Gold Refiners and Bar Hallmarks: Why the Stamp Matters
The stamp on a bullion bar identifies who refined it. That matters for resale, and in Canada it is one of the conditions for holding a bar in a registered plan.
Every legitimate bullion bar carries marks identifying the refiner, the weight and the purity. Those marks are how a buyer knows what they are holding without destroying the bar to test it.
Key takeaways
- A bullion bar should be marked with the refiner, the weight and the fineness.
- The LBMA maintains a Good Delivery List of accredited refiners.
- Under CRA Income Tax Folio S3-F10-C1, a bar held in a registered plan must come from an LBMA-accredited refiner and bear a hallmark identifying the refiner, purity and weight.
- A bar from an unrecognised refiner is harder and slower to sell.
We do not sell bullion
Vanhess is a jewellery shop in Coquitlam, British Columbia. We sell solid gold jewellery. We do not sell, buy or broker bars, coins, ingots or wafers, and we are not a bullion dealer or a financial advisor. This page explains how bullion works so you can compare it fairly with jewellery. It is not a recommendation to buy anything.
What the marks tell you
| Mark | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Refiner name or logo | Who produced and assayed the bar |
| Weight | The nominal weight, such as 1 oz, 100 g or 1 kg |
| Fineness | The purity, such as 999.9 |
| Serial number | Identifies the individual bar, on many minted bars |
| Assayer signature | On some bars, the person or office certifying the assay |
Why accreditation matters in Canada specifically
CRA Income Tax Folio S3-F10-C1 states at paragraph 1.53 that a gold or silver bullion bar, ingot or wafer is a qualified investment for a registered plan if it is produced by a metal refiner accredited by the London Bullion Market Association, meets the purity standard, and bears a hallmark identifying the refiner, purity and weight. It must also be bought directly from the refiner or from a specified corporation.
So for a Canadian using a registered plan, the refiner is not a matter of preference. A bar from a refiner outside the accredited list does not qualify, however pure the metal inside it happens to be.
Be careful
Marks can be counterfeited. A convincing stamp on a tungsten-cored fake is exactly the attack the marks are meant to defend against, which is why buying from an established dealer matters more than the stamp itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the LBMA Good Delivery List?
It is the London Bullion Market Association's list of refiners whose bars are accepted for settlement in the London bullion market. Accreditation involves meeting the Association's standards for the refiner's output and processes. CRA references LBMA accreditation in its conditions for bullion held in Canadian registered plans.
What marks should a gold bar have?
At minimum the refiner's name or logo, the weight, and the fineness. Many minted bars also carry a unique serial number, and some carry an assayer's signature. CRA requires a hallmark identifying refiner, purity and weight for a bar held in a registered plan.
Does the refiner affect what a gold bar is worth?
The metal is worth the same either way, but a bar from a widely recognised accredited refiner sells faster and with less friction, because dealers know the product. A bar from an unknown refiner may need testing before anyone will buy it.