 |
The International Gold
Bars Collection is at the
Bank of England Museum from 19 Februay to 14 May
1998 Categories of gold bar |
A gold bar is defined as any gold item, regardless of shape, which is made by a bar manufacturer, records the name of the manufacturer, the precise weight and the precise purity, and is sold at a low premium above the gold price.
The International Gold Bars Exhibition highlights the remarkable range and diversity of gold bars available and includes the following bars:
‘400’ oz (‘12.5’ kg) bar
There are only 55 active manufacturers worldwide whose ‘400 oz’ (‘12.5 kg’) bars are accepted internationally as London Good Delivery.
‘400 oz’ London Good Delivery bars are permitted to weigh between 350 oz and 430 oz. Minimum gold purity: 99.5%. Around 150,000 are made each year. Central banks normally hold gold in the form of these bars and are believed to hold 2.5 million of them.
Kilobars
The kilobar (1000 g) is the world’s most widely traded small gold bar. It is popular among investors and fabricators as it is normally traded at an extremely low premium above the prevailing value of its gold content.
While most kilobars have a flat ‘international’ shape, traditional kilobars in the shape of a ‘brick’ are still preferred by some investors and fabricators in Europe.
The Exhibition displays the kilobars of 53 manufacturers which are approved by the world’s major gold dealing exchanges in London, New York, Tokyo and Zurich.
‘Tezabi’ Bars
These rough cast bars are manufactured by thousands of small ‘backyard’ bar manufacturers in Pakistan to a theoretical ‘99.9%’ purity. The bars are not made to any precise weight but depend on the variable amount of gold available, usually old gold jewellery, to be melted in the crucible.
They resemble the earliest known gold coins made by the Lydian kings of Asia Minor in the 7th century BC. The method used by Pakistanis in the manufacture of ‘tezabi’ bars is not believed to have changed in over 2,000 years. The Exhibition displays tezabi bars manufactured by Saleh Mohammed in Pakistan.
Tael Bars
A tael is a Chinese unit of weight. One tael is equivalent to 1.2 oz or 37.4 g. Tael bars, ranging from ½ tael to 10 taels, are widely traded in Chinese-speaking countries, mainly Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Cast tael bars are manufactured in 3 shapes: ‘biscuits’, ‘doughnuts’ and ‘boats’ and the Exhibition displays a variety of tael bars from manufacturers in Hong Kong.
‘Boat’ Bars
Tael bars, described as ‘boats’, range from ½ tael to 10 taels. The traditional ‘boat’ shape is known to have been used for silver and other Chinese coinage as far back as the Han dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD).
‘Biscuit’ Bars
The most popular tael bar weight is the 5 tael ‘biscuit’ cast bar (6 oz or 187 g). 5 tael ‘biscuits’, manufactured in Hong Kong and accredited to the Chinese Gold & Silver Exchange (founded in 1910), are traded in large quantities. Minted tael bars, normally made outside Hong Kong, are also available.
‘Doughnut’ Bars
Tael bars, described as ‘doughtnuts’, are available in 3 small sizes, ½, 1 and 2 taels. The ‘doughnut’ shape is a traditional Chinese shape for coinage. The hole enables many bars to be securely stacked together on wooden rods or bound together with string.
Baht Bars
The baht is a Thai unit of weight. The most popular bar is the 10 baht cast bar, equivalent to 150.4 g or 4.9 oz. The traditional gold purity of baht bars is unusual: 96.5%. The Exhibition displays baht bars issued by a variety of manufacturers.
Tola Bars
The tola is an Indian unit of weight. The most popular weight is the 10 tola cast bar, equivalent to 3.75 oz or 116.64 g. More than 2 million are manufactured annually. Tola bars, most of which are imported from Europe, are widely traded in the Middle East, India, Pakistan and Singapore.
10 tola bars are distinctive in two ways. They have smooth rounded edges and are an ideal size for smuggling, if necessary inside the smuggler’s body. They have no serial numbers. Round minted tola bars are often incorporated into jewellery, especially in Pakistan where ‘marriage necklaces’ can weigh 500 g or more. The Exhibition displays tola bars issued by a variety of manufacturers.
