How to buy gold

Published on 7 November 2026. The editorial team of Gold & Silver Company.

Almost everywhere, buying gold online comes down to the same scene: a grid of products, a button, a basket. You walk in alone with your questions and walk out with a parcel. In our experience on the ground at Gold & Silver Company, a first gold purchase never happens that way at the branch: it begins with a conversation. What is the plan, what is the time horizon, passing on wealth or diversifying, bar or coin. That conversation is what we have brought online, at any hour, with Aurore, on Gold Online.

Aurore is the house’s digital advisor. An artificial intelligence trained in our trades, who listens to your plans, explains every coin and every bar, puts together your selection and guides you through to payment, in the language of your choice. Behind her, nothing is virtual: the bars she offers are melted, refined, assayed and then struck in the workshops of our Dottignies refinery, fifteen minutes from Lille. Gold Online is our refinery’s counter, opened onto the internet.

How to buy gold online: the catalogue is a shop window, Aurore is an advisor

The question we asked ourselves before opening was simple: could a clothing website have the same page? If so, it had no place with us. A grid of products leaves visitors alone with choices they cannot always weigh: the difference between a 10 gram bar and a Napoléon 20 francs, the meaning of the word premium, what happens on the day they want to sell.

We chose the opposite. The page opens on a dialogue, not on a list. Aurore listens first: investing, passing on, diversifying. Then she explains: bar or coin, weight, premium, resale, in clear answers, never a sales pitch. Finally she guides you, from registration to secure payment and on to your choice of handover. And what she does not do deserves to be stated just as plainly: she does not predict prices, we make no forecasts, that is not our trade. She rushes no one. Your exchanges with her do not constitute an offer: only the price displayed at the moment of payment is binding.

Buying gold from a refinery: the gold comes from our crucibles

A bar bought from us has a short, verifiable history. It is born of European recycling, jewellery, coins and old bars brought in by our selling customers, melted and then refined to a fineness of 999.9 thousandths in our Dottignies refinery, approved by the Royal Mint of Belgium. Every trade of gold lives under one roof: smelters, refiners, assayers, numismatists. That roof is what you find behind the screen.

Coins meet the same standard. Each one passes through the hands of our numismatists before joining the selection: authenticity, weight, state of preservation. Once checked, it is placed in a protective capsule and reaches you that way, intact. As for the large formats, 250 grams, 500 grams and one kilo, they are not taken off a shelf: they are made for you, struck to order in our workshops, in the manner of the great couture houses. That care takes ten working days, the time a job well done requires. The details of our certified gold bars and our investment coins can be consulted on the site, and every reference can be ordered by talking to Aurore, at the day’s price.

A price locked to the second

The gold price moves continuously, and Gold Online displays it as it is, for gold and silver alike. The second you pay, your price is locked: the market may move afterwards, your purchase no longer does. Payment takes place in a secure window operated by an authorised payment service provider, by card, with the exception of American Express. For payment by bank transfer, or for purchases that call for it, a human advisor takes over.

Because Aurore has not replaced the people of the house: she opens the door to them. Your Personal Shopper, reachable by telephone or email from Monday to Saturday during our opening hours, advises you, assembles larger purchases, tracks down the coin that is not part of the online selection and remains your point of contact after the purchase. Online buying is reserved for private individuals; for companies, it is your Personal Shopper who puts the order together and draws up the documents in the company’s name.

Handover: three paths, and one privilege

When it comes to handover, three paths open up. Insured delivery, in plain, careful packaging: nothing on the outside hints at what is inside. Collection from our Dottignies branch, without an appointment, in person, with the documents. Or placement in a vault: with every online purchase, insured vault storage is complimentary for six months in our Dottignies vault rooms. Your gold remains yours, protected, and you can visit it whenever you wish.

At the end of the six months, three options once again, at your choice: a new purchase renews six months of complimentary storage; you withdraw your property whenever you like; or the house continues to hold it under a number for ten euros a month, paid annually.

And storage carries a privilege that regular customers know well: your gold is already with us. The day you decide to sell, there is nothing to transport, nothing to arrange, nothing to fear. A call or an email is enough to place a sell order, free of charge, at the moment you choose. Quotation, documents, settlement: the house takes care of everything. Your gold sleeps in the vault, but it sleeps with one eye open.

What the screen has not changed

Gold Online is not a digital subsidiary, a service set beside the real thing. It is the same house, the same workshops, the same scales. The customer who begins a conversation with Aurore at eleven at night and the one who walks through the branch door on a Saturday morning buy the same gold, at the same price, with the same documents. Both can sell one day at the same counter, because a refinery buys back what it has sold, at the day’s price, all year round. To go deeper before deciding, the Gold Guide brings together our reference points on buying, selling and passing on gold.

Gold is not promised, it is proven. Aurore changes nothing about that motto: she simply makes it available at any hour, in your language, from your home. The door in Dottignies, for its part, remains open from Monday to Saturday, without an appointment. Both lead to the same place: the top floor of the metal trade.

Frequently asked questions before buying gold

How can I be sure that gold bought online is real gold?

