Although gold prices have come down from record highs in recent years, the price of gold remains at historic levels which are helping drive a new found desire to invest in the yellow precious metal. Wary about the struggling recovery of the global economy, millions of people around the world are turning to gold as a “safe-haven” investment.
With so many names to choose from when you’re looking to invest in gold bullion, it helps to know a little bit about the products, services, and history of some of today’s biggest gold bar producers. For over 50 years now, Valcambi Suisse has built a name for itself as one of the most trusted producers of gold bars and wafers. The following profile will look at the history, gold bar production, and unique offerings from Valcambi.
Valcambi Company Origins & Name Changes
Valcambi Suisse, originally known as Valori & Cambi, was founded back in 1961 after the construction of a precious metals refinery that was built in Balerna, Switzerland. The city of Balerna is located in the southeastern portion of Switzerland near the border with Italy. At first, the company maintained its original name of Valori & Cambi, but it was not long before the names were combined to form Valcambi Suisse.
During the late 1960s Credit Suisse, one of the world’s largest banks, purchased Valcambi and controlled the company over the course of the next 30 years. In the early years of the 20th century, Credit Suisse made the decision to exit the bullion business and sold Valcambi to European Gold Refineries (EGR).
Today, EGR still owns Valcambi and produces a variety of silver, platinum and gold bullion bars under the Valcambi name. Their products are distributed through a large global network and are made available to the investing public around the world. Together with Newmont, a new strategic partner, the company has developed new products and returned its focus to core strengths (metal refining) in order to situate itself for future success.
Valcambi Suisse Gold Bullion
With its business focused solely on the refining and production of gold bars and other precious metals, Valcambi is a trusted brand in the precious metals marketplace. From the very beginning, Valcambi Suisse has been producing gold bars for sale, and today the company is known for its wide range of weights and offerings in precious metals. In fact, there are few companies that offer gold bars (or other metals for that matter) in such a wide range of weights.
Minted Valcambi gold bars are available for purchase in sizes ranging from 1 gram to 1,000 grams (or Kilograms). The sizes available, more specifically, include 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 250, and 500 grams, as well as a 1 ounce gold bar. All Valcambi gold bars are minted with the highest levels of purity at .9999.
Valcambi Gold CombiBars
Valcambi also offers one of the most unique gold bars available on the market today. The Valcambi gold CombiBar is minted in 20 and 50 gram weights. The 50 gram CombiBar features 50 individual 1 gram bars that can be broken off from the CombiBar and resold separately. Likewise, the 20 gram bar features 20 individual 1 gram units that can be broken off.
In the case of both CombiBars, all of the individual 1 gram bars come with the Valcambi Swiss mint mark stamped on them, consist of a .9999 purity level, and come with an individual assay stamp mark as well to confirm the purity and weight.
Other Precious Metals Produced by Valcambi
As one of the world’s leading precious metal refineries, Valcambi Suisse is not only in the business of refining gold bars. The company also refines and sells silver, platinum, and palladium bars. All three of these additional precious metals are minted in five different weights. These weights include 50, 100, 500, and 1000 gram options as well as 1 ounce varieties. Each bar features .999 purity (silver) or .9995 purity (platinum and palladium).
Valcambi Suisse also offers CombiBars for these additional precious metals. Silver CombiBars are available in a 100 gram weight (featuring 100 individual 1 gram bars) and an alternative 100 gram weight that features 10 individual 10 gram bars. The platinum CombiBar is available only in a 50 gram weight, as is the palladium CombiBar. These options will usually fetch a high premium for their weight relative to the spot price of the metal.
Valcambi Gold Bullion Designs
There are two physical design features used by Valcambi Suisse when minting gold bars. All of its gold bars minted at less than 100 grams in weight feature a rectangular design with rounded edges. Each gold bar minted at 250 grams or above in weight features a standard rectangular design without rounded edges. The gold CombiBars are also rectangular in shape.
All Valcambi gold bars bear three stamp marks as part of the design of the bar. The first stamp on every bar is the Valcambi Suisse mint mark, indicating that the bar was minted and produced at the company’s refinery. The next two stamps provide assurance to buyers that the gold bars are the proper weight and purity. Each bar has a stamp indicating .9999 purity, as well as the specific weight requested.
Buying Valcambi Gold Bars Online
The most commonly purchased Valcambi gold bar is the 1 ounce gold bar. Each 1 ounce Valcambi gold bar sold comes with the assay included, testifying to the purity and weight of the gold bar from the refinery itself. When buying the other sizes offered by Valcambi, especially from other distributors (as opposed to Valcambi directly) it is possible that no assay will be included with the purchase.
Given the popularity of Valcambi gold bars, and the size of its precious metals refinery, it is easy to find this product on a variety of different online marketplaces. Valcambi gold bars can be found on websites such as APMEX, JMBullion.com, ProvidentMetals.com, GainesvilleCoins.com and a variety of other gold bullion dealers.
When looking for a trusted vendor to purchase from, keep an eye out for those who provide assay along with the sale. It is also wise to check and compare the premiums charged as part of the sale. Valcambi gold bars are far from rare, so there is no need to pay higher premiums on the purchase.
