Best Gold for Prepping & Survival: A Comprehensive Guide
Take your financial preparedness to the next level with gold. Its value has been recognized for millennia and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. While you don’t want to trade all of your cash and investments out for gold, getting some of it for investment and survival purposes is a great way to diversify and prepare at the same time. If you are looking to diversify and prepare at the same time, getting some gold for prepping is a good plan. There are plenty of types of gold bullion to pick from.
This is where we come in. We’ve researched the best gold for prepping, and the results are in: the overall best, a budget bar option, and a coin option. If you need to diversify your survival finances, one of our picks will make the most sense.
Disclaimer: We are survivalists, preppers, engineers- a lot of things… but nobody on our team is a financial advisor. None of what we discuss below is specific financial advice and shouldn’t be taken as such.
Contents (Jump to a Section)
In this latest update on the best gold for prepping, I updated prices as the gold spot value continues to grow. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Disclosure»
Best Gold for Prepping
Gold CombiBar
Versatile, Compact, and Well-Known
Snap off exact change even during the apocalypse, or just have unique investment diversification.
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.
A gold bar machined to be broken into smaller gold chits is the ultimate choice for survival-versatile bullion. Don’t overpay with a $3,000 gold bar- break up your CombiBar instead to get manageable denominations so you can barter, trade, and pay effectively.
Specifications
- Purity: 0.9999 pure gold
- Weight: 0.643 troy ounces
- Mint: Valcambi Swiss Mint
- Size: 4.1″ W x 2.9″ L x 0.05″ H
The 20 tabs that break down to 1-gram each are the main feature of this unique gold bar. You’ll have to remove the gold from the included assay to snap it apart, and it’ll lose value as soon as you do that. In an emergency or survival situation, that doesn’t matter much, and having the ability to scale your resources is much more important.
Where to Buy Gold CombiBars
Where you buy the bar affects the price over spot, and therefore the overall value. Shopping around is always wise with any investment, but here are the best options I found at the time of our latest update:
- JM Bullion – $231 over spot (10.8%)
- Money Metals – $342 over spot (16.0%)
Many of the larger dealers have volume discounts if you are buying multiple bars at once, improving the price over spot even further.
With unmatched versatility in the way it can be broken into chits, the Valcambi Gold CombiBar is designed to be the best gold bar for preppers.
Budget Gold Bar
PAMP Gold Bar
Cost-Effective, Efficient Storage, and Well-Known
A well-known Swiss mint with low premiums over spot for bullion bars offers the best choice for gold.
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.
When you want the best value for your buck, you’re going to want to look into bars. They end up just being a smidge over spot value due to the minting, but it’s worth it if you get a well-recognized mint.
Specifications
- Purity: 0.9999 pure gold
- Weight: 1 gram
- Mint: PAMP Suisse with Veriscan authenticity
- Size: 2.25″ W x 3.5″ L x 0.1″ H (in the assay)
I prefer the Swiss PAMP for gold bars, which range in weight from 1/2 gram to 1000 troy ounces. The higher the weight of the bar, the better the value it is versus the gold spot value. We like the 1-gram bar for beginners as an efficient entry point for those on a budget.
Where to Buy Gold Bars
Gold bars are going to have some of the best spot premiums out there, even in the lower weights. It varies slightly based on where you purchase:
- JM Bullion – $3 over spot (2.6%)
- Money Metals – $23 over spot (19.6%)
If you are looking for gold bars to stash for SHTF, PAMP Suisse 1 Gram Gold Bars are good for getting started.
Best Gold Coins
Gold American Eagle
Inexpensive, Good Denomination, and Universally Recognized
Skip the numismatics and get the best value with mass production recognition across the globe.
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.
The US Mint puts out some of the most recognizable coins in the world, and the Gold Eagle is well-known. This helps if you ever need to trade, since many people know its approximate value. The one we highlight above is sold with random years since there is not much numismatic value to these modern coins yet. You could opt to go for specific years, but as we point out later, it’s not relevant for survival.
Specifications
- Purity: 0.9999 pure gold
- Weight: 1 troy ounce
- Mint: US Mint
- Size: 1.6″ D
As with any coins, you will pay a small premium over the spot value, but they are expected to be at that value and have good resale value over spot as well. The small coins are easy to store and transport, making them ideal for mobile survival kits or caches.
Where to Buy American Eagle Coins
While coins can have numismatic value, the American Eagles are widely circulated, have high value, and keep a relatively stable spot premium. Here are the best dealers to compare American Eagles:
- Bullion.com – $58 over spot (1.7%)
- Money Metals – $122 over spot (3.7%)
- JM Bullion – $122 over spot (3.7%)
If you are looking for the best gold coins for prepping, get American Eagle Gold Coins.