Chi Bars
The chi is a Vietnamese unit of weight. 1 chi weighs 3.75 g. 10 chi (or 1 cay or 1 luong) weighs 37.5 g. Pamp (Switzerland) was the first among accredited manufacturers to produce a range of chi denominated minted bars for Vietnam. The Exhibition displays a variety of chi bars.
Decorative Bars
The application of an attractive decorative design to the reverse side of a standard minted bar has occurred only since around 1980. The manufacture of decorative minted bars is dominated by accredited manufacturers in Switzerland, Germany and Brazil and several are exhibited.
‘Hologram’ Bars
Pamp (Switzerland) pioneered the application of multi-coloured hologram designs to minted bars in 1990. These bars, popular in the Middle East, are now distributed worldwide and a variety of hologram bars are on display.
‘Rainbow’ Bars
Mitsubishi (Japan) is the pioneer manufacturer of multi-coloured ‘rainbow’ bars. The manufacturing process combines different carat gold colour tones in order to create an infinite variety of attractive patterns. The Exhibition displays experimental bars, made in 1993, which illustrate ‘rainbow’, ‘woodgrain’, ‘textile’ and ‘polka dot’ patterns. The bar purity is 75% (18 carat).
‘Yin-Yang’ Bars
Several unusual ‘Yin-Yang’ bars issued by Ishifuku (Japan) in 1993 are displayed. These two innovative ‘kidney’ shaped bars depict the Zen religious symbol representing the harmony of opposites.
‘Koban’ Bars
Tokuriki Honten (Japan) has manufactured attractive ‘Koban’ bars since the early 1960s, ranging from 5 g to 50 g. The bars commemorate the oval shape of traditional Japanese gold coinage issued between the 16th and 19th centuries.
‘Twin-Coin’ Bar
Yoo Long Kim Kee (Thailand) was the first to manufacture a decorative cast bar to a precise weight through injecting gold into an enclosed mould under pressure. The Exhibition displays an experimental 1 baht bar, described as a ‘twin-coin’ bar, which was manufactured in 1992.
‘Gold Leaf’ Bars
From the 1930s until the end of the Vietnam war in 1975, unusual ‘gold leaf’ bars were widely manufactured in Vietnam. Their thinness makes them extremely portable, easily placed inside shoes, sewn into the lining of clothes or rolled into narrow tubes. Thousands of these bars, smuggled by Vietnamese refugees, were sold to gold dealers, mainly in South East Asia. The standard bar weighs around 15 g.
The Exhibition displays gold leaf bars which are on loan from the Kenneth Yeung Collection, King Fook Finance Co Ltd, Hong Kong.
Fine Gold Cards
Fine gold cards, pioneered by Mitsubishi (Japan) in the mid-1980s, enable multi-coloured printed designs to be applied to their smooth surfaces. Although gold cards up to 1000 g are available, the 1 g card is the most widely sold in Japan and cards issued by a variety of Japanese manufacturers are on display.
‘Bone’ Bar
The Exhibition displays an innovative 100 g cast bar in an unconventional ‘bone’ shape which was manufactured by Degussa (Brazil) in 1982.
‘Gold Fillet’ Bars
‘Gold Fillet’ bars, which are manufactured from thin rolled gold strips, are sometimes produced to display the official stamps of ‘400 oz’ (12.5 kg) bars where they are not used in the manufacture of smaller bars. The Exhibition displays two ‘gold fillet’ bars produced by Australian Gold Refineries at its Perth and Kalgoorlie refineries. They illustrate the official stamps and other markings which appear only on its London Good Delivery ‘400 oz’ bars.
‘Pendant’ Bars
Degussa (Germany) is recorded as the first among accredited manufacturers to have manufactured in 1978 a minted bar in an unconventional (hexagonal) shape and incorporating a hole to facilitate its use as a pendant. In 1984, Pamp (Switzerland) expanded the concept, pioneering the production of minted bars in many unusual shapes, as well as incorporating hangers. The Exhibition displays pendant bars by a variety of manufacturers.
