The bar behind the market | Canvas of Knowledge

A shared specification

A wholesale gold transaction needs a clear answer to a practical question: what metal can be delivered? London Good Delivery supplies a recognised specification for bars used in Loco London settlement. It covers more than their golden appearance. Weight, fineness, dimensions, surface quality and markings all matter. A standard lets participants discuss an acceptable product without inventing an entirely new description for every transaction, although the actual bar still has its own measured characteristics. [1] [2]

Fine ounces are the key

The permitted gold content is 350 to 430 fine troy ounces, with minimum fineness of 995 parts per thousand, or 99.5 per cent. The word fine is essential: it measures the gold contained in the bar, rather than the gross mass of gold plus any other material. Calling the product a 400-ounce bar is useful shorthand, but it should not replace its actual weight and assay when calculating the metal that changes hands. [1]

Trust needs a process

Markings help connect a bar to its identity and specification. Quality assurance also extends beyond the visible stamp. LBMA’s proactive monitoring programme assesses Good Delivery refiners’ refining and assaying competence, using submitted samples and comparison with referee results. Assaying means measuring metal content. This continuing process explains why recognition is more substantial than a pleasing logo: the market needs evidence that the physical product repeatedly satisfies the expectations attached to its name. [1] [3]

Read the product, not the picture

The poster makes one bar visually impressive, but its size on screen proves nothing about the specimen it represents. For an actual bar, the useful questions concern the recorded identity, weight, fineness and applicable delivery standard. A smaller retail product may be perfectly legitimate while belonging to a different specification. Conversely, a familiar-looking cast shape does not establish eligibility. Product standards explain what should be checked; they do not turn an illustration into a certificate. The paperwork is part of the product’s meaning. [2]

FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE

Sources & further reading

Sources checked 14 November 2026. The artwork is illustrative. Reference organisations do not endorse this website. Financial examples are educational, not investment recommendations.