Many people, when they saw a gold bar, were interested in the question: how much does it weigh? Considering that this metal has one of the highest density values among all others, and the ingot itself is of impressive size, this figure is clearly not small. Investors will need to know how much a standard gold bar weighs.
Types of ingots
There are several types of ingot standards, which have different applications and technologies. According to the method of application, they are divided into the following:
- measured;
- standard.
Measured ones are intended for sale to citizens, standard ones are used only for technological needs. According to production technology, there is a division into several types:
- stamped;
- powder;
- cast.
The designation of stamped ones is SZSh, their weight does not exceed half a kilogram, they can easily be lifted with just your fingers. When stamping, they are cut from flat sheets. Powder ingots are made using the electrolytic method, and metal powders are used for their production. They are not used in the Russian Federation. They are the cheapest and are also rarely used by banks in other countries.
Ingots that are made by casting have a large mass and will be difficult to lift with your fingers. Cast bricks weigh more than 500 grams, they are designated SLZ. The price ranges between powder and stamped. If the product does not meet the requirements of GOST, then it is sent to the manufacturer for re-melting. Most of them must comply with the requirements of the London Bullion Market Association.
Ingot weight
An ingot is a piece of metal, it looks like a bar and comes in several different grades and weights. Bankovsky has the highest purity of 999.9, that is, it is almost pure gold.
How much does a gold bar weigh? In most cases they weigh 1 kg. These are the types of investment objects that any bank can offer you. Standard bars are regulated by government or legislation. They weigh between 11 and 13.3 kilograms.
In some countries, the bank may offer you to buy bullion of different weights starting from 1 gram. The largest bar on earth weighs 200 kilograms; it is also made of the purest gold.
In 1943, a law was passed in the United States. It stated that gold in the country's reserves should be stored only in the form of bars. The standard bullion in the US Gold Reserve weighs 400 troy ounces. But for commercial purposes they also allow the use of ingots of different weights.
So, for jewelers they are made weighing one kilogram; at gold mining sites they are cast at 1200 troy ounces. A troy ounce weighs approximately 30 grams and is an international measure of the weight of gold. Gold is traded in troy ounces on precious metals exchanges.
To imagine how much a gold bar weighs, you can take a 10-liter bucket and fill it with water. Try to lift it: it’s heavy, isn’t it, but a gold bar weighs even more.
Measuring ingot in Russia
Products that are produced weighing up to one kilogram, have a purity of 999.9 and are used for investment by individuals are called measured. Used for sale, they are marked. Special requirements established by GOST include:
- Permissible deviations of dimensions and weight for each weight. At the same time, the thickness of the product is not standardized; standards are established only for length and width.
- If there is an appropriate agreement, some parameters may change, including dimensions and shape.
- The products should not have chips, cracks, or grease stains.
- Changes in planes over time due to crystallization or shrinkage of the metal are allowed. The surface can be concave or convex.
- The product must be marked, the inscriptions must contain letters and numbers and be legible.
- Correction or merging of characters in the marking is unacceptable.
- A distinctive symbol may be applied to one or more sides.
Gold bank bars In accordance with the standard, they are marked as follows:
- the inscription “Russia”, which is located in an oval;
- designation of mass in numbers;
- the inscription "Gold";
- sample or fraction of metal;
- The manufacturer's brand is placed on the back or front side of the product.
Thus, the measuring ingot must be marked and the weight must be indicated on it, which cannot exceed one kilogram.
Standard Ingot
Standard gold bar - how much is it? It must meet all Russian standards, and its mass is checked on a special scale. It ranges from 11 to 13.3 kg, and the ingot must comply with the rules:
- It must be made in the form of a truncated pyramid, which has established dimensions, which, in the case of a specific agreement, can be changed.
- The surface should be shiny. The presence of stains and slag is not allowed.
- There may be depressions up to 0.5 cm on the surface.
- The marking is applied to the lower base and should include: metal grade, sample, manufacturer's mark, year.
