Buying goldplates in Thailand

[Silaworld]

I consider to buy gold in Thailand, as a security/investment.
Asking for information in Thai gold/jewelry shops I found out that the goldplates ( 1,2,5 and 10 Baht) only contain 96.5 % of pure gold, whereas in Europe and probably in other so-called Western countries, goldbars contain 99,9999 % of pure gold.
Can anyone tell me the reason why?

[jamjon01]

""Europe and "[other so-called]" Western countries??"" Hehehe, Okay-The USA economy was based on a gold standard, therefore purity was essential. Most of "Europe"(a big place for a short name) was based on a sterling standard. As far as I know, the USA is the only 99.999% purity. Last time I checked 'Europe' was 99% pure gold....?....Perhaps things have changed now, not sure. Wondering what difference it makes because the purity vs the price is interpolated...?...

[Silaworld]

jamjon01,

Suppose I want to buy gold in Thailand, because I am here for a while. Suppose later I want to sell the plates in a European country because I am not in Thailand anymore...
I am almost sure I will not get Thai goldplates easily sold there, not because they are Thai but because they are only 96.5 % pure gold. I already asked the question to a European gold-trader and he confirmed this.

So my question is stil valid; why in Thailand less purity than in Western countries???

[oddy]

Thai refineries have to conform to the Thai government's standard of weight and purity instead of the LBMA Good Delivery standard. For example, thai gold is sold in weights of bahts which is 15.2 grams, but the LBMA standard is the troy ounce which weighs 31.103 grams. Minimum purity on the LBMA standard is 99.5% pure. Plus, there are many mints on the LBMA standard that are government mints, so they have the full backing of their respective governments too.

Selling thai gold to a foreign dealer would mean that the dealer would have to assay the gold for purity and refine it to conform to the local market; thus incurring costs to get thai gold for turnover which means that you'll get less than spot price on the sale.

There are forms of gold bullion that are less than 99.9% pure, but the weight of the gold component of the bullion is 1troy ounce. The American Gold Eagle is a 22k gold coin that weighs 33.930 grams. The same holds true for the South African Krugerrand. Both of these coins can be sold at the gold spot price because they are well known coins. The reason that these coins are 22k is because it makes the coin more durable in case they are circulated.

[bkkfarang1]

Thanks for the informative information. My wife said that Thai gold was pure, it seems not and I wonder why Thailand has a lower purity rate than the rest of the world. Is it a scam?

[bkkfarang1]

Having worked it out Gold in Thailand is between 22 carat and 23 carat

Carat purity is measured as 24 times the purity by mass:

X = 24 Mg Divided by Mm


where
X is the carat rating of the material,
Mg is the mass of pure gold or platinum in the material, and
Mm is the total mass of the material.

[oddy]

Thanks for the informative information. My wife said that Thai gold was pure, it seems not and I wonder why Thailand has a lower purity rate than the rest of the world. Is it a scam?

No, it's not a scam. It's just cheaper for them to comply with the local standards than complying with the LBMA standards.

22k is the highest purity recommended for everyday wear. 24k is too soft to wear, and you'd lose gold just from friction with your skin.

If you're in the market for physical gold right now, buy whatever you can. The bullion banks of Europe, Hong Kong, and the USA have all defaulted on deliveries since the paper markets have been oversold. The drop in the price of gold that occurred in April was caused by short selling volume of over 5 times the annual worldwide production.

[petrew]

No, it's not a scam. It's just cheaper for them to comply with the local standards than complying with the LBMA standards.

22k is the highest purity recommended for everyday wear. 24k is too soft to wear, and you'd lose gold just from friction with your skin.

If you're in the market for physical gold right now, buy whatever you can. The bullion banks of Europe, Hong Kong, and the USA have all defaulted on deliveries since the paper markets have been oversold. The drop in the price of gold that occurred in April was caused by short selling volume of over 5 times the annual worldwide production.

You can't really compare the quality of Gold accross different countries because they all have their own "gold standards". But you are right about Gold being a good investment in todays market, whatever country you are in. So buying Gold in Thailand would be a good investment in my opinion.