# Tiny gold bars latest rage for jittery investors



## BillS (May 30, 2011)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/21/swiss-gold-idUSL5E8NL4N820121221

Dec 21 (Reuters) - Private investors in Switzerland, Austria and Germany are lining up to buy gold bars the size of a credit card that can easily be broken into one gram pieces and used as payment in an emergency.

Now Swiss refinery Valcambi, a unit of U.S. mining giant Newmont, wants to bring its "CombiBar" to market in the United States and build up its sales presence India - the world's largest consumer of gold where the precious metal has long served as a parallel currency.

Investors worried that inflation and financial market turmoil will wipe out the value of their cash have poured money into gold over the past decade. Prices have gained almost 500 percent since 2001 compared to a 12 percent increase in MSCI's world equity index.

Sales of gold bars and coins were worth almost $77 billion in 2011, up from just $3.5 billion in 2002, according to data from the World Gold Council.

"The rich are buying standard bars or have deposits of phsyical gold. People that have less money are buying up to 100 grams," said Michael Mesaric, CEO of Valcambi "But for many people a pure investment product is no longer enough. They want to be able to do something with the precious metal."

Mesaric said the advantage of the "CombiBar" - which has been dubbed a "chocolate bar" because pieces can be easily broken off by hand into one gram squares - is that it can be easily transported and costs less than buying 50 one gram bars.

"The produce can also be used as an alternative method of payment," he said.

Valcambi is building a sales network in India and plans to launch the CombiBar on the U.S. market next year. In Japan, it wants to focus on CombiBars made of platinum and palladium.

Elsewhere, demand is particularly strong among Germans, still scarred by post-World War One hyperinflation, when money became all but worthless and it took a wheelbarrow full of notes to buy a loaf of bread.

"Above all, it's people aged between 40 and 70 that are investing in gold bars and coins," said Mesaric. "They've heard tales from their parents about wars and crises devaluing money."

CRISIS PAYMENT

The CombiBar is particularly popular among grandparents who want to give their grandchildren a strip of gold rather than a coin, said Andreas Habluetzel head of the Swiss business of Degussa, a gold trading company.

Other customers buy gold for security reasons.

"Demand is rising every week," Habluetzel said. "Particularly in Germany, people buying gold fear that the euro will break apart or that banks will run into problems."

Some fund managers, however, remain sceptical.

Stephan Mueller, who manages bank Julius Baer's $6 billion gold fund, said one problem with using gold as a method of payment is that people have to take its value on blind trust.

"Gold is a useful store of value," Mueller said. "However I doubt whether it will succeed as a method of payment."

Nonetheless, as developments in the euro zone lurch from one crisis to another, demand for gold that can be sold in vending machines is also growing.

"Sales rise according to the temperature of the crisis," said Thomas Geissler, whose firm Ex Oriente Lux operates 17 gold vending machines in Europe, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

The machines saw record sales in 2010, one day after the then Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackermann raised doubts over whether Greece would be able to pay its debts.

Since the launch of the machines, which operate under the name "GOLD to go", 50,000 customers have withdrawn more than 21 million euros in gold. The average buyer is male, over 50 years old and well off.

"Customers are hoarding gold mostly at home as a precaution against a crisis, just as their fathers and grandfathers did before them," Geissler said.

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I think they would be very useful during hyperinflation. You could have a third party business that would exchange gold for money and vice versa. People could buy some gold when they get paid. Then buy currency when it's time to pay their rent.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

Here's a picture of the bar


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## Immolatus (Feb 20, 2011)

Very cool, I'd like to get my hands on one of those.

Of particular interest...
"demand is particularly strong among Germans, still scarred by post-World War One hyperinflation, when money became all but worthless and it took a wheelbarrow full of notes to buy a loaf of bread."


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

like to get my hands on a truck load of em but would be very happy to be able to aford to have one to go with my slowly growing pile of junk silver.


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## MsSage (Mar 3, 2012)

might have to order one with tax refund LOL ok I will have to add a bit to go with it....but at $2850 and in 50 pieces will be worth it in the long run.


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## 1969cj-5 (Sep 14, 2011)

Had one of these one Gram bars handed to me as a tip when I dropped off Firewood the other day.


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

Wow thats a nice tip!!!!


