{"id":20288,"date":"2026-10-05T05:45:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T04:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/glossary\/premium-over-spot\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T07:47:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T06:47:39","slug":"premium-over-spot","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/glossary\/premium-over-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"Premium Over Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mrf-gl\"><p class=\"gl-def\">Premium over spot is the difference between a dealer&#039;s selling price and the metal value of a coin or bar, usually shown in dollars or as a percentage of spot.<\/p><aside class=\"panel gl-live\"><p class=\"gl-live-h\">\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 Today in the US<\/p><div class=\"gl-row\"><span>Gold, 1 troy ounce (spot)<\/span><b>$4,153<\/b><\/div><div class=\"gl-row\"><span>Cheapest 1 oz gold coin: <a href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/product\/1oz-krugerrand-gold-coin\/\">1oz Krugerrand Gold Coin<\/a><\/span><b>$4,189.93<\/b> <small>+0.9% premium<\/small><\/div><p class=\"gl-src\">Data as of 05.10.2026, updated daily.<\/p><a class=\"btn primary\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/cheapest-gold-coins\/\">Compare gold coin prices \u203a<\/a><\/aside><div class=\"gl-body\"><h2>How to calculate the premium<\/h2><p>Premium (%) = (price per ounce of fine metal minus spot) \/ spot x 100. Example with fixed numbers: spot gold is $2,000 and a 1\/10 oz American Gold Eagle costs $230. Its metal value is $200, so the premium is $30, or 15%. A 1 oz Eagle at $2,080 has a premium of $80, or 4%. Small coins almost always carry a higher premium per ounce because minting and handling cost about the same regardless of size.<\/p><h2>What drives premiums in the US<\/h2><ul><li><strong>Product type.<\/strong> Large bars and generic silver rounds cost the least over spot. US Mint coins cost more, partly because the Mint sells only to authorized purchasers who add their own margin.<\/li><li><strong>Size.<\/strong> Fractional coins and 1 g bars carry the highest premium per ounce.<\/li><li><strong>Demand.<\/strong> When buyers rush in, premiums on American Eagles and Silver Eagles can rise quickly while spot barely moves.<\/li><li><strong>Payment method.<\/strong> Many US dealers list a lower price for bank wire, ACH or check and a higher one for credit cards or PayPal.<\/li><li><strong>Condition and packaging.<\/strong> Proof, graded or special-release coins are <a href=\"numismatic}}\">numismatic<\/a> and priced on scarcity, not metal.<\/li><\/ul><h3>Hidden costs that don't show in the premium<\/h3><p>A dealer can advertise a low premium and then add shipping, insurance or a small-order fee. In some states sales tax is added too; see <a href=\"investment-gold-tax}}\">how states tax bullion purchases<\/a>. The only fair comparison is the delivered price per ounce of fine gold or silver.<\/p><h2>How metalsradar compares premiums<\/h2><p>We collect prices from US dealers, add shipping for the order size and rank offers by the final cost. Start with the <a href=\"\/en\/cheapest-gold-coins\/\">cheapest gold coins with shipping included<\/a> or the <a href=\"\/en\/cheapest-silver-coins\/\">lowest-premium silver coins<\/a>. To compare one product across dealers, open a product page such as the <a href=\"\/en\/product\/1oz-american-buffalo-gold-coin\/\">1 oz Gold Buffalo price list<\/a>.<\/p><p>Remember the other side of the trade. The premium you pay is only partly returned when you sell, because dealers buy back near or below spot. Premium and the <a href=\"spread}}\">spread<\/a> together show the real cost of owning metal. Keep the full purchase price on file: the IRS counts it as your cost basis.<\/p><\/div><h2>Related terms<\/h2><p class=\"gl-chips\"><a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/glossary\/spot-price\/\">Spot Price<\/a> <a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/glossary\/bid-ask-spread\/\">Bid-Ask Spread<\/a> <a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/glossary\/bullion\/\">Bullion<\/a> <a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/glossary\/precious-metals-sales-tax\/\">Precious Metals Sales Tax<\/a><\/p><section class=\"mrf-faq\"><h2>FAQ<\/h2><div class=\"faq-list\"><details open><summary><h3>What is a good premium over spot for gold?<\/h3><\/summary><div class=\"a\"><p>A low premium depends on the product and the market, so compare the same product across dealers using the delivered price per ounce.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details><summary><h3>Why are American Eagle premiums higher than bars?<\/h3><\/summary><div class=\"a\"><p>Eagles pass through the US Mint and its authorized purchasers before reaching a dealer, and many buyers prefer them, so they cost more than bars of the same weight.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details><summary><h3>Do I get the premium back when I sell?<\/h3><\/summary><div class=\"a\"><p>Usually only part of it, because dealers buy bullion at or near spot, and popular coins recover more of their premium than generic bars.<\/p><\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section><details class=\"gl-src-list\"><summary>Sources<\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usmint.gov\/coins-precious-metal-coins\/bullion-coin-programs\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">United States Mint: bullion coin programs<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"parent":20232,"menu_order":7,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","_glsr_average":0,"_glsr_ranking":0,"_glsr_reviews":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-20288","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"taxonomy_info":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"","author_link":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/"},"comment_info":0,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20288"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20288\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20376,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20288\/revisions\/20376"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}