Gold bar break-even: 10g needs +10.2%, a 1 oz bar +5.1%
In short
- At SD Bullion a 10g bar needs gold to rise 10.2% to break even; a 1 oz bar needs 5.1%.
- The cheapest 1 oz bar (Gainesville Coins) is 0.6% over spot, but it quotes no buy-back price.
- Break-even is the buy-sell gap divided by the dealer’s buy-back price: how far gold must rise before you are back to even.
The spot price is not what you get back. The real test of a gold purchase is the gap between what a dealer charges and what he pays, and how far the market must move to close it.
What happened
Gold was $4,080 an ounce in HawkValue’s live feed at 06:42 on Saturday, down about 0.8% in 24 hours after Friday’s strong US jobs data. We took the dealer prices on our comparison pages at the same minute: the price you pay (sell price), and the price the dealer pays you (buy-back).
Spot is about $131 a gram ($4,080 an ounce). Here is the picture at SD Bullion, which quotes both prices (buy price / buy-back price):
- 10g bar: $1,362.15 / $1,235.77. Gap $126.38. Premium over spot 3.8%.
- 1 oz bar: $4,161.35 / $3,961.48. Gap $199.87. Premium 2.0%.
- 100g bar: $13,314.45, no buy-back price quoted. Premium 1.5%.
Break-even is simple: the gap divided by the buy-back price. For the 10g bar it is $126.38 against $1,235.77, or 10.2%. For the 1 oz bar it is $199.87 against $3,961.48, or 5.1%. Figures exclude delivery and any extra charges, and only dealers that quote a buy-back price are included.
Our comparison also lists Gainesville Coins at $4,102.31 for a 1 oz bar, which is only 0.6% over spot, and Hero Bullion at $4,189.42. The spread between dealers can be as large as the break-even itself, so the cheapest price today is not always the cheapest way to hold gold. A dealer that quotes no buy-back price leaves the second half of the calculation unknown, so check that before you rely on a headline price. American Eagle coins follow the same pattern: Gainesville Coins lists a 1 oz Eagle at $4,143.60, 1.6% over spot.
What it means for you
Bigger bars cost less per gram and need a smaller move to break even. The trade-off is a larger single outlay and less flexibility: you cannot sell half a bar.
The maths: $1,000 at the cheapest 10g price (Summit Metals, $1,344.83) buys 7.44g. At the cheapest 1 oz price (Gainesville Coins, $4,102.31) it buys 7.58g, and at SD Bullion’s 100g price 7.51g. Selling a 10g bar straight back to SD Bullion would return about $1,236, which is $126 less than you paid.
Compare all dealers on US gold prices and run your own numbers in the gold calculator.
Bottom line
At SD Bullion the break-even is 10.2% for a 10g bar and 5.1% for a 1 oz bar. These figures are from 06:42 on Saturday and shift with every move in the gold price and every dealer update.
Sources: HawkValue dealer prices · Rio Times
Gold prices at US dealers live →
For information only. This is not investment advice.
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