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Pricing: spot, premium, spread and the lock
A bullion price is the exchange-derived spot price for the metal plus a premium for fabrication, distribution and dealer margin — and the number that determines your outcome is the round-trip spread between what you pay and what a dealer will pay you back.
What people ask us about pricing
- ·why dealers charge more than the spot price
- ·what a fair premium on a gold coin is
- ·why prices are not listed on the website
- ·how a price lock works
- ·what dealers pay when you sell back
Where the spot price comes from
The reference price for gold and silver is derived from exchange-traded futures contracts with published specifications: contract size, deliverable fineness, delivery months. Gold trades in 100-ounce contracts of at least 995 fineness; silver in 5,000-ounce contracts of at least 999. Those specifications are why every retail quote is expressed per troy ounce.
Spot is a wholesale reference for large, standardized lots. It is not an offer to sell you a one-ounce coin, and no dealer anywhere transacts retail at spot. A firm advertising "gold at spot" is either making it back on the spread, on shipping, or on a different product in the same order.
The spread is the number that matters
A buyer focused only on the premium is looking at half the transaction. What determines your result is the round trip: the premium you pay on entry plus the discount to spot you accept on exit. A product with a modest premium and a punishing buy-back can cost more than a product with a higher premium and a strong bid.
So ask two questions before you order. What is the premium, in dollars per ounce? And what would you pay me for this product today? A dealer who answers both is a dealer you can compare. That is the standard we hold ourselves to.
Why we quote instead of publishing prices
Metal prices move continuously and product premiums move with supply, so a printed price is stale almost immediately. Every item in our catalog says "call for pricing" for that reason, and because it keeps the IRA side and the personal-purchase side consistent — one process, one desk, no confusion about which number applies.
When you confirm an order, the quote is locked at that moment and the metal is committed. That is also why funding is by ACH push or wire rather than card: the price is fixed against a settled payment, not a reversible one. Your order number is the payment reference.
The facts, with their sources
COMEX gold futures settle in 100-troy-ounce contracts of at least 995 fineness.1
This published specification is the origin of the gold spot reference behind retail quotes.
COMEX silver futures settle in 5,000-troy-ounce contracts of at least 999 fineness.2
Silver's much larger contract unit is one reason its retail premiums look proportionally larger.
Platinum and palladium have their own exchange contracts and far thinner liquidity.3,4
Thinner markets produce wider bid-ask spreads, so the round-trip cost on these metals is structurally higher.
Wholesale gold and silver trade as Good Delivery bars with defined weight ranges and accredited refiners.5
Retail coins and small bars sit further down the fabrication chain, and that distance is what the premium pays for.
U.S. bullion coin specifications are fixed in statute, not set by dealers.6
Because content is legally defined, premium is the only variable a buyer needs to negotiate on those coins.
Inside an IRA, the custodian pays the dealer directly and the metal must go to the trustee's possession.7
That is why an IRA quote is settled by the custodian rather than by the account owner's own funds.
Terms, defined
- Spot price
- The wholesale reference price for immediate delivery of standardized metal, derived from futures markets.
- Premium
- The amount over spot covering fabrication, distribution, insured shipping and dealer margin.
- Bid / ask
- What a dealer will pay you (bid) and what a dealer will sell for (ask).
- Spread
- The distance between bid and ask — your true round-trip cost.
- Price lock
- The moment a quote is fixed and the metal is committed against a settled payment.
Three numbers people confuse
| Number | What it is | What it is not |
|---|---|---|
| Spot | A wholesale reference per troy ounce | A retail price you can buy a coin at |
| Premium | Fabrication, distribution and margin over spot | The whole cost of owning the product |
| Spread | Ask minus bid — the round-trip cost | A fee anyone lists on an invoice |
How a quote becomes an order
- 1Tell the desk the goal and the sizeProduct choice follows purpose. Divisibility, storage and eligibility all change what makes sense.
- 2Get the quote decomposedMetal value and premium stated separately, in dollars per ounce.
- 3Ask for the buy-backWhat we would pay for this product today. That gives you the round-trip figure.
- 4Confirm and lockThe quote is fixed at confirmation and the metal is committed.
