Where to Buy Gold in 2026: Coins, Bars, Premiums and One Honest Recommendation

Reviewed by the Gold Value Chart US Editorial Team · Updated October 28, 2026

Values on this page use gold spot at $4,048.80/oz · updated October 28, 2026

Quick answer: Buy gold from a dealer that shows every cost in writing before you commit, and expect to pay a little more than the spot price on the chart. Spot today is $4,048.80 per troy ounce. Bullion coins and bars from a well-established dealer are the plainest route. If you are weighing a purchase of roughly $50,000 or more, in cash or for an IRA, we point to one company, Augusta Precious Metals, and explain below who it suits and who it does not. If you want a single coin, Augusta is the wrong place to start, and we say that plainly.

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Coins or bars: which one fits what you want

Both are gold, and both are priced off the same spot number you see on our gold value chart. The difference is in the handling, not in the metal.

Coins come in small, standard sizes, and the best known have a government behind the weight and purity. The American Gold Eagle is the easiest example: it is 22K (.9167), weighs 33.931 grams gross, and holds exactly one troy ounce of gold. The South African Krugerrand is similar at 33.93 grams and .9167. The Canadian Maple Leaf and the American Buffalo are both .9999 fine and weigh about 31.11 grams. If you want to see what a single coin is worth in melt terms, one Eagle comes out at $4,048.80 at today's spot, before any premium. Smaller fractions exist too, and a tenth-ounce Eagle is $404.88 at spot, which is why small coins tend to carry a higher premium per ounce: the minting and handling cost is spread over less gold.

Bars are priced closer to spot per ounce as they get larger, and they are made for people who want weight rather than variety. A one-ounce bar is $4,048.80 at spot, a ten-ounce bar $40,488, and a kilo bar $130,159. The trade-off is flexibility. A big bar is harder to sell in part, and some buyers want to assay it again when it comes back to market. A coin is recognised on sight.

A few plain rules of thumb follow from that:

• If you may want to sell a little at a time, coins or small bars give you that option.
• If you are buying a larger amount and plan to hold it, bars usually cost less over spot per ounce, though prices vary by dealer and by day.
• Plain bullion is the simplest thing to price. Rare or collectible coins are a different market, with their own pricing, and you should not mix the two up. More on that in the questions section below.

For the gram view of the same metal, see gold price per gram, and for the ounce figure and how it relates to coin and bar sizes, see gold price per ounce.

Premium over spot: the cost nobody puts on the chart

Spot is the price of gold in the wholesale market. It is the number on our chart, and it is a reference, not a price you can walk into a shop and pay. A dealer adds a premium on top for the coin or bar itself, for fabrication, for shipping and insurance, for their own margin, and for the risk of holding stock while the market moves.

Here is a worked example. The premium in this example is 4%, chosen as a round, plausible figure for illustration only. Your actual premium will differ by product, by dealer and by day, and some products cost noticeably more.

• Spot for one troy ounce: $4,048.80
• Price of a one-ounce coin with that premium: $4,210.75
• A dealer's buyback on the same coin at a typical discount of 2% below spot: $3,967.82
• The round trip, buying at the first number and selling back at the second, in this example: $242.93

The lesson is not that those percentages are right for you. It is that you start behind. Gold has to rise by more than the spread between what you paid and what a buyer will pay you before you are even. That is true of every physical metal purchase, and a dealer who tells you otherwise is not being straight with you.

The same logic is why the melt value in our tables is a ceiling for a seller and a floor for a collector coin. If you are on the other side of the counter, see the gold value calculator to work out melt, and the notes on why a buyer pays less than the table on the 14K gold price per gram page.

One point on terms: low-mintage and special-issue products usually carry higher acquisition prices than plain bullion. Ask for the product type and the premium over melt, in writing, before you agree to anything.