‘Double Pendant’ Bars
In 1996, Pamp (Switzerland) launched ‘double-pendant’ bars in the Middle East. They are available in three weights (10 g, 7.5 g and 5 g) with two inner shapes: heart and circular and the Exhibition displays a variety of double pendant bars.
‘Bank’ Bars
Many banks issue minted bars, marked with their own name but manufactured by an external manufacturer. In Europe and Brazil, minted ‘bank’ bars are widely available and a variety are on display.
‘Commemorative’ Bars
Some accredited manufacturers, most notably Degussa (Germany) and Degussa (Brazil), issue minted bars commemorating important national or international events. The minting of ‘commemorative’ bars, incorporating the mark of the accredited manufacturer, is not yet widespread but a selection of commemorative bars are displayed.
‘Heart’ Bars
Innovative ‘heart’ bars, defined as heart-shaped or incorporating a heart design, were first made by Pamp SA in 1994, the outcome of a World Gold Council initiative in Singapore. The ‘heart’ bars of ARY Traders (UAE), launched in 1997, have aroused much interest in UAE, Pakistan and India and the Exhibition displays ‘heart’ bars from both manufacturers.
‘Kinebars™’
Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS), through its subsidiary refinery, Argor-Heraeus SA, has applied a KINEGRAM™ as a security device to the reverse of its minted bars since December 1993. This new bar is called kinebar? and a range of UBS kinebars? are shown.
KINEGRAM™ is the trade mark of the security device developed by Landis & Gyr Communications.
‘Bullion Watch’ Bars
The Exhibition displays a remarkable range of ‘bullion watches’ pioneered by Pamp SA (Switzerland) that are designed to be traded, like bullion bars or coins, according to the prevailing value of their fine gold content. Launched internationally in Hong Kong in 1994, they incorporate circular dials which contain either 1 oz or ½ oz of 99.99% gold. They are available in more than 100 different styles and designs in 3 categories designated: ‘man’, ‘woman’ and ‘unisex’. Straps can be in gold, steel or leather.
‘Fine Art’ Bars
The Exhibition displays two series of innovative gold proof bars with a gold purity of 99.99%, which were minted by the Singapore Mint in 1994 - ‘Balinese Girl’ (75 g), which is one of four decorative ‘Art Ingots’, and ‘$10: The Government of the Strait Settlement’(41 g), one of four decorative ingots depicting historical banknotes.
‘Bas-Relief’ Bar
The Exhibition includes an unusual bar manufactured by Buan Hua Long (Thailand) which still marks its standard 5, 10 and 25 baht bars in bas-relief. The marks, carved into the base of the bar mould, are formed as soon as the molten gold is poured into the mould. This traditional method of marking cast bars eliminates the need for conventional marking tools: dies, punches and hammers.
‘Full-Colour’ Bars
One dimensional designs in full colour are now applied to decorative gold bars. In 1996, Pamp (Switzerland) issued a range of 10 g oval pendant bars depicting characters from Indian mythology (eg Krishna, Laxmiji) in full colour and the Exhibition displays several ‘full colour’ bars.
‘Cartoon’ Bars
Famous cartoon characters are now being depicted on small gold bars. In 1996, Pamp (Switzerland) introduced designs from Warner Bros (eg Tweety and Bugs Bunny) and, in 1997, from Disney (eg Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck). Samples of all these bars are shown.
Minted ‘Brick’ Bars
The Exhibition displays a 50 g minted bar, manufactured by SEMPSA (Spain) in the shape of a ‘brick’ which is unique. It is the only minted bar among accredited bar manufacturers worldwide to have tapered sides, closely resembling the shape of typical large 400 oz (12.5 kg) London Good Delivery Bars.
‘Model’ Bars
LG Metals Corporation (South Korea) has issued, since 1991, a traditional range of ‘model’ bars (average purity 99.98%) in the form of pigs (a symbol of wealth), toads (good fortune) and turtles (longevity). Denominated in ‘Dons’, a Korean unit of weight (1 ‘don’ equals 3.75 g), they are normally traded at a small premium above the gold price. ‘Model’ bars are especially popular among Koreans as gifts for weddings and anniversaries and the Exhibition displays an example of each.
