Top 5 Best Small Gold Bars

We’d all love to be able to buy kilos of gold at one time. Massive gold bars have an undeniable appeal, and adding these large investments to your portfolio would be the chance of a lifetime. Unfortunately, most of us just don’t have the funds to swing a gold stack like that. 

Luckily, the increasing popularity of small gold bars has made it easier than ever for anyone to invest in gold. Did you know that you could buy a gold bar for less than $100? These fractional – or very small – gold bars often fly under the radar. 

There are hundreds of small gold bars on the market. For new investors looking to buy their first investment-grade gold bar or grab some cheap gold as a gift, it can be hard to find the best small gold bars. 

That’s why we’re here! In today’s Hero Bullion guide, we’re walking readers through our picks for the top 5 best small gold bars on the market in 2023. 

How to Find Affordable Gold Bars

Before we get into the top 5 best small gold bars, we want to take a moment to talk about how to find affordable gold bars in the first place. It might surprise you to know that the most profitable gold bars to invest in might not be the small gold bars we’re discussing in this guide. 

How could that be the case? Let’s take a closer look at how precious metal premiums work. 

Comparing Premiums 

Premiums refer to small fees that you pay on top of the melt value of a gold product. Premiums aren’t possible to avoid. Whether you buy gold bars, coins, or jewelry, you’ll pay more for your product than its gold value alone. 

One interesting fact to note for new investors is that premiums tend to decrease as the size of your gold product increases. In other words, you’ll pay a lower percentage premium buying a 1 kilo gold bar than you would for a 1 oz gold bar. Weird, right? 

But even if you’re still working on buying the best small gold bars for your collection, it’s important to remember how much money you could potentially save if you choose to level up your stacking game with larger gold bars. 

Small Gold Bars – Investing on a Budget

Even though large gold bars like the 1 kilo gold bar provide quite a bit of savings on premium prices, the best way to save money buying gold is to buy small bars. 

Small gold bars are a relatively new investment opportunity. A century ago, it would have been hard to find any mint willing to spend the money necessary to mint a 1 gram gold bullion bar. But now, a growing number of major world mints are producing beautiful, high quality small gold bars to help consumers invest on a budget. 

Identifying the best small gold bars for investment is a good way to make sure that you’re getting the best possible deals for your money. As you search the internet for the best small gold bars, mints like the Perth Mint, Argor-Heraeus, and others will quickly establish themselves as industry leaders. 

What Are Fractional Gold Bars? 

So what are fractional gold bars? The term can be a bit confusing, and we wanted to clear it up before we get into the top 5 best small gold bars on the market in 2023. 

Fractional gold bars are just gold bars that weigh less than one troy ounce. Since gold’s spot price is measured primarily in troy ounces, this is the most common weight for both gold bars and coins. 

But because some investors don’t really feel like spending $2,000 on a single gold bar or coin, fractional gold bars are an excellent way to invest in gold without breaking the bank. Some of the best small gold bars also offer the same beautiful designs, high gold content, and potential numismatic value that we find in larger gold bars of the same brand! 

Ranked: The Top 5 Best Small Gold Bars

Now that we’ve got some of the most important background information out of the way, let’s get right into our list of the top 5 best small gold bars on the market. Making this list wasn’t easy. Hero Bullion offers a massive inventory of some of the best small gold bars you can find anywhere. 

Still, there are five small gold bars that stand above the rest. The gold bars on our list are highly affordable and feature beautiful designs struck against highly pure gold bullion.

Let’s count down the best small gold bars! 

Argor-Heraeus 1 Gram Gold Bar

We begin with a staple among fractional gold bar collectors: the Argor-Heraeus 1 Gram Gold Bar. This gold bar is part of a larger tradition of excellence at the Argor-Heraeus Mint. While this mint might not have quite the reputation of the Royal Canadian Mint, it’s made a name for itself by minting some of the coolest gold, silver, and platinum bars on the market. 

Their .9999 fine 1 Gram Gold Bar features the mint logo, country of minting, weight, purity, and material on the obverse. Below this information, you’ll also find your individualized bar serial number. The reverse is left intentionally blank, which helps make these bars great for stacking. 

Argor-Heraeus 10 Gram Dragon Gold Bar

Another one of the best small gold bars on the market also comes from Argor-Heraeus. They really outdid themselves this year with their 2024 Year of the Dragon Gold Bars. The 10 Gram Dragon Gold Bar features some of the most beautiful, intricate designs we’ve ever seen on a gold bar. 

Like all of the AG gold catalog, this bar is minted with .9999 fine gold bullion. It features a reverse depiction of a dragon. The mighty beast

 

covers the entire side of this bar as it rears back to breath fire. The obverse once again focuses on simplicity and offers a classic look. Like the bar we discussed above, this bar includes a unique serial number for added security. 