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## Fireman4c (Nov 8, 2012)

BillS said:


> Here's a picture of the bar


Over the last 10 years or so we have bought 1oz bars from our bank for this purpose


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

aren't these being counterfeited a lot now?

:dunno:


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## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

yeah have to careful where you get em and will have to be real dang careful if you ever barter with and for em in a shtf situation. Id hate to barter for "gold" and then go to spend it and be the one caught trying to pass off conterfiet. And I casn gaurantee noboady wants me to catch em trying to pass fake to me either. I"m getting a test set so I can test later and so I can use it while yard sale ing.


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## WWhermit (Mar 1, 2012)

jsriley5 said:


> yeah have to careful where you get em and will have to be real dang careful if you ever barter with and for em in a shtf situation. Id hate to barter for "gold" and then go to spend it and be the one caught trying to pass off conterfiet. And I casn gaurantee noboady wants me to catch em trying to pass fake to me either. I"m getting a test set so I can test later and so I can use it while yard sale ing.


Yup. Unless I have the absolute ability to test it, I'll not be taking any gold or silver in trade if it comes down to a barter situation. There's just too much risk based on my lack of ability to test the metals.

Also, I'll say this...if 2 people are asking to purchase something that I am selling after SHTF, one person has gold, and the other has food, ammo, or something else I need to survive, I'm passing on the gold every time. Just can't see me favoring a "precious" metal over food and ammo.


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## invision (Aug 14, 2012)

jsriley5 said:


> yeah have to careful where you get em and will have to be real dang careful if you ever barter with and for em in a shtf situation. Id hate to barter for "gold" and then go to spend it and be the one caught trying to pass off conterfiet. And I casn gaurantee noboady wants me to catch em trying to pass fake to me either. I"m getting a test set so I can test later and so I can use it while yard sale ing.


The test kits a dirt cheap, and IMO worth the $25 spent on eBay to get them... I love this idea, wonder if they will sell franchise kiosk machines to distributors, nice side business I am sure...


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## The_Blob (Dec 24, 2008)

invision said:


> The test kits a dirt cheap, and IMO worth the $25 spent on eBay to get them... I love this idea, wonder if they will sell franchise kiosk machines to distributors, nice side business I am sure...


they already wrap chains around ATMs and haul em' off with a truck... and they're just filled with fiat currency :nuts:


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## labotomi (Feb 14, 2010)

Northwest Territorial mint has Stagecoach Silver bars and Coins *"For When You Have To Get Out of Dodge"*








I haven't found a comparable offering with gold.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

One thing about gold is that it's very heavy. It weighs 11 ounces per cubic inch. You couldn't counterfeit those gold bars without changing the size or the thickness compared to the real bar. If I bought one of those bars I'd measure the thickness with a micrometer and the length and width as well.


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## labouton (Jan 24, 2011)

Here's an interesting article I just came across:
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/52005


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## mojo4 (Feb 19, 2012)

Those 50 gram bars are awesome! Wish we could get some here in CO.


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## Indiana_Jones (Nov 15, 2011)

labouton said:


> Here's an interesting article I just came across:
> http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/52005


labouton - this deserves a thread of it's own. I read this article yesterday on another website. Actually I read it twice. It was posted by a Canadian and the poster was very insistent the the source is a reputable publisher. I don't know anything at all about the Canadian Free Press nor the writer but this article fits in very well with other reports that have been leaked over the past two years. This is some very serious stuff and we are totally helpless against the "plan" for the USA.

But, due to the length of the interview, most people will not even look any farther than the headline.


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## labouton (Jan 24, 2011)

Indiana_Jones said:


> labouton - this deserves a thread of it's own. I read this article yesterday on another website. Actually I read it twice. It was posted by a Canadian and the poster was very insistent the the source is a reputable publisher. I don't know anything at all about the Canadian Free Press nor the writer but this article fits in very well with other reports that have been leaked over the past two years. This is some very serious stuff and we are totally helpless against the "plan" for the USA.
> 
> But, due to the length of the interview, most people will not even look any farther than the headline.


I totally agree with you. I don't know anything about the author or his "source" but, as you said, it all seems to fit in with the scheme of things and it is a great article so I do hope more take the time to read it.


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