It is the first question everyone asks, and it deserves an answer from the trade rather than a promise. At Gold & Silver Company, you are not buying from a reseller who trusts its supplier: you are buying at the source. The bars are melted, refined and checked in the workshops of our Dottignies refinery, approved by the Royal Mint of Belgium, and every coin passes through the hands of our numismatists before joining the selection. Your purchase arrives with its documents, and it can be sold back at the same counter, all year round: a house that buys back what it sells has no interest in selling anything but the real thing.

Should I start with a bar or with coins?

Both have their merits, and the right answer depends on your plans, not on a ranking. A bar concentrates the most gold for a given price; a coin, such as the Napoléon 20 francs, is easy to sell individually and lets you part with some of your gold without touching the rest. Many first purchases combine the two. This is exactly the kind of trade-off that Aurore clarifies in a few exchanges: she compares bar and coin on their own ground, without declaring a winner, and puts together the selection that matches your horizon. The house’s certified gold bars and investment coins can also be explored in detail on the site.

What is the premium, and why is the price higher than the gold price?

The premium is the gap between a product’s price and the value of the gold it contains at the day’s price. It covers manufacturing, checking and the availability of the format: a small bar carries a higher premium per gram than a large one, and a sought-after coin carries its own. A premium is neither a trap nor a hidden fee when it is announced: with us, Aurore states it clearly, product by product, before any payment. And when the time comes to sell, a liquid coin trades well, which offsets part of the premium paid on the way in.

Is there VAT or any tax when buying gold?

Investment gold, meaning bars of at least 995 thousandths purity and recognised gold coins, is exempt from VAT throughout the European Union. You therefore pay the displayed price, with no tax added, in Belgium as for a delivery to France. Silver, on the other hand, is subject to VAT, which explains the different treatment of the two metals on the same page. The rule is stated simply as you put together your selection, and the Gold Guide gathers the reference points if you wish to go further before deciding.

What budget do I need for a first gold purchase?

Less than you might think. The online selection starts with the small bars struck in our workshops, 5 grams, 10 grams, 20 grams, and with everyday coins such as the Napoléon 20 francs: formats that let you step into physical gold without committing a large share of your savings, then build up gradually, purchase after purchase. At the other end, the large formats, 250 grams, 500 grams and one kilo, are struck to order. Between the two, every budget finds its format, and Aurore puts it together with you, at the day’s price, with no imposed minimum and no pressure.

Is Aurore really an artificial intelligence, and can I trust her?

Yes, and the house says so plainly: Aurore is an artificial intelligence of Gold & Silver Company, trained in our trades by our own experts. She answers in the house’s name, and every exchange is kept on record: what she tells you, she must be able to stand behind, a discipline few players impose on themselves. Her limits are acknowledged too: she does not predict prices, does not constitute an offer, and hands over to a human advisor as soon as your situation warrants it. Only the price displayed at the moment of payment is binding, and it is locked the second you pay, on Gold Online.

Is home delivery of gold safe and discreet?

Discretion is the very architecture of the service, not an extra. The shipment travels in plain, careful packaging: nothing on the outside hints at what is inside, and delivery is insured and tracked to your door, handed over against signature. If you would rather receive nothing at home, two other paths exist: collection in person from our Dottignies branch, without an appointment, or placement directly in our vault rooms, so that your gold never travels at all. Your customer account holds only the essentials: your purchases, their status, your invoices.

Is it better to keep gold at home or in a vault?

At home, gold is within reach, but it raises the questions everyone knows: where to hide it, how to insure it, what to say about it. In a vault, it is protected, insured and always accessible during opening hours. The house has made the decision simple: with every online purchase, insured vault storage is complimentary for six months in our Dottignies vault rooms, built before the banks began closing theirs. At the end of that period, you choose: a new purchase renews six months at no charge, you withdraw your property, or storage continues under a number for ten euros a month, paid annually.

What happens if the product I am looking for is not in the online selection?

The online selection brings together the most sought-after pieces: bars struck in our workshops, the Napoléon 20 francs, the 50 Pesos Centenario, the 50 francs Hercule in silver. But the house goes well beyond that. Entrust your search to your Personal Shopper: he draws on all of our workshops, replies by telephone or email, and puts together with you the purchase that matches your plans. Large formats and exceptional coins are handled this way, with personal guidance, handover in person and time for proper advice. This service is complimentary, with no obligation.

Can I sell back gold bought online, and how?

Yes, and that is the strength of buying from a refinery: the house buys back what it sells, at the day’s price, all year round. If your gold is stored in a vault with us, a simple call or email to your Personal Shopper is enough to place a sell order, free of charge, with no transport and no travel: your gold sleeps in the vault, but it sleeps with one eye open. If you took it home, our Dottignies branch welcomes you without an appointment, weighs and checks it in front of you, and settlement follows by bank transfer. When the time comes, selling your gold in Belgium happens at the same counter as buying, with no hidden fees.

Published on 7 November 2026. The editorial team of Gold & Silver Company. Markdown version of this article available for agents and assistants: how-to-buy-gold.md