{"id":20289,"date":"2026-10-05T05:45:39","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T04:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/glossary\/premium-over-spot\/"},"modified":"2026-10-05T07:47:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-05T06:47:44","slug":"premium-over-spot","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/gb\/glossary\/premium-over-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"Premium Over Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mrf-gl\"><p class=\"gl-def\">The premium over spot is the amount a buyer pays above the metal value of a coin or bar, usually shown as a percentage of the spot price. It covers minting, distribution, delivery and the dealer&#039;s margin.<\/p><aside class=\"panel gl-live\"><p class=\"gl-live-h\">\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 Today in the UK<\/p><div class=\"gl-row\"><span>Gold, 1 troy ounce (spot)<\/span><b>\u00a33,145<\/b><\/div><div class=\"gl-row\"><span>Cheapest 1 oz gold coin: <a href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/gb\/product\/1-oz-krugerrand-gold-coin\/\">1 oz Krugerrand Gold Coin<\/a><\/span><b>\u00a33,173.61<\/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\/gb\/cheapest-gold-coins\/\">Compare gold coin prices \u203a<\/a><\/aside><div class=\"gl-body\"><h2>How to calculate the premium<\/h2><p>Premium (%) = (price paid \/ metal value at spot - 1) x 100. Metal value is the fine weight in troy ounces multiplied by the <a href=\"spot-price}}\">spot price<\/a> in pounds.<\/p><h3>Example with fixed numbers<\/h3><p>Assume spot is \u00a31,600 per ounce (an illustration, not today's price). A 1 oz gold Britannia contains exactly one ounce, so metal value is \u00a31,600. If the coin costs \u00a31,664, the premium is 1,664 \/ 1,600 - 1 = 4%. A Sovereign holds 0.2354 oz, so its metal value is \u00a3376.64. At \u00a3403 the premium is 7%. Small coins nearly always carry a higher percentage premium than 1 oz coins.<\/p><h2>What drives the premium<\/h2><ul><li><strong>Size.<\/strong> Minting and handling cost about the same for a small coin as a large one, so smaller pieces cost more per gram.<\/li><li><strong>Product type.<\/strong> Bars usually have lower premiums than coins; proof and limited editions are priced as <a href=\"numismatic}}\">numismatic coins<\/a>.<\/li><li><strong>VAT.<\/strong> Gold <a href=\"bullion}}\">bullion<\/a> is VAT free in the UK, but new silver carries 20% VAT, which is why silver premiums look so much higher.<\/li><li><strong>Demand.<\/strong> When buyers rush in, mints and dealers run short and premiums rise.<\/li><li><strong>Payment and quantity.<\/strong> Many UK dealers charge less for bank transfer than card, and offer tiered prices for larger orders.<\/li><\/ul><h2>Compare the delivered price, not the headline price<\/h2><p>A low headline price can hide a delivery charge, an insurance fee or a minimum order. Two dealers with the same coin price can end up several pounds apart once shipping is added, and on a single Sovereign that changes the premium noticeably. That is why metalsradar ranks offers by the real final cost including delivery, not the shelf price.<\/p><p>Also look at the other side of the trade. A low premium is less useful if the dealer's buyback price is weak; the <a href=\"spread}}\">bid-ask spread<\/a> shows the total cost of buying and later selling.<\/p><p>Start with the <a href=\"\/gb\/cheapest-gold-coins\/\">lowest delivered premiums on gold coins in the UK<\/a>, or compare one product across shops on the <a href=\"\/gb\/product\/1-oz-krugerrand-gold-coin\/\">1 oz Krugerrand page<\/a>. For silver, the <a href=\"\/gb\/cheapest-silver-coins\/\">silver coin ranking<\/a> includes VAT in the final price.<\/p><\/div><h2>Related terms<\/h2><p class=\"gl-chips\"><a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/gb\/glossary\/spot-price\/\">Spot Price<\/a> <a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/gb\/glossary\/bid-ask-spread\/\">Bid-Ask Spread<\/a> <a class=\"gl-chip\" href=\"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/gb\/glossary\/bullion\/\">Bullion<\/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>There is no fixed figure because premiums change with demand, but 1 oz gold coins and larger bars usually carry the lowest percentage premiums.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details><summary><h3>Why are silver premiums higher than gold in the UK?<\/h3><\/summary><div class=\"a\"><p>New silver is charged 20% VAT, and silver costs more to store and ship per pound of value, so its premium over spot is much higher than for VAT free gold.<\/p><\/div><\/details><details><summary><h3>Does the premium include delivery?<\/h3><\/summary><div class=\"a\"><p>Not always. Many dealers add shipping and insurance at checkout, so compare the delivered price to see the real premium.<\/p><\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section><details class=\"gl-src-list\"><summary>Sources<\/summary><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/gold-acquisitions-imports-investments-and-vat-notice-70121\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">HMRC: Gold acquisitions, imports, investments and VAT (VAT Notice 701\/21)<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/vat-rates\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">GOV.UK: VAT rates<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/details><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"parent":20233,"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-20289","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"taxonomy_info":[],"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"","author_link":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/gb\/"},"comment_info":0,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20289"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20377,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20289\/revisions\/20377"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20233"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metalsradar.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}