‘Mirror’ Bar
The Exhibition displays an unusual ‘mirror’ bar, available in 1, 2 and 4 baht weights, which was manufactured by Yoo Long Kim Kee (Thailand) in 1989.
The world’s largest - and smallest - bars
The smallest cast bar in grammes weighs 10 g, first made in Brazil by Degussa (since 1985) as well as subsequently by Ourinvest and CRM. The smallest cast bar in ounces is the ½ oz ‘button’ bar made by the Perth Mint (Australia) since 1976.
Tanaka (Japan) has manufactured the world’s smallest minted bars, mainly for the jewellery industry, since 1990. They weigh only 0.5 g and 0.3 g. 1 g minted bars, first issued by Crédit Suisse (Switzerland) in 1980, are manufactured by 12 accredited manufacturers worldwide, including Degussa and Heraeus.
The Exhibition displays examples of each of these bars as well as the world’s largest standard minted bars: the 20 oz and 500 g which are manufactured by Johnson Matthey (Canada).
Historical Rothschild Bars
NM Rothschild & Sons Limited (United Kingdom) manufactured gold bars in London for more than 100 years until 1967. The Exhibition displays a 100 g bar which was kindly provided by Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo KK (Japan), and a 50 g bar provided by Dresdner Bank AG (Germany).
Oldest Stamp
An official stamp on a bar identifies the name of the issuing company. Among accredited manufacturers worldwide, the oldest official stamp still in use is that of the Homestake Mining Company (USA) which has been using the same stamp since 1878. A sample is displayed.
Oldest Assay Mark
The Exhibition also displays the world’s oldest assay mark. In addition to an official stamp, many bar manufacturers apply an assay mark to the bar, certifying the weight and purity. Among accredited manufacturers worldwide, the oldest assay mark still in use is that of Schöne Edelmetaal BV (Netherlands). The same mark, depicting a mercury staff and two snakes, has been used for more than 200 years.
Bullion Coins
The Exhibition also displays a variety of the world’s leading bullion coins. For many investors bullion coins, denominated in ounces and issued by national mints, offer the easiest way to hold gold. The Krugerrand (South Africa) was the first gold coin to be issued with a precise weight in ounces. The 1 oz coin was launched in 1967, the smaller sizes in 1980.
Gold Nuggets
The Exhibition tells the story of gold from its original form as ore or nuggets and displays samples of nuggets from Australia, the USA and South Africa. The discovery of gold nuggets stimulated four great gold rushes in the 19th century: USA (1840s), Australia (1850s), South Africa (1880s) and Canada (1890s). These four countries, together with Russia, still dominate the world’s supply of newly-mined gold. While most nuggets are small, the largest known nugget was the ‘Welcome Stranger’. Discovered in Australia in 1858, it weighed 2,284 oz (71 kg).
Gold-Bearing Ore
The Exhibition also displays gold-bearing ore from a variety of countries. Almost all newly-mined gold is laboriously extracted from this gold-bearing ore. Typically, around 5 - 10 tonnes of ore is processed to yield just one ounce of gold. Much gold is mined at great depths below ground. In South Africa, the world’s largest gold producing country, these depths can exceed 3 km.
‘Dore’ Bars
Most major gold mines process their gold-bearing ore at the site of the mine, producing low purity ‘dore’ bars and the Exhibition includes samples of these rough bars which are sent to gold refineries for upgrading into tradeable bars of high purity (99.5% or more). ‘Dore’ bars are normally large, some weighing as much as 25 kg.
‘Garimpo’ Dore
The Exhibition includes samples of ‘Garimpo’ dore bars which are made by ‘garimpeiros’, Brazilian peasants who mine gold independently or in small groups in the Amazon jungle. Brazil was the world’s major source of newly-mined gold in the 18th century. It still yields around 75 tonnes annually.