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More Britons are choosing to invest in gold as its price soars, even if it means buying in small quantities, research shows.
Gold prices are at near-record highs of around £1,850 an ounce, due to global tensions and high demand.
In response, some are selling their gold to the Royal Mint for a profit, while others are choosing to buy the precious metal, seen as a safe haven for money in uncertain times.
Research by bullion dealers BullionByPost shows that more and more Britons are investing in modest sums of gold.
A 1-gram gold bar (about the size of a mobile phone SIM card) is worth around £60 and sales have risen 340 per cent in the past four years.
It’s not all about size: Brits are opting to buy smaller gold coins and bars like these
BullionByPost figures reveal that a little gold goes a long way, with a record 86 per cent of orders below £2,000 over the past year.
The average order value on BullionByPost is now around £1400 (less than a 1oz bar or coin), and the top 10 best-selling product weights are all 1oz or less.
The figures are based on sales of almost 50 tonnes of gold bullion and coins worth £3bn, shipped to more than a quarter of a million customers across the UK over the past ten years.
Demand has also been boosted by the increasing prevalence of physical gold and the fact that gold bullion is VAT-free.
British coins, such as gold sovereigns and 1-ounce gold and silver Britannias, are also exempt from capital gains tax.
BullionByPost CEO Pete Walden said: ‘Gold bullion and coins are no longer the preserve of the wealthy, but are an increasingly popular investment option in more modest amounts for many people across Britain.
‘A little physical gold goes a long way, and by keeping some of it in a safe place at home, investors know they have more control and can get it, if necessary.’
Maximum power: A 1oz gold bar like this will set you back over £2000.
As good as gold: This tiny 2.5g gold bar is worth £170, although prices change twice a day
Although some people buy up to £1 million worth of gold in a single order, a 1oz bar (smaller than a 5cm USB stick) or a 1oz gold Britannia coin is currently the most popular gold purchase, worth around £1,900.
A 2.5g gold bar, slightly larger than a SIM card, is worth around £170 and sales have risen by 214 per cent.
A 20g gold bar, slightly longer than a AAA battery, is worth £1,268 and sales have risen by 265 per cent.
A 1oz gold Britannia, the most popular 1oz coin for investment (roughly the size of a 20p piece) is worth £1,850 and has seen a 62 per cent increase.
For those with more to spend, a traditional 12.5kg bar (made famous by Bond films such as Goldfinger) is worth around £750,000.
All that glitters: a 20-gram gold bar sells for almost £1,300, the price of many second-hand cars
Where do gold buyers live?
The research compiled by BullionByPost also identified the top 50 areas in the UK for gold bullion and coin sales, looking at the average total number of grams of gold sold, per customer, cumulatively over the past ten years.
The highest level was found in the London borough of Camden, where the average amount of gold sold per customer was 369 grams, or £22,343.
Unsurprisingly, six other London boroughs feature in the country’s top twenty, including Kensington & Chelsea (292 g or £17,673), Hammersmith & Fulham (247 g or £14,936) and Richmond (239 g or £14,474).
Sovereign Sovereign: The traditional gold sov’ is the currency of choice for British investors
How to invest in gold
There are a few main ways to gain exposure to the precious metal.
One way to invest in gold is through physical bullion and coins, as BullionByPost has discovered.
Another way to do this is through exchange-traded commodities. Following the price of gold in this way is no different than holding a passive investment in a stock index.
These are publicly traded funds that offer investors exposure to the price of gold, backed by physical holdings of gold bullion held in secure vaults.
You can hold ETCs in a SIPP or ISA to protect profits from tax. Investors should be wary of ETFs that gain exposure through derivatives rather than physically holding the precious metal, as they are complex and may include costs that are not immediately apparent to the naked eye.
Finally, investors can gain exposure to gold through multi-asset funds.
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