IN Russian Federation all this is indicated on one side of the ingot. Of course, you can’t lift a brick weighing more than 10 kg with your fingers.
Interesting facts about product weight:
- Gold is not only used in trading and jewelry. It has been used for many years to make Olympic medals. The first medal made weighed only 6 grams; the mass of modern medals is larger.
- According to estimates, a total of 145,000 tons of gold were mined, but it is impossible to calculate how much remains, since new deposits are still being discovered.
- The weight of gold is quite large. A ton is a cube whose edge is only 37 centimeters long. And if you weigh a cubic meter of this metal, you get more than 19 tons.
- Tutankhamun's sarcophagus, which was made of gold, weighed 1.5 tons.
Thus, a weight of one kilogram is used for investment. Used for storing reserves in the gold and foreign exchange reserve - 400 troy ounces or no more than 13.3 kilograms. If you wish, you can go to banks and buy a gold bar in one.
Promoted with the development of trade to the first place in the system of monetary relations. Its use has gone through many stages of development: from primitive amulets and a means of barter to a profitable investment. Over time, people learned to use gold wisely: purify it, combine it with other metals, turn it into jewelry and money. The latter were in the form of coins or bars.
History of gold development
Even the most ancient civilizations noticed the high value of the metal. In the scripts of the Egyptians, a record was found about the equality of 1 g of gold to 2.5 g of silver. With the growth of cities, it was necessary to create an economy that would contribute to the development of states. There was a need to introduce a unified assessment of goods with the help of which barter could be carried out. Precious metals and stones came to the fore: they were easily and profitably exchanged for any material goods.
The strengthening of commodity-money relations and the development of foreign economic relations strengthened gold as a universal method of payment. Metal was measured in grams. To do this, he had to be constantly weighed. The ancient inhabitants found a way to alleviate their lot: around the 6th century BC. e. The first ingot from an alloy of gold and silver was created.
What is an ingot?
An ingot is a shaped, cooled alloy of metals of specified dimensions. The identical mass of precious blanks greatly simplified the sales and invoicing processes. The first ingots, of course, were far from ideal. The composition of gold in them was much less than 50%. Dimensions and weight often produced errors. But one of the main steps in the development of money had been taken.
How much did a gold bar weigh in those days? The blanks had different weights. The most common packages were 10, 20 and 50 g.
Gold in modern times
So many centuries have passed, and humanity still uses gold as a universal currency. Are these views outdated or is the metal really so valuable that it does not lose its relevance? The modern world knows many equally significant alloys, but it is gold that continues to measure the well-being of the state.
Of course, this metal no longer occupies such an important place in the economy as in ancient times. But bars of gold and other precious alloys can be found in almost every bank. This is a modern and profitable investment. The weight of a gold bar has a monetary equivalent, which most often increases. The exchange rate of metal for other material assets will always be beneficial to the owner of the bullion.
Varieties of gold blanks
Depending on their purpose, types of gold bars are divided into two groups: measured and standard. The main difference between them is the requirements for production and product quality. A standard ingot must meet all the requirements of GOST of the Russian Federation. For measured blanks, it is sufficient to comply with the rules established by the refinery. The weight of a gold bar of this type should be determined within the range from 1 to 1000 g. Share precious metal in the total alloy must reach at least 99.99%.
Measured gold and silver bars must meet special requirements, among which the following are mandatory:
- compliance with the established dimensions depending on how much the gold or silver bar weighs;
- absence of a fatty film on the surface of the alloy and any physical damage;
- concavity/convexity of the ingot is allowed;
- the sample must be marked with the country (“Russia”) enclosed in an oval, weight, alloy name, mass fraction, refinery trademark and ingot number;
- Each ingot has its own certificate, which duplicates its characteristics.
In addition to gold and silver, modern people also know platinum and palladium. Measured ingots are manufactured with a mass fraction of the main element of 99.5%, weighing from 5 to 100 grams. The remaining requirements for the manufacture and production of measured precious metal ingots coincide with GOST standards established for gold and silver.
