Umicore One Ounce Gold Bar in Assay Card

Brand new Umicore gold one ounce bars available at great prices from The Britannia Coin Company of Royal Wootton Bassett. 

Brief Umicore History

Umicore can trace its earliest roots back to the early 19th century when Emperor Napoleon granted Jean-Jacques Dony control of the Vieille-Montagne zinc mine, which is close to the modern-day Belgian-German border. However, the main root of the current Umicore company established itself as the Union Minière du Haut Katanga (UMHK, Mining Union of Upper Katanga) in 1906, working primarily as a copper mine in the Congo. It was heavily supported by the colonial government and soon became a world leader in the supply of metals such as copper, uranium and cobalt. Precious metals such as gold and silver were also mined and refined, but the UMHK mainly focussed on base metals and heavy metals during this time. 

After the company's nationalisation at the hands of President Mobutu Sese Seko, the UMHK rebranded itself as Union Minière in 1968, reflecting its forced departure from in the Katanga Province in the Congo. Having suddenly lost the vast majority of its business, it was formally taken over by Société Général de Belgique and realigned itself to more European interests.

Later on in 1989, the company started to take its present-day form when the merger of its subsidiary companies (Metallurgie Hoboken-Overpelt, Vieille-Montagne and Mechim) transformed Union Minière into a multinational, integrated materials technology company. To reflect this change, the company rebranded again in 2001, taking up its current name Umicore.

Buy Umicore 1oz Gold Bars

Umicore gold 1 ounce bars are an excellent choice to add to a gold stack or to give as a gift to someone close to you. Each bar contains exactly one troy ounce (31.1035 grams) of pure gold and has a fineness of 24 carat (0.9999). 

Being in new condition, these Umicore gold bars are issued sealed in a protective assay card. This plastic packaging doubles up as the bar's official certificate and includes the fineness, weight, serial number and a copy of the assayer's signature. Storing these Umicore bars is fairly straightforward, fitting neatly inside home safes, under the floorboards on in safe deposit boxes.  

Are 1oz Gold Bars A Good Investment?

We have acquired a significant amount of expertise from the years we have been in business, so we feel we can provide useful information for investing in gold for the interested layperson.

For investment purposes, it's wise to purchase gold at the lowest possible margin over the live spot price, irrespective of design, shape or metal fineness. In percentage premium terms, 1oz gold bars tend to be slightly more expensive than 1oz gold coins, although this occasionally is not the case. 

Take the South African 1oz gold Krugerrand for example. Often they're available at a lower premium than 1oz bars, but a deal-breaker for some investors is they're 22 carat (0.917 fine). Whilst they nevertheless contain 1 troy ounce of gold, some investors prefer 24 carat (0.9999 fine) bullion. When our new Umicore 1oz gold bars are compared to 0.999 fine gold 1oz coins, they're often available at a cheaper margin. 

'If you're looking for gold bullion at low premiums, our Umicore 1oz gold bars are a great option to look at. But consider if gold 1oz coins are a more suitable option for you.'

Other considerations to think of are capital gains tax implications and the ability to liquidate part of your gold portfolio. You can read more about this in-depth in our Buying Gold Bars vs Gold Coins article. If these factors are of no concern to you, then the competitive margin offered on these Umicore 1oz gold bars can make them a very attractive investment option.