Premium Over Spot Calculator
Straight answer
Your premium is the gap between what you paid and the metal’s spot value: enter the spot price, the weight, and the total you paid, and this tool shows the premium in both dollars and percent. As a rough yardstick, standard gold coins run about 3–8% over spot, gold bars a bit less, and silver coins 5–15%+ because silver’s low per-ounce price makes the same handling cost a bigger slice.
The quoted “price of gold” is never what you pay. Dealers add a premium to cover minting, shipping, and margin — so the only way to compare two offers fairly is to convert each to a premium over the same spot. That’s what this does.
How the premium is calculated
Metal value is simply spot multiplied by weight in troy ounces. The premium is whatever you paid above that, expressed as a percentage of the metal value. A one-ounce coin with $2,350 of gold in it bought for $2,480 carries a $130, or about 5.5%, premium.
What counts as a fair premium
There's no single "right" number, but ranges help. Generic gold bars are usually cheapest per ounce; government coins like American Eagles and Canadian Maples cost a little more for their recognizability and easier resale. Silver always looks expensive in percentage terms because a few dollars of handling sits on top of a sub-$40 ounce. Fractional coins — tenth-ounce gold, for instance — carry the steepest bullion premiums because the cost to make them barely changes as the metal content shrinks.
The premium you pay isn't the only cost
When you sell, a dealer buys back below spot, so the round trip costs you the buy premium plus the sell spread. Run that side with the break-even calculator, and read premiums over spot, fully explained for the full picture.
Why is the silver premium so much higher than gold?
Premium is a percentage of a low base. The same minting and shipping cost is a small slice of a $2,000+ gold ounce but a large slice of a $30 silver ounce, so silver routinely shows 5–15%+ even from fair dealers.
Is a lower premium always better?
Usually, for plain bullion. But the lowest premium can mean a generic or off-brand product that's marginally harder to resell. For most buyers, a recognized coin or accredited-refiner bar at a modest premium is the better all-round value.
What premium should make me walk away?
For bullion, anything well into the double digits deserves scrutiny, and 20%+ usually means you're being steered toward a proof or "collectible" coin. That can be fine if you're a collector — but it's not a bullion purchase.