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Where Augusta Precious Metals fits, and where it does not

We recommend one company on this site, and we want you to know exactly what that means. Augusta Precious Metals sells gold and silver coins and bars, for IRAs and for cash. It asks for a $50,000 minimum, whether you buy with cash or for an IRA. That number is the whole story of who it suits.

At today's spot, $50,000 is about 12.3 troy ounces of gold, before premium. That is a large purchase. It is not a fit if you want one Eagle, a few small bars, or a first taste of owning gold. For that, a local coin shop or a large online bullion dealer with no minimum will serve you better, and you should use the questions below to choose one.

Augusta may be a fit if:

• you already know you are buying at that size and want one-on-one help understanding the product before you commit;
• you are rolling over or funding a gold IRA and want a company that handles the metal for an IRA;
• you prefer a recorded price confirmation to a vague quote.

We describe Augusta's coverage as nationwide. Our full write-up, further down this page, sets out only what we can state about the company.

How buying works, step by step

Whatever you buy and wherever you buy it, the path is much the same.

1. Decide what the gold is for. Holding it at home, holding it in an IRA, and keeping some for gifts are different jobs and lead to different products.
2. Check the spot price. Open the chart, note $4,048.80 per ounce, and keep the as-of time in mind. Spot moves while you read.
3. Choose bullion first. Standard coins and bars are the easiest thing to price and resell. Treat collector coins as a separate decision.
4. Ask three or four dealers for the same item. Same coin, same quantity, same delivery. Compare the all-in price, not the headline.
5. Get the costs in writing. Price per piece, premium over spot, shipping, insurance, and any other charge, before you pay.
6. Pay by a method you can trace, and keep every confirmation, invoice and tracking number.
7. Lock the price. With a phone or online order, find out exactly when the price is fixed and what happens if the market moves before payment arrives.
8. Inspect on arrival. Check the weight, the seals and the paperwork against the invoice. Note any mismatch the day it arrives.
9. Store it safely. At home, in a safe deposit box, or with a depository, and insure it accordingly.
10. Record the purchase. Keep the invoice. You will want it when you sell.

If you are curious what a piece is worth by weight and purity, the gold purity chart explains the karat marks and the calculator does the arithmetic.

Ten questions to ask any gold dealer

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and FINRA have published a short list of things to ask before buying physical gold, silver or other metals. We have paraphrased the main points, added a few of our own, and arranged them so you can take them to the phone or the counter.

1. What is the total price, in writing? You want the cost per piece, the premium over spot and every added charge before you agree.
2. What is your spread? That is the gap between what you pay and what the dealer would pay to buy the same item back. Ask for it in dollars.
3. Is this bullion or a collectible? The two are priced very differently, and the regulators' guidance warns buyers to understand which one they are buying.
4. Does the word "semi-numismatic" appear in the pitch? The regulators have noted that this term has no real meaning. If you hear it, slow down and ask what the item actually is.
5. What will you pay to buy it back, and under what conditions? A buyback promise without a number is not a promise.
6. What are the storage and insurance arrangements, and what do they cost?
7. When is my price locked, and what happens if the market moves before my payment lands?
8. How long have you been in business, and what do independent reviewers and consumer bodies say?
9. Did you contact me, or did I contact you? Cold calls are a common starting point for pressure sales. The regulators advise caution about unsolicited approaches.
10. Can I take time to decide? A reputable dealer will let you walk away and call back. Be wary of urgency that appears from nowhere.

A related joint warning from the CFTC, FINRA and the state securities regulators (March 2024) cautions about rollover pitches and large markups. If someone tells you to move retirement savings into metal and the markup is not clear, treat it as a red flag until it is explained in writing.

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Delivery to your door, or gold inside an IRA

You can hold physical gold in two broad ways, and each suits a different person.

Delivery means the metal is shipped to you or to a storage location you control. You own it outright, and you handle the safekeeping and the insurance. It suits someone who wants to see and hold the metal, who is comfortable with storage, or who wants the flexibility to sell part of it without much ceremony. The gains, when you sell, are taxed differently from the way stocks are, because the IRS treats gold as a collectible, which has a higher maximum long-term rate (IRC section 1(h)). A tax adviser can tell you what that means for your situation.