Best Gold Notes
Goldback
Lightweight, Low Denomination, and Growing Recognition
Get back to a gold-backed currency with tradable notes.
*Price at time of publishing; check for price changes or sales.
The US Dollar gold standard ended domestically in 1933 and internationally in 1971, transforming it into a fiat currency. This eliminated total market control of the value of the dollar but also introduced higher potential for inflation.
Goldbacks are a private gold-backed note that isn’t accepted as American currency but is voluntarily exchanged in a growing number of states. Goldbacks are also manufactured on lightweight gold foil- more of a marketing ploy than providing actual gold value.
Specifications
- Purity: 0.999
- Weight: 1/1000 troy ounce
- Mint: Aurum
- Size: 5.75″ L x 2.5″ W
Goldbacks are tethered to the spot value of gold by the private company Goldback, Inc. They have spread to several states now, although you can use them as voluntary currency anywhere. Goldbacks are printed specifically for Utah, Nevada, New Hampshire, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Florida.
Where to Buy Goldbacks
Goldback prices are tied to gold and tracked at goldback.com, and there is a calculator for exchanges to the dollar so you can pay at vendors that accept Goldbacks. There is also a list of businesses by state that accept them physically in stores. They don’t sell goldbacks, though, so you’ll need to head to a dealer or marketplace:
- Bullion.com – $0.00 over exchange rate
- JM Bullion – $0.01 over exchange rate (0.15%)
- Money Metals – $0.07 over exchange rate (1.05%)
An Expert Prepper’s Take
There aren’t many gold-backed notes out there, so what Goldback is trying to do is interesting. Gold-backed currencies did resist inflation very well, but so do gold coins/bars, other bullion, and other investments.
I’m not completely sold on Goldbacks and don’t plan on financially diversifying into them over the many other options. Still, there are plenty of preppers out there who like the growing alternative currency, for what it stands for, and its ability to hold value in a much more lightweight format. When it comes to a SHTF survival situation, do I think it’ll be a good currency to have on hand? Probably not, but it’s the best gold-backed note we have.
If you are looking for the best gold notes for prepping, get Goldbacks.
Gold Bullion We Compared
Our research narrowed the field down to several types of gold bullion that we compared: coins, bars, rounds, notes, and blocks. All from various mints and sold through various vendors.
You can see our full list of review criteria below in the What to Look For section, with an explanation for each.
We considered a huge range of gold but quickly narrowed it down to practical solutions. Numismatic coins were ruled out, although they can be good investments over time. Despite that, their numismatic value won’t necessarily be recognized as easily as bullion spot value in survival situations and emergencies.
We’re always looking for new and better stuff, so if you have a gold bullion preference that you swear by, let us know in the comments. We review most of our tested stuff annually, so we can try to get it in the next roundup and see if it will beat our top picks.
What to Look For
The best gold for preppers has several important features to look for:
- Spot Premium
- Denomination
- Versatility
- Size & Weight
- Recognition
When you get the right blend of these, you can find gold bullion that isn’t just for investment. Below, we break down what each of these features means for the gold types that truly set themselves apart in survival situations.
Spot Premium
The ‘premium over spot’ is what you are paying over the going rate of gold per ounce for a specific coin, bar, etc. This premium is usually higher for lower denominations (1 ounce) and lower for higher denominations (1,000-ounce bars). It only applies to gold with a high purity rating, which is what we focused on for this review due to its recognition.
Besides type and denomination, some bullion holds value for other reasons, like scarcity (old collectible coins). When these are valuable, they are graded and known as ‘numismatic coins’. They cost significantly more than spot value but can also hold/increase in value during relatively stable economic conditions. They aren’t that great for survival and prepping, but we’ll cover that when we get to versatility.
Denomination
The denomination of your bullion (usually measured in grams or ounces) is important because it directly ties into its expected value. This makes the denomination important to consider, the same way you consider what specific bills to carry when you want to have cash on hand. You don’t want to be stuck with 100-dollar bills if you are buying something that is only $1, so you want a good mix of bullion denominations and value for the same reason.
Versatility
Our top pick has the versatility of being able to break up into precise denominations while still being solid for easy carrying until then.
Some bullion can be hidden (through its shape or container), used as an improvised weapon, or even loaded into a gun. Most gold/silver/platinum bullets are designed for looks, so I wouldn’t go around trying to actually use them. There are many creative ways to use gold every day, and we focus on a few of the survival applications below.