The cost of platinum is slightly higher than palladium. In general, metals are in the middle between the price category of gold and silver.
How much does a gold bar weigh according to GOST?
Depending on the mass of the workpiece, requirements are put forward for its shape: the length and width values should not exceed established standards. Let's consider the maximum permissible values for the main measured ingots of Russian refineries.
We are talking about a metal that is special at first glance, which is devoid of any special features. In fact, it is too soft, you cannot build a serious structure from it. This is why it is only used in decorations and sanitary ware. But its role in the life of humanity is enormous. There is simply no other material so important and famous.
The most expensive, most attractive and most beautiful metal in the world. Most earthlings think so. And everything connected with it can turn out to be quite interesting. Moreover, there are many interesting, little-known facts about this valuable material in the world.
The great rarity of gold in nature
Scientists put forward several theories as to why gold is so valuable. The main one is that gold is “lucky” to become so valuable because of its relative rarity in nature. And indeed it is. In fact, its content in the bowels of the earth is only one part in a billion. Moreover, even the human body contains up to 0.2 milligrams of the precious metal.
Peak gold production occurs during the gold rush
Before the gold rush, all of our ancestors mined only 10% of the gold known to history. All other gold began to be mined very intensively precisely during the times of fanatical passion for this precious metal. The real boom began in the mid-19th century.
Record production
The first serious gold nugget in the United States known to history was found in 1799 and weighed 7.7 kilograms. Local Indians had known this metal for a long time and called it “poop of the gods.” In a soft translation.
Sources of gold were found even in the territory of modern California
In 1848, gold was first discovered in California. At that time, the land belonged to Mexico, but was soon reclaimed by the United States. Why did it happen?
Interesting prices in Californian shops at the height of the gold rush
A glass of popular whiskey could cost 100 dollars, a kilo of flour could be bought for 60-70 dollars. This despite the fact that in big cities wages rarely reached $10 a week.
The largest gold nugget
According to historical sources, the record-breaking nugget was found not in America, but in Australia and was called the Welcome Stranger. It weighed 72.02 kg and measured 61 by 31 cm. The nugget was found by John Deason and Richard Oates in the town of Moliagul, 200 kilometers northwest of Melbourne.
The find not only turned out to be the largest gold nugget, but so large that there were no suitable scales in the area to determine the exact weight. The lucky ones simply solved the problem; the largest gold bar was divided into three parts on an anvil.
Gold is most respected in India
It is in this country that annual sales of this precious metal break all records. Almost 1,000 tons of precious metal are sold there every year. For comparison, in the USA things are somewhat more modest, but only in wedding rings Americans spend 17 tons of gold per year.
A standard gold bar weighs about 11 kg
But few people know that a piece of gold, the size of a matchbox, is rolled into a thin sheet that can cover a tennis court. An interesting point: despite the rarity of gold, a person has a much better chance of finding a nugget than winning the lottery. Even in the relatively honest West.
Australia is the leader in the number of heaviest nuggets in the world. The five largest bars were discovered on the fifth continent in the 19th century during the gold rush. The largest gold nugget in the world, the weight of which is documented, was found 145 years ago. He was found by Bernard Halterman, a German by birth who came to the country in search of a better life. In Australia, he was developing gold-bearing veins for several years.
Failures followed Halterman until he began developing the Hill End mine in 1871. At first he came across small grains of sand. On October 19, 1872, he and his partner Hugo Beyers came across a slab, which, as it later turned out, weighed 235.5 kg. But the majority were quartz inclusions; the slab contained 83.2 kg of gold.
The nugget was melted down. Halterman was fond of photography, and therefore photographs of him posing with the slab named in his honor have been preserved. The largest nugget in the world brought the miner money, fame and honor. True, many scientists believe that the prospector did not find a nugget, but dug a piece of a vein where pieces of gold were combined with pieces of quartz.
