A 1oz gold bar from PAMP and a 100g gold bar from PAMP can look completely different — one is shiny, struck like a coin, sealed in a credit-card sized assay holder; the other is dull, rough-edged, with a separate paper certificate. Same metal, same purity, different production methods.
Minted bars
Made by stamping a polished blank between two engraved dies under high pressure — essentially the same process as striking a coin.
Characteristics:
- Mirror or matte finish, depending on design.
- Crisp edges, lettering and ornament.
- Almost always sold sealed in a tamper-evident assay card.
- Range: typically 1g to 100g for gold; 1g to 1oz for silver.
Costs more per gram because:
- The blank has to be polished.
- Each strike consumes die life — dies wear and have to be replaced.
- The card-sealing process adds packaging cost.
- The presentation finish carries a marketing premium.
Cast bars
Made by pouring molten metal into a mould and letting it cool, then assigning a serial number and an accompanying certificate.
Characteristics:
- Dull, slightly grainy surface — often with visible flow lines.
- Rounded edges and irregular thickness.
- Sold loose with a separate paper assay certificate.
- Range: typically 100g to 1kg for gold; 100g to 5kg for silver.
Cheaper per gram because:
- No die wear — just a mould that lasts for thousands of bars.
- No polishing, no marketing finish.
- Bare-bones packaging.
Typical UK premium comparison
| Format | Size | Typical UK premium over spot |
|---|---|---|
| Gold minted bar | 1oz | 3.5–6% |
| Gold minted bar | 50g | 4–5% |
| Gold cast bar | 100g | 2–3% |
| Gold cast bar | 1kg | 1.5–2.5% |
| Silver minted bar | 1oz | 25–35% |
| Silver cast bar | 1kg | 11–14% |
The pattern is consistent: cast bars are cheaper per gram of metal, especially at 100g+ sizes. Minted bars cost more in absolute terms but their unit-price-per-gram becomes comparable at 1oz and below.
Which to buy
Minted bar — good for:
- Gifting — the presentation finish and sealed card look like jewellery.
- Small sizes (1g–10g) where you’d want the assay card for authenticity verification.
- Resale through online dealers that prefer intact PAMP Veriscan or Royal Mint DNA Certified cards.
Cast bar — good for:
- Maximum metal per pound spent at 100g+ sizes.
- Stackers who don’t care about presentation.
- Institutional storage where bars enter vault and are weighed/tested individually anyway.
Authenticity in cast bars
A common worry: “the bar isn’t sealed in a card, how do I verify it?”
Reputable cast bars carry:
- Stamped serial number on the bar itself.
- Refiner mark (PAMP, Metalor, Umicore, Royal Mint, Heraeus, Argor-Heraeus).
- Stated weight and fineness stamped.
- Paper assay certificate with matching serial.
If you buy a 1kg cast bar from a major UK dealer, they will have verified it against a Sigma analyser or XRF on receipt from the refiner. The assay certificate is a chain of custody, not the only line of defence.
CombiBars — the third format
Valcambi Suisse CombiBars are a hybrid: a single bar with perforated 1g segments that snap apart. Premium is high (around 8–10% for a 50×1g gold CombiBar) but you get the divisibility of 50 individual 1g bars in one package — useful for incremental selling or a doomsday-scenario “barter” stash.
Quick decision tree
- Buying ≥ 100g of gold? → Cast bar (lowest premium per gram).
- Buying ≤ 1oz of gold? → Minted bar (assay card matters more at small sizes).
- Buying silver in any quantity? → Either — but cast 1kg silver is the cheapest format per gram.
- Buying for a gift / occasion? → Minted bar (better presentation).