- 5Fund by ACH push or wireNo cards. The order number is the payment reference; funding details are shown only to the signed-in buyer of that order.
- 6Settlement and deliveryPersonal orders ship insured to you. IRA orders are paid by the custodian and delivered to the depository.
What can go wrong
Chasing the lowest advertised premium
A thin premium paired with a weak buy-back can cost more than a fair premium with a strong bid.
Unpriced shipping and insurance
Delivery costs can quietly rebuild the premium you thought you avoided. Ask for the landed total.
Volatility between quote and funding
Locks exist because prices move. Late funding can mean re-quoting.
Thin-market metals
Platinum and palladium spreads are structurally wider. That is liquidity, not markup.
What the industry gets wrong
"A good dealer sells at spot."
No dealer transacts retail at spot. Someone claiming to is recovering it elsewhere — usually on the buy-back.
"Hidden prices mean hidden fees."
Live quoting is the opposite: the desk states metal and premium separately at the moment you order, which a static page cannot do honestly.
"Percentage premium is the fair way to compare silver and gold."
Compare dollars per ounce. Silver's small dollar premium looks enormous as a percentage of a low metal value.
Questions people actually ask
Why does Capstone say "call for pricing" on everything?
Because metal prices move continuously and premiums move with product availability, so any printed number is stale quickly. Quoting live also keeps personal purchases and IRA purchases on one consistent process. The desk states metal and premium separately, then locks the quote when you confirm.
What is a fair premium?
It depends on the product and on current supply — a one-ounce sovereign coin carries a higher premium than a large bar for structural reasons, and popular coins widen when mints ration. The honest test is not the premium alone but the round trip: premium paid plus the buy-back offered. Ask both of any dealer.
Where does the spot price come from?
From exchange-traded futures contracts with published specifications — 100-ounce gold contracts and 5,000-ounce silver contracts, each with minimum deliverable fineness. Those contracts are why retail quotes are expressed per troy ounce.
How does a price lock work?
When you confirm the order, the quote is fixed and the metal is committed at that moment. Because the price is fixed against a settled payment, funding is by ACH push or wire rather than card, and your order number is the payment reference.
What will you pay me if I sell back?
We will quote a bid on the product, live, the same way we quote an ask. Ask for that number before you buy — it is the half of the transaction most buyers never check.
Why are silver premiums higher than gold premiums?
Minting a one-ounce silver coin costs roughly what minting a one-ounce gold coin costs, but that cost is spread over a much smaller metal value. The dollar premium is small; the percentage looks large. Compare dollars per ounce.
Go deeper
Pricing mechanics
History and context
Sources
- 1. 31 U.S.C. § 5112 — Denominations, specifications, and design of coinsLegal Information Institute, Cornell Law School · Primary / governmentView the source
- 2. 26 U.S.C. § 408(m) — Investment in collectibles treated as distributionsLegal Information Institute, Cornell Law School · Primary / governmentView the source
- 3. Gold futures contract specifications (COMEX)CME Group · Industry / authoritativeView the source
- 4. Silver futures contract specifications (COMEX)CME Group · Industry / authoritativeView the source
- 5. Platinum futures contract specifications (NYMEX)CME Group · Industry / authoritativeView the source
- 6. Palladium futures contract specifications (NYMEX)CME Group · Industry / authoritativeView the source
- 7. Good DeliveryLondon Bullion Market Association · Industry / authoritativeView the source
Written by Travis Bugli, Chief Executive Officer and licensed agent, Capstone Metals. Reviewed by Mark Bugli, Senior Advisory Partner, licensed since 1970. Last reviewed 2026-09-02. This page describes rules and market mechanics; it is not tax or investment advice for your situation.
The premium is stated in writing, every time
Every listing is priced against live spot with the premium disclosed before you commit, and we quote a live buy-back on anything we sold you. A just weight is not a courtesy; it is a command.
“A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight.”
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Book of Proverbs · Chapter 11 · Verse 1
Proverbs is a father's practical instruction to a son entering adult responsibility: wages, lending, collateral, honest scales, counsel, and the long horizon of an inheritance.
Talk pricing with a licensed agent
Call (800) 200-9553 and we will quote the metal and the premium separately, and tell you the buy-back before you buy.