The second largest nugget was also found in Australia three years earlier. Prospectors John Deason and Richard Oates found it not even in the mine, but literally on the road. Their cart got stuck in the mud and, while pulling the wheel out of the swamp, they came across a hard boulder. A pick and a shovel went into action, and literally within a few minutes the prospectors realized that they had stumbled upon native gold.
The most interesting thing is that in the 1980s, when metal detectors were invented, amateurs took the time to visit the developed old mines. And here again nuggets were discovered! The largest piece of gold, weighing 27 kg, was located at a depth of only 15 cm. One of the recent finds occurred again in Ballarat. In 2013, an Australian found a nugget weighing five and a half kilograms here.
A measured gold bar with a pure metal content of at least 99.99% weighs from 1 to 1000 grams.
In addition to measured gold bars, which are available for purchase in Russian banks, there are standard bars, marked by Russian refineries and Soviet (dated before 1992), the purity of which is at least 99.95%, weighing 11,000-13,300 grams.
When purchasing such a long-term and profitable investment of your own finances as a gold bar, you need to know certain standards that an expensive purchase must comply with.
Gold bar rates
- The first and basic rule when making a purchase is the place where the metal will be purchased. Of course, this should be the central office or branch of a reliable bank that has a valid license to sell precious metal bullion.
- For each ingot weight, there are GOST deviations in weight and length-to-width ratios. The thickness of the measuring ingot is not regulated and can be different.
- The surface should be free of unevenness, roughness, small cracks and grease deposits, i.e. the ingot must be absolutely even. The only permissible deviation is that the surface may be slightly wavy due to temporary shrinkage and crystallization of the metal;
- The inscription on the ingot must be clearly readable; the letters can be depressed or concave, depending on the stamping technology; continuous writing or poor readability is not allowed. Information contained in the inscription: weight of the product, fineness, name of the metal and trademark of the manufacturer.
When purchasing an ingot, it must be accompanied by a certificate of conformity, in which all the information indicated on the product is duplicated. Each bar has its own unique number and its path can be easily tracked from the moment it leaves the manufacturing plant to the point of sale.
The production of gold bars uses different technologies: metal casting, stamping and powder bars. In terms of their aesthetic qualities, stamped products look more attractive: during manufacturing, the stamp presses on the metal, heated to the required temperature. The equipment used in this production method is highly accurate, so the process is quite expensive. Typically, ingots weighing up to 500 grams are produced by stamping.
A measured gold bar with a pure metal content of at least 99.99% weighs from 1 to 1000 grams.
The technology for casting products is as follows: molten metal is poured into ready-made molds, then the cooling process occurs at the required temperature. The mass of gold bars is more than 500 grams. In terms of cost, the casting process can be classified as an average price category.
Powder manufacturing technology involves the use of powder processed by electrolytic method as a base. This is the most economical method, but is not used often.
Gold is a valuable and rare metal. If we make a comparison, in one day more steel is cast in the world metallurgy than gold bars have been cast in the entire history of mankind. Gold is famous for its ductility and ease of processing. Pure gold can be forged into a plate that is 0.001 mm thick and weighs several tens of times less than the weight of a human hair! The largest gold bar was found in Australia; its weight is 70 kg of pure gold, and its volume is comparable to the size of a large melon. Due to the fact that the metal is rare, almost all the gold mined in human history is in circulation. It is likely that the Olympic gold medal won by the athlete was made from jewelry belonging to an ancient royal family!
Gold and copper are the first metals discovered by mankind more than 5 thousand years ago. In the table of chemical elements, the metal is listed as Aurum, which means “radiant dawn.” Historical facts indicate that the Egyptians considered gold to be part of the body of the gods and only noble persons could own it. The Greeks believed that metal was an alloy of sunlight and water. The Bible mentions gold offerings among the gifts of the Magi.
In the fourteenth century, a ground mixture of diamond and gold was used as a treatment for the bubonic plague. And, of course, at all times, alchemists tried to turn base metals into a precious alloy.
