Gold and silver as gifts: births, weddings and festivals

Why a bar or coin works as a gift

A small bar or coin is easy to give and easy to keep. It won't date, and it never needs resizing like a ring. Its value sits in the metal rather than in workmanship, so if it stays in a drawer for twenty years it will still weigh what the card says.

There is a tax difference too. In Singapore, gold of at least 99.5% purity and silver of at least 99.9%, in bar, wafer or coin form and meeting IRAS's other conditions, counts as investment precious metal and is exempt from GST. Jewellery is not. So a 999.9 bar and a gold bangle of the same weight are taxed differently when you buy them. IRAS's e-Tax guide on investment precious metals sets out the full rules.

One thing to be straight about. Metal prices move every day, so the gift may be worth more or less on the day it's opened than on the day you paid for it. Most people giving gold accept that as part of the deal, but the recipient should understand it too.

Occasions people buy gold and silver for in Singapore

Births are a common one. Many Chinese families mark a baby's full month with gold, and other communities have their own ways of welcoming a child. A 1 g or 2.5 g bar is a modest start, and some relatives add a piece each birthday so the child slowly builds a small collection.

Weddings vary far more. Gold features in wedding customs across many of Singapore's communities, but what is given, by whom and when differs from family to family, so ask before you buy. Jewellery is often the centrepiece. Some parents and relatives give bars or coins alongside it, or in its place, because a bar is simple to store and has its purity stamped on it.

Milestone birthdays, graduations and retirements suit bullion well. A 1 oz silver coin for a teenager, or a 5 g gold bar for a twenty-first, feels like a proper present without going overboard.

Then there are the festivals. Before Chinese New Year, some families tuck a small bar into a red packet. Many Hindu families buy gold around Deepavali for the home. At Hari Raya, a small coin or bar can be a thoughtful gift for relatives you visit. None of these are rules. Give what fits your own household.

Choosing a size and metal for a gift

Small is usually right. Most gift buyers look at minted gold bars from 1 g to 10 g, gold coins in fractional or 1 oz weights, and 1 oz silver coins or small silver bars. Our shop page lists every size we have in stock, with the live price on each.

Think about who it's for, not only the budget. A child tends to prefer a coin with a picture on it to a plain bar, while an adult putting something aside may like a bar with clean markings. Silver gets you a bigger, heavier piece for the same money, which feels generous in the hand. It also takes up more room and needs a bit of care in our humid weather.

Check the purity of a gold coin before you buy. The Maple Leaf, Britannia and Philharmonic are 999.9 fine. The Krugerrand and American Gold Eagle are 22 karat, alloyed so they wear better, though each 1 oz coin still holds a full ounce of pure gold. At 91.6% they sit below the 99.5% purity IRAS sets for investment gold, so they don't meet that test for the GST exemption. Ask us about the specific piece, and see IRAS for the full conditions.

As a rough guide only, this is how sizes tend to match occasions:

• 1 g to 2.5 g gold bar: red packets, baby gifts, small thank-yous
• 5 g to 10 g gold bar: weddings, milestone birthdays, graduations
• 1 oz gold coin: a larger family gift, often for a wedding or birth
• 1 oz silver coin or small silver bar: birthdays, children, colleagues

Lunar zodiac and festive designs

Some mints and refiners issue a new design each year for the lunar zodiac animal. These are popular for babies born in that year and for Chinese New Year giving. Typically the animal is on one side, with the year, weight and fineness shown. You'll also find bars with other auspicious or religious motifs, made with different festivals in mind.

Festive stock comes and goes, and the current year's animal can be harder to find in the weeks before Chinese New Year. Check our shop for what we have now, or WhatsApp us if you want a particular animal or year and we'll see what we can do.

Be careful with souvenir pieces. Gold-plated medallions and low-purity items in festive packaging can look a lot like bullion while holding very little gold. A proper bullion bar shows the refiner's mark, the fineness, such as 999.9, and the weight. Everything we sell is tested before it leaves us, with PMV and XRF, plus a Veriscan check on PAMP bars.

Small bars in assay cards, and looking after silver

Many small gold bars come sealed in a tamper-evident card, often called an assay card, printed with the refiner's details and usually a serial number. They slip neatly into a red packet or greeting card, and the plastic keeps scratches and fingerprints off the bar.

Tell the recipient to leave the card sealed. It shows at a glance what the bar is and who made it. Opening it doesn't change the gold, and we test every piece we buy back anyway, but a sealed card in good condition keeps things simple.

Silver needs a little more thought. It tarnishes in Singapore's damp air, faster if it sits in a drawer near rubber bands or certain papers. Keeping coins in their capsules, somewhere dry, slows this down. