What is a gold bar?
Gold bars are refined metal in its simplest tradable form. Cast bars are poured; minted bars are cut and struck with a finish closer to a coin. Both state weight, fineness, refiner, and usually a serial number.
Individual buyers typically choose between one-ounce, ten-ounce, and kilo (32.15 troy ounce) bars. Institutional 400-ounce 'Good Delivery' bars are the wholesale standard and rarely suit personal holdings.
Why do bars carry the lowest premiums?
Fabrication cost per ounce falls as size rises: minting one ten-ounce bar costs far less than minting ten one-ounce coins. That efficiency passes through as a lower percentage premium, which is why cost-focused buyers gravitate to bars.
The trade-off is divisibility. A ten-ounce bar can't be sold in one-ounce pieces, you sell the whole bar or none of it. Buyers who want flexibility often split holdings between bars and coins.
How do gold bars show up in practice?
On a quote, a bar is listed by refiner, weight, and fineness, '10 oz .9999 fine, sealed in assay.' Stick to refiners on recognized accreditation lists, keep assay packaging sealed, and confirm the buyback terms before you buy.