Gold in an IRA means the metal sits in a self-directed account and is held by an approved depository, not at your home (IRC section 408(m)). The rules on what qualifies are strict. American Gold Eagles are expressly eligible. Buffalo and Maple Leaf coins qualify at .995 fineness or better. The Krugerrand does not. Because eligibility depends on the product, check it before you buy, not afterward.

Neither route is better in the abstract. The question is what you want the gold to do and who you want to hold it. We do not compare any company's account charges on this page, and you should ask every provider you consider for a full, written schedule before you open anything.

Augusta Precious Metals: what we can say about the company

Augusta Precious Metals was founded in 2012. It sells gold and silver coins and bars, for IRAs and for cash purchases, and it is A+ rated by the BBB, accredited since 2015. The BBB's page showed a single complaint filed in the previous three years when we looked in September 2026. We do not repeat it here; the BBB's own listing carries it, with the company's answer beside it.

What sets the process apart is the education step. Before you buy, Augusta runs a one-on-one web conference to explain the product and the account. Augusta says its educators are salaried rather than commissioned. That is the company's own statement, and we have not tested it, so weigh it as you would any claim a seller makes about itself. When you do place an order, the price is locked on a recorded call, which means there is a record of what was agreed.

There is a seven-day cancellation window. Augusta's own FAQ and the BBB text do not describe its coverage in quite the same way, so confirm which products the window covers before you buy.

The minimum is the thing to keep in front of you: a $50,000 minimum, whether you buy with cash or for an IRA. It is not designed for a single coin. If that is not your scale, use the dealer questions above and look elsewhere.

What the button does. The green button on this page requests a free Gold & Silver IRA information kit. Augusta then phones you. It is not a checkout and it does not place an order. If you are not ready to take a call, do not click it. You can come back to this page whenever you like.

Augusta pays us if you go through our link, and we explain how in our advertising disclosure. The recommendation is ours: we describe who Augusta suits, and who it does not, in the same words whether or not you click.

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Before you buy, check the numbers yourself

A few pages on this site make the arithmetic easy to check for yourself:

• Gold price per gram puts every karat side by side, so you can see what a gram of 24K bullion costs against a gram of jewelry gold.
• Gold price per ounce explains the troy ounce, which is heavier than the ounce on a kitchen scale, and how it relates to coins and bars.
• Gold price history shows the long record: the all-time closing high of $5,318.40 on January 29, 2026, and how far price fell afterward. History is a record, not a forecast, and we do not make forecasts.
• The 10-year gold price chart is the right zoom for judging what a single year's move means against a decade.
• The gold value calculator turns a weight and a karat into a melt value.

If you are reading this because you want to sell gold, not buy it, the page you want is probably 14K gold price per gram or the calculator. Melt value is a ceiling for what a seller is offered, and the notes on those pages explain the typical gaps between melt and what buyers pay.

What this page cannot tell you

We cannot tell you which premium you will be quoted, which product is right for you, or whether the price will rise or fall. We do not forecast gold. The numbers on this site are spot, with the futures gap noted; they are a reference rather than a quote from any dealer. Prices a dealer actually charges are the dealer's, and you should confirm them yourself.

Frequently asked questions

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About this page

This guide was prepared by the Gold Value Chart US Editorial Team. We write from public regulator guidance and from the company's own published statements, and we mark anything that is a company's claim rather than something we verified. We recommend one company and we are paid if you use our link; that arrangement is set out in our advertising disclosure. Corrections are made when found.

Authority links

Sources and further reading

• CFTC: ten things to ask before buying physical gold, silver or other metals
• FINRA: consumer guidance on buying physical precious metals
• IRS: collectibles and the tax treatment of gold
• US Mint: American Eagle and Buffalo bullion coins
• LBMA: standards for good delivery bars