Guide
999 vs 9999 gold: what's the difference?
.999 gold is 99.9% pure; .9999 is 99.99% pure. Both count as pure 24-karat gold, and the gap is a hundredth of a percent, so for value the difference almost never matters.
Updated October 28, 2026 · Prices as of November 2, 2026, 6:20 p.m. Pacific
What the numbers mean
Fineness is purity in thousandths: .999 means 999 parts pure metal per 1,000, so "three nines". .9999 is 9,999 parts per 10,000, "four nines". A 1 ozt bar at .999 holds 0.999 ozt of gold; at .9999, 0.9999 ozt. The difference is 0.0009 ozt, about $3.55 at today's price.
Which coins and bars are which
- .9999 gold: Canadian Maple Leafs, American Gold Buffalos, Austrian Philharmonics, Australian Kangaroos, and most bars from Swiss refiners such as PAMP and Valcambi.
- .999 gold: many bars and rounds, and some older bullion coins.
- 22 karat (.9167): American Gold Eagles and Krugerrands. They're alloyed for hardness but still hold a full ounce of gold in a 1 ozt coin; the coin simply weighs more. See Krugerrand vs Gold Eagle.
- Silver: most bullion silver is .999; Silver Maple Leafs are .9999.
Does four nines sell for more?
Not in any way that matters. Buyers pay on the pure metal a coin or bar contains, and the label tells them that. Brand, condition, and whether a bar is still sealed in its assay card affect how easily it sells far more than the fourth nine.
Gold is trading at $3,942 per troy ounce (the Kitco bid). We pay 96% of melt for gold coins and bars, .999 or .9999 alike.
Purity guides: Gold karat chart · 24K gold · Gold stamps · Silver stamps · Gold bars · 1 ozt gold coins
We pay more than pawn shops, jewelers, and mail-in gold kits: in Consumer Reports' tests, jewelers and pawn shops paid 36% to 71% of melt value, and mail-in kits 11% to about 29%. We pay 94% for scrap gold. Who pays the most?
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