- From Switzerland: refined since 1961
- Highest purity: 999.9 fine gold
- Proven authenticity: individually numbered
- From SwitzerlandMade in Balerna, Ticino, recognized worldwide
- Highest purityTested and visibly stamped by the refinery
- Proven authenticityCertificate of authenticity with serial number included
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Valcambi
Cast, with the traces of its casting.
Balerna in Ticino
Where Switzerland borders Italy
The name combines Valori and Cambi, the Italian words for values and exchange. The company was founded in 1961 in Chiasso, the town on the border with Italy. In 1967 it moved its headquarters to Balerna, about two kilometres away.
Its neighbours began in Chiasso, too. Today, three large gold refineries lie in the Mendrisiotto within 4.5 kilometres as the crow flies: Valcambi in Balerna, MKS PAMP in Castel San Pietro and Argor-Heraeus in Mendrisio.
In 2024, three out of four Valcambi employees commuted across the border from Italy.
- Founded in Chiasso
- 1961
- Headquartered in Balerna since
- 1967
- On the Good Delivery List since
- 1968
From fire to fine gold
In Balerna, swissinfo watched molten gold flow straight from the crucible into the moulds for the 400-ounce standard bar, the large bar of the London gold market.
As Valcambi tells it, in the early years a bank lent the plant gold every morning, and in the evening it went back to the bank as new kilo bars.
The bar states in thousandths how pure its gold is. For its large bars, the LBMA requires at least 995.0 thousandths. These bars bear 999,9, known in the gold trade as “four nines”.
1,064 degrees Celsius
At this temperature, gold melts. Only once it is liquid can it flow into the mould.
Cast
A mark like an oath
The diamond of four triangles, according to Valcambi a stylised 400-ounce bar, cut diagonally
Weight, gold 999,9 and the assayer-melter’s mark
On the cast bars, valcambi suisse is at the top, the diamond on the left, the weight and gold 999,9 on the right, the ESSAYEUR FONDEUR mark below them and the serial number at the bottom.
The surface remains uneven, with flow marks and hollows from the casting. As Valcambi puts it: anyone who sees this assay mark on a bar knows that Valcambi assayed and cast it.
ESSAYEUR FONDEUR is French for assayer and melter. Only those permitted both to melt and to assay may use this combined mark, and Valcambi applies it itself as a licensed assayer-melter. At Valcambi, they call it an oath engraved in the metal.
The certificate
One bar, one card, one number
AA077943
The cast bar comes with its own certificate, with the line cast bar, the fineness, the weight and its serial number.
The number on the card is the same as the one on the bar.
Every bar bears the mark of those who made it.
From Balerna, into your hand.
50 g gold · fineness 999.9 · cast
Inscriptions and fineness as on the bars in our product photos.
50 g Valcambi Gold Bar – Swiss Fine Gold as a Bulwark Against Inflation
- Investment goal: With gold bars, you protect your wealth exceptionally effectively against inflation.
- Value preservation: This bar is a perfect store of value that secures and grows the real value of your wealth.
- Safeguarding: Especially in times of inflation, recession and high government debt, you secure your wealth with gold.
- Swiss quality: Produced by Valcambi in Balerna in the canton of Ticino – an LBMA-accredited Good Delivery refinery for gold and silver.
- Convenient denomination: 50 grams of fine gold with an individual serial number, certificate of authenticity and worldwide recognition.
A compact bar, barely larger than the joint of a thumb – and yet concentrated wealth. The 50 g fine gold bar from Valcambi is one of the classics of physical precious metals investment, because it combines two things that rarely come together elsewhere: a moderate premium and a denomination that can be sold again without difficulty in an emergency. Gold is the oldest currency in the world. It has shone for over 6,000 years, has survived every paper money system, and has never had a value of zero – because it possesses an inherent, intrinsic value.
The bar in detail: "valcambi suisse", 999.9 and CHI ESSAYEUR FONDEUR
The obverse speaks the clear language of the Swiss refinery. At the top is the distinctive lettering valcambi suisse, below it the well-known rhombus logo: an upright-standing frame that stylises a diagonally cut Good Delivery bar. Below that are the weight and fineness – 50 g gold 999.9 – followed by the CHI ESSAYEUR FONDEUR stamp, which documents testing and refining by the Swiss company. At the bottom edge: the individual serial number, which makes every bar individually traceable.
Valcambi supplies this size both cast and minted. The cast bar shows the typical, lively casting structure with slightly rounded edges and small irregularities in the surface – each piece a one-of-a-kind, full of character and unmistakably handcrafted. Minted versions, by contrast, appear smooth and strictly geometric. Packaging is on a blister card; the certificate of authenticity with fineness, weight and serial number is included. The compact format of around 30 x 20 millimetres also makes the bar pleasantly discreet to store.
Why specifically 50 grams? Inflation hedging in the right portion
Those who hold larger units generally pay a lower premium per gram – but lose divisibility. Those who stack many small bars remain flexible, but pay more in production costs. The 50-gram unit sits right in the middle of these two extremes, which is why investors like to use it as a basic building block:
- Compared to the 100 g or kilo bar: significantly lower capital outlay per piece, allowing for finer adjustment of one's own position when building up or scaling down.
- Compared to 1 ounce gold coins: a plain bar form with no face value, but generally a more favourable premium over the material value.
- Compared to the Valcambi CombiBar (minted bar): no perforations for breaking apart, but instead a solid, classic piece of fine gold cast in one piece.
Inflation hedging is the central motive here. Fiat money is printed and multiplied by central banks; the supply of gold, on the other hand, is scarce and physically limited. It is precisely this scarcity that contributes to long-term value stability. In addition, there are two tax advantages that many buyers appreciate: investment gold is exempt from VAT, and profits from the sale are generally tax-free if the holding period is at least one year.
Valcambi: the largest refinery in the world
Since 1961, Valcambi has been refining gold, silver, platinum and palladium – today on a 3.3-hectare site in Ticino, with a combined refining capacity of around 2,000 tonnes of precious metal per year. The company is LBMA-accredited for gold and silver, and LPPM-accredited for platinum and palladium. In addition to gold bars, Valcambi also produces silver bars, round bars and the patented CombiBars. For you as a buyer, this reputation means above all one thing: a Valcambi bar is accepted worldwide without question – and is therefore liquid at all times.
Gold is God's money. Central banks are the largest holders of gold in the world – a silent admission that they do not trust their own product, paper money, unconditionally.
Crisis preparedness that fits in your hand
Physical gold requires no counterparty trust. It is durable, does not corrode, retains its properties over millennia, and functions as a medium of exchange when currencies become unstable. As crisis protection, the 50 g Valcambi bar therefore covers several needs at once: protection against loss of purchasing power, a hedge against political and economic turbulence, and a form of wealth that can be passed down through generations. Gold is the big brother of small silver – and in this denomination, a very solid core for your long-term provision.
The most important details at a glance
- Fine weight: 50 g
- Fineness: 999.9 (fine gold, as stated on the bar and certificate)
- Manufacturer: Valcambi SA, Balerna – Switzerland
- Finish: cast (Valcambi produces this size both minted and cast)
- Packaging: blister card, with certificate of authenticity
- Face value: none – pure material value
- Condition: Brilliant Uncirculated, brand new
- Shipping: as insured value shipping
Whether as a first larger building block or as an addition to bars and coins you already own: this fine gold bar is Swiss precision in its most honest form – and a tangible asset that will never lose its shine.
Product depiction may differ from the final product.