Valcambi 1 Gram Gold Bar

Next on our list of the best small gold bars of 2023 is the Valcambi 1 Gram Gold Bar. Valcambi Suisse is a Swiss mint known for its beautiful and highly refined gold bullion bars. This bar features the same brilliant attention to detail you’d find on all of Valcambi’s gold bars. On the obverse, their sleek logo sits right above the bar’s weight, material, fineness, and serial number. 

On the reverse, you’ll note the Valcambi Suisse mint name and nothing else. The classic look of the reverse is a great thing for collectors who like the look and feel of a basic gold bar, and the artistry of their logo plays well against the .9999 fine gold strike of the piece.

Pamp Fortuna 1 Gram Gold Bar

Pamp Fortuna is yet another famous Swiss mint known for quality gold, silver, and platinum bullion bars. The Pamp Fortuna series is likely their best seller – and we can understand why. On the obverse, onlookers will note a stunningly detailed portrait of Fortuna, the Roman goddess of fortune and luck. She wears a blindfold and holds an overflowing cornucopia in her hands. 

For a bar of this size, the detail of its artwork is really without equal. The reverse of the bar also has quite a bit to offer investors. The .9999 purity, mint name, and weight all appear on its reverse, along with a unique serial number. Above the mint’s name, you’ll find their logo, which also comes with exceptionally detailed and fine lettering. 

Valcambi 10 x 1 Gram Gold CombiBar (New in Assay) 

This is the most expensive bar on our list of the best small gold bars. Some people may call it cheating to list a CombiBar – we call it creativity. The Valcambi 20 x 1 Gram Gold CombiBar is one of the most unique gold bar products that Hero Bullion has to offer. 

When you purchase this gold bar, you’ll actually receive twenty 1 gram gold bars in a single Assay card package. This means that the CombiBar is more expensive than just a single gram of gold, but you also get more gold for your money. Each bar includes the same designs on the obverse and reverse that we outlined in the Valcambi 1 Gram Gold Bar section earlier. 

We won’t deny that this particular product is a bit pricey for budget investors. Still, we work to keep premiums as low as possible. However, we still consider this collection of fractional gold bars to be one of the best small gold bars on the market. If you’re interested in building a gold stack from scratch, the Valcambi 20 x 1 Gram Gold CombiBar is a great choice. 

Advantages to Buying Small Gold Bars

There are several reasons why someone might want to invest in the best small gold bars. Namely, we find that a high liquidity, beautiful artwork, and extreme affordability make small gold bars a great choice for the modern investor on a budget. 

High Liquidity

We always point to liquidity as a big factor to consider when you’re looking for your next investment. There’s a reason for this. Liquidity refers to how easy (or hard) it will be to sell your gold bar or coin once you’re ready to cash out. 

Small gold bars are highly liquid for a couple of reasons. First, the best small gold bars are always in demand. Unlike rare coins that would require you to find a specialized collector in order to make your sale, gold bars are bought and sold primarily on their gold content. This makes it easy to find a buyer willing to pay a fair price for your gold bars. 

Second, small gold bars are easy to let go of without selling more than you’re prepared to part with. If you have 1 oz gold coins, selling a single one means you’d have to give up $2,000 in silver all at one time. But with small gold bars, you can pick and choose how much gold you want to part with in exchange for cash. 

Beautiful Artwork 

The best small gold bars feature artwork that mirrors the large gold bars you love. The best mints in the world realize that investors don’t want to compromise on appearance when they shop for small gold bars. Valcambi, Argor-Heraeus, and all of the other mints on our list of the best small gold bars have worked to provide an excellent aesthetic experience wrapped neatly in these small packages. 

Extremely Affordable 

This is probably the biggest reason why people look for fractional gold bars. A single ounce of pure gold bullion costs around $2,000 – and that’s before shipping and premium costs are applied. Put simply, most investors don’t have the money to blow that much on gold at one time. 

But with the rising popularity of beautiful and small gold bars, you might be able to invest in actual gold for as little as $85, given current market rates. This is unprecedented. In our view, the increasing availability of cheap gold bars is a great thing for everybody. 

Gone are the days when you’d need to take out a second mortgage to fund your gold stacking habit. Whether you’re buying gold as a gift or using the world’s most popular precious metal to build your future, the best small gold bars are a fantastic way to invest. 

Final Thoughts: Ranking the Top 5 Best Small Gold Bars

When we sat down to rank the top 5 best small gold bars on the market, we knew we had our work cut out for us. On the Hero Bullion website, you’ll find dozens of quality gold bars weighing less than one ounce. 

But when it comes to your financial future, you deserve the very best. Buying fractional gold bars can help you stack gold without losing your stack of cash. 

If you still have questions about buying small gold bars, please reach out to our customer service team. Otherwise, happy stacking! 

You might also be interested in: 

• Best Gold Bar Brands
• Which Gold Coins Are Tax Free? 
• 7 Great Reasons to Buy Gold