How many carats is pure gold?

The term ‘carat’ indicates the percentage of pure gold contained in a coin, bar or piece of jewellery. The highest possible is 24 carats of pure gold, or 99.9 per cent pure gold. The higher the carat of a product, the more pure the product is.
The gold carat of a physical investment in gold is often a high grade of 22 carats (91.6% pure gold) or higher.
Jewellery, on the other hand, comes in different carats. In the Netherlands, for example, 8 carat (33.3% pure gold) and 9 carat (37.5% pure gold) may not be called gold, this because of the low gold content. Germany and England, on the other hand, consider these to be gold. In the Netherlands, 14-carat jewellery is most common. Due to the addition of other metals, such as silver or copper, this gold is harder and therefore more wear-resistant. In addition, this jewellery is also cheaper than jewellery of a higher gold content. 
 

How many carats is pure gold?

The purest form of gold, is 24-carat gold. In fineness, this is expressed by 999.9 and in English they also call it ‘four nines fine’. A well-known coin with this quality is the gold Maple Leaf. The purest form of gold, is gold with a fineness of 999.99. However, this ‘five nines fine’ is very rare and not common. One of the series minted in 99.999% pure gold is the Call of the Wild series and the Klondike Gold Rush series.
24-carat gold consists of 99.9% or more gold. 22 carat gold consists of 91.6% pure gold and 18 carat contains 75% pure gold. 
 

 

Gold content in coins

When it comes to physical investments in gold, it is often in 22 carats or higher. Nowadays, many gold investment coins are minted in 24-carat gold or 99.9% pure gold. In the past, this was different and coins were minted in 22 carat gold or 91.6% pure gold.
A well-known example is the gold Britannia coin. These coins have been minted in a grade of 24 carat gold since 2013, before then these coins were minted in 22 carat gold. The coin then had a weight of 34.05 grams which equates to at least 1 troy ounce (31.103 grams) of gold. A current example is the world's oldest gold investment coin, the golden Krugerrand. This coin is minted in 22-carat gold and contains 91.67% pure gold and 8.33% copper. For this reason, the coin is also slightly different in colour from 24-carat gold investment coins. 
 

 
It is important to note here that coins minted in 22-carat gold weigh more than a 24-carat gold coin. For example, the gold Krugerrand weighs 33.93 grams which equates to 31.103 grams of pure gold (namely 33.93 (grams) x 0.9167 (percentage of gold) = 31.103 grams of pure gold). So on balance, there is as much gold in a gold Krugerrand as in a gold Maple Leaf.
All our gold investment coins come from the official coin houses and are tradable worldwide. In addition, we operate a unique buy-back guarantee whereby you can offer your bullion back to us at any time. There is no difference in these bid percentages between, for example, a golden Krugerrand or a golden Maple Leaf. This is because on balance there is the same amount of gold in both coins and we offer a percentage based on the gold price. 
 

Gold content in gold bars

The gold bars sold by The Silver Mountain are all struck in 24-carat gold or pure gold (99.99%). Also, all our gold bars have Good Delivery status and are therefore tradable worldwide. 
 

What is investment gold?

Investment gold is exempt from VAT, other gold is not. If you trade in investment gold, you are not entitled to deduct input VAT. Investment gold should always be minted in high grade gold.
Investment gold includes:

• Gold in the form of bars or plates of a weight accepted by the gold markets, with a purity of at least 995/1,000. Securities representing gold also count as investment gold.

Gold coins meeting the following conditions:

• They have a purity of at least 900/1,000;
• They were minted after 1800;
• They are or have been legal tender in the country of origin;
• They are normally sold at a price that does not exceed the market value of the gold contained in those coins by more than 80%.

In any case, gold coins designated by the European Commission count as investment gold. 
 

Conclusion

So the term carat indicates the percentage of pure gold in a product. The highest is 24 carat gold, or 99.9 per cent pure gold. Physical investments in gold are often of 22 carats or higher. This makes the gold exempt from VAT. The purest form of gold, is gold with a fineness of 999.99 or 99.999%. 
 
Disclaimer: The Silver Mountain does not provide investment advice and therefore this article should not be considered as such. Past results do not guarantee future results. 
 

Source

• Belastingdienst, “Wat is vrijgesteld bij handel in beleggingsgoud?”, 24 mei 2023.
• Belastingdienst, “Wat is beleggingsgoud?”, 24 mei 2023.