as well as platinum and palladium bars, can be used to produce uniform precious metal tablets.
An advantage of these tablet bars, also known as CombiBars®, is the flexibility in their sale. Unlike ordinary bars (e.g., 100 g bars), you are not forced to sell the entire bar. Fracture points between the individual small bars of the CombiBar® allow for easy dividing and individual sale.
Due to the elaborate production process, which involves stamping on each small piece, CombiBars® are sold with a higher mark-up than ordinary bars. In return, the precious metal tablets offer increased flexibility.
Interesting Facts about Gold bars
What is the largest gold bar in the world?
The largest gold bar in the world weighs a whopping 8,000 ounces (about 226.8 kg) and has a value of about $13.1 million (rate as of January 9th, 2023). This expensive piece was produced in 2005 by Mitsubishi Materials Corporation in Japan and is officially recorded in the Guinness World Records. You can see the gold bar in the collection of the Toi Gold Mine Museum in Toi, Japan. The mine was Japan’s second most productive gold mine from 1601 up until 1965.
Are gold bars also collectibles?
Yes, indeed! Historical gold bars are extremely popular among collectors and are considered a valuable document of the history of money. The hobby is considered costly, because collectors must be willing to negotiate above the actual material value of the bar. Collectible bars are distinguished by their age, they are antique and are no longer produced, which makes them a rarity on the market.
Other characteristics include visual individuality and the method of production.
The bars should not have been minted, but cast. The cast bar, in contrast to the minted gold bar, has rounded edges and an uneven surface. Often, no stamped serial numbers are visible on the bar. Popular historical gold bars came from the production of Nathan M. Rothschild & Sons, which were produced by the London Mint Refinery from 1919 to 1967. Manual production allows the positions of the stamping to vary, giving the bars a unique appearance. Extremely rare and valuable are gold treasures in sunken ships or excavations. Rare gold finds achieve record prices at international auctions.
Are there famous gold finds?
There are numerous stories of people stumbling upon gold: some unintentionally, others made it their life's work. One such person is oceanographer and deep-sea engineer Tommy Thompson, who found the largest gold treasure in American history in 1989.
He was searching for the wreck of the SS Central America in the Atlantic Ocean. The steamship was caught in a hurricane in 1857 and sank to the ocean floor. The shipwreck claimed the lives of over 400 people and caused 21 tons of gold in the form of coins, bars, and nuggets to disappear into the depths of the Atlantic. In 1988, Thompson and his team identified the wreck on the ocean floor. A year later, the lost gold treasure was salvaged by the US government with the help of a self-built deep-sea robot.
The value of the found gold was estimated at up to $1 billion (about $3 per person in the USA) at the time. After Thompson's legendary gold find, various financiers, insurance companies, and members of the expedition team wanted their share of the treasure. However, Thompson failed to deliver the promised shares, which led to lengthy lawsuits and criminal charges against him. He became a fugitive and was finally arrested in 2015 in a hotel room in Boca Raton, Florida. After his arrest, the remaining gold from the SS Central America was sold at an auction.
How long has gold been searched for?
Gold mines for targeted gold searches have been existing for a very long time. In 2004, archaeologists discovered a Bronze Age gold mine in good condition near Sakdrissi in the country of Georgia. The facility is believed to be 4,500 years old, and therefore one of the oldest known gold mines in the world. At that time, people made jewelry from the gold, which can now be seen in various museums.
Gold bars were already being produced in 2000 BC, but due to the easier production, coins were preferred. To make the bar, gold was melted and then poured into sand forms. Nowadays, production is more modern, but the principle of the process has remained the same. The bar served as a means of exchange and payment. Only over time did gold develop into an investment. 200,000 tons of gold have been mined throughout human history (as of 2019).
What is the difference between minted and cast bars?
The two types of bars differ in several ways, starting with their production. A cast bar is produced by melting gold granules in a bar mold or crucible, while a minted bar is produced by pouring gold into a mold to make a gold ingot, rolling the ingot into a strip, and stamping it into the desired shape. The cast bar is unique in that it has a (so to say) fingerprint, thanks to the lines that form as it cools. These lines make each cast bar unique and give it its own subtle appearance.
The minted bar is stamped into shape from a rolled gold ingot. This also results in a difference in the surface, as the minted bar is much more susceptible to scratching and is less robust. Cast bars are much more resistant and resilient to external influences. Gold bars up to 100 g are usually minted, while heavier bars can be both minted and cast.
Which country has the most gold reserves?
The largest gold reserve in the world is in the United States. The Federal Reserve System, also known as the central banking system, consists of 12 regional banks. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York holds the most gold reserves in the world. The precious metal is kept in a secure vault 26 meters below sea level.
The well-known safe holds a third of the world's gold reserves: 8,133.5 tons of gold (as of February 2021). These gold bars, which are mostly owned by foreign countries and central banks, are currently stored at the New York bank. In contrast, the Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, which is owned by the US Department of the Treasury, stores only gold owned by the United States (approx. 4600 tons). The three countries with the largest gold reserves are the United States, Germany, and Italy.