Size & Weight
If you are bugging out of your home, you won’t want a wheelbarrow to be able to move your bullion. If your size and weight of your gold start getting unreasonable, you have a good problem to have and may want to consider setting up survival caches.
Any amount of gold that is actually heavy is worth a lot in present-day value or any survival situation. If you really feel the need to shed some weight, gold-backed notes are extremely lightweight even in protective sleeves.
Recognition
In a survival situation, you don’t want to spend too much time figuring out or convincing others that bullion is real.
Using a recognizable mint with clear purity stamps is usually a good way to go. Scanning technology can help verify authenticity, but just keeping gold inside the assay, it works as well. If you are bartering or trading for gold, it makes sense to be skeptical of its authenticity and purity.
How to Use Gold for Survival
The most obvious use for gold in a survival situation is as currency or barter. Gold coins and bullion have held value over the years through the rise and fall of many national currencies. Gold isn’t a foolproof currency, but it does have millennia of proven universal value to prop it up.
Many preppers simply diversify their investment strategy using gold. Prepper financial planning isn’t necessarily conservative- it’s diverse. Most preppers don’t go all-in on any single type of currency but choose to dabble in everything so that in the event of a collapse, they won’t be left with nothing.
Who Needs Gold?
Bullion of every type isn’t a necessity for anyone. It does have its uses when it comes to investment and survival, but we don’t see it as an absolutely essential piece of any kit or plan.
For that reason, we merely suggest you consider adding gold to these kits:
Even if you aren’t interested in prepping (but you should be: here’s why you need to prepare), gold can be a great hedge against inflation and a moderately stable investment.
How We Review Products: We research thoroughly before selecting the best products to review. We have vast prepping and survival experience and bring in outside experts when needed. Hours on end are spent testing gear in stressful conditions and using specialized testing gear to verify claims. We assign performance criteria and impartially rate each tested item. Learn more about how we test.
Sources & References
All of our experience and the research we do to determine the best gold for survival are useless without listing our research sources and references. We leaned on these for the book knowledge that we paired with our practical survival and financial experience:
Godasgar, V., et al. (2013). The mechanisms of the bullion markets and the return of gold (and silver) as money. 7th International Conference on e-Commerce in Developing Countries. (Source)
Quinn, S. (1996). Gold, Silver, and the Glorious Revolution: Arbitrage between Bills of Exchange and Bullion. The Economic History Review. Volume 49. Issue 3. Pages 473 – 490. (Source)
Temple, R. (1899). Beginnings of Currency. The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. Volume 29. Issue 1/2. Pages 99 – 122. (Source)
Conclusion
The ‘gold standard’ of bullion investing is gold, of course. It doesn’t cost much to get started with tangible assets that have been recognized value since close to the dawn of humanity. Be smart when you shop by remembering the importance of mixed denominations, bullion over numismatic value, and mixing bullion types down the road.
Here are a few other guides and reviews our subscribers have found helpful:
- Best Silver for Prepping and Survival
- Emergency Cash Stash for EDC and Preparedness
- Financial Planning for Preppers
See more of our expert-written guides, resources, and reviews in your search results – add TruePrepper as a preferred source.
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The only gold I would accept in payment is the American Eagle. One little square from the Combibar would be difficult or impossible to get anyone to accept. What gold buyers need to keep in mind is the skepticism of the people you need to pay. If they’re unfamiliar with the form of gold you offer, it might as well be worthless.
You recommend only using the American Eagle for payment rather than square(s) from the Combibar for familiarity’s sake. However, if a 1oz Eagle is worth, at the time, $2,000 and your purchase is only $800, or $1,200, how is the person you bought from going to make change in a meaningful way? This is a predicament that has kept me from preparing better as I can’t just buy multiple 1oz. Eagles with not enough practical options for receiving close to the correct change back. I’ve been wanting smaller increments and this seemed like it would fit the bill. Thanks.
Sean Hello
Sean,
We have started a preparedness company, Sustainability Systems Inc and we are offering emergency preparedness bundles at a discount. We would also like to offer a monthly or quarterly news letter as well and was wondering if we could use True Prepper in some way that would continue to give the best prepper advise to go along with our products?
Scott Goldsmith
Sustainability Systems Inc.
1 800 713 4628
You didn’t mention Goldback. It is a note with 24K gold imprinted in the note. It does have a high premium, but there are thousands of stores already accepting it like cash. You can get a note for just a few dollars. There were only 5 small states with Goldback notes, but in 2025 there will be a large state using Goldbacks. Florida will be the next state.