The gold standard is still the equivalent of the monetary currencies of many countries. Investing in gold bars weighing 1 kg or more is the most profitable and profitable. Now you know how much a gold bar weighs; in addition, according to statistics, the price of gold over the last century has never reached critical values. Therefore, the interest in this expensive and rare metal today is comparable to the demand for gold in the era of royal courts.
Trade in nuggets has long gained popularity in developed countries. Thus, they are actively traded in the UAE, individual African countries, and the USA. A common purpose for purchasing such products is interior decoration. Gold blocks fit effectively into the luxurious furnishings of rich people's homes. However, nuggets are of greatest value as investment objects.
Rare pieces are the subject of competition between renowned collectors. They are ready to pay any money to acquire them.
Geologists also benefit from such profitable finds. With the help of their detailed examination, specialists are able to identify and predict gold deposits at the local level.
Gold nuggets are large pieces of native metals. Experts have not yet come to a consensus on which piece of gold should be called a nugget.
Some professionals call for ingots weighing more than 1 kg to be called nuggets, while others are inclined to think that a piece measuring about 4 mm rightfully deserves such a name if nature has endowed it with a unique shape and bright shine.
It was the nuggets found that became the beginning of people’s acquaintance with precious metals. They marked the beginning of the history of using gold as a material for making jewelry and other items.
The cost of nuggets is determined by their size. The larger the piece, the more expensive the price will be. Thus, the average cost of Australian nuggets ranges from $18 per gram if it is less than 6 grams, and $30 per gram for larger specimens (from 8 to 16 grams).
When determining the value of a nugget, important importance is given to such a factor as its shape. The original version made of pure gold costs several times more than a rolled copy mined from placers. Therefore, the search for such finds is justified.
Gold mining often brings good luck in the form of nuggets found. If we compare gold with other metals, then its concentration in the soil is much less than the same iron, copper, lead and others. However, scientists have found that the noble metal is also present in plants and living organisms.
Gold nuggets: a review of the largest finds
The largest gold nugget in the world was discovered in 1872 in Australia. The deposit of this “giant” was the Hill End mine. The length of the find was 144 centimeters, width – 66 centimeters, thickness – 10 centimeters. The nugget was given the name “Holterman Plate”. Its mass was 285 kg, of which pure gold was about 83.3 kg. This piece of gold was used to be melted down and made into jewelry.
The Welcome Stranger is the second largest gold nugget after the Holtermann Slab, which weighed 70.9 kg. It was also found in Australia and was melted down.
“Big Triangle” - a piece of gold weighing 36 kg was found on October 8, 1942 in the Southern Urals in the Miass region. According to experts, in 1842 its cost was 28,146 rubles. This copy has survived to this day, but its price has become much higher. Today it is stored in the Diamond Fund of the Russian Federation.
Russia is the owner of the richest collection of nuggets in the world. The exhibition, held in Moscow in 1967, included at least a hundred finds, the total weight of which was more than 200 kg. Nuggets like "Bunny Ears"(3.34 kg), "Camel"(9.3 kg), "Horse Head"(14 kg) became the largest specimens.
The greatest interest among visitors to the Diamond Fund is nugget "Mephistopheles". Its low weight of 20.25 grams is compensated by its unique appearance, reminiscent of the profile of an evil spirit in Renaissance mythology. Disputes about its formation subsided several years after the unique discovery. Some experts believed that nature was unable to create such an image. However, many studies have shown the absence of artificial processing of this ingot.
"Golden heart"- another large nugget found in Alaska. It became the fifth largest among all the ingots found in the state of Alaska. The initial impression of the find was disappointing. It looked more like a piece of black galli, because it was covered with a crust of minerals.
It is important to know that without special permission, it is prohibited by law. All such operations are criminally punishable. If gold was found by chance, it is considered a “find”, which must be given to the state, receiving 20% of its value minus income tax.
Legal ownership is only applicable to banking and jewelry gold. It is also allowed to buy it, give it as a gift and perform other legal transactions with it.
