Gold has long been considered one of those most valuable and coveted forms of money. For thousands of years, owning gold has brought with it the reputation and prestige of wealth and power. Gold bullion bars or gold bars have been used in transactions since the time of the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. Billions of dollars worth of gold bars lay on the ocean's floor around the world, spilled overboard by military attacks, the wrath of nature, and greed of pirates.
Gold bars are defined as any amount of gold that has been shaped into some sort of compact bar. There are dozens of different names for gold bars, including but not limited to:
Chi bars
Tael bars
Bank bars
Minted "brick" bars
"Bullion watch" bars
"Gold fillet" bars
These gold bars may weigh anywhere from 1 kilogram to 12.5 kilograms, or 400 ounces, to 1000 gram, known as the kilobar. These days, the kilobar is the most popular when it comes to trading, collecting, and investing. Gold bars and gold bullion bars are generally defined in terms of troy ounces. One troy ounce equals 31.1034768 grams, 1 kilogram equals 1000 grams, and one tael equals 50 grams.
Gold bars may be classified into two different types: minted and cast, depending upon how it was manufactured. Cast gold bars are created through the process of pouring heated liquid gold into a mold. Minted gold bars are hand cut into specific dimensions.
Gold bullion bars are generally available in 10-ounce gold bars that contain .995. purity or 1 kilogram per gram bar, or gold bullion bars designed mainly for investing. One of the most popular is the 10- ounce gold bullion bars, known as a "four-nines" or pure .9999 finest.
Regardless of size or shape, investing or collecting in gold bullion bars is a solid investment decision that carries a legacy of power and wealth that dates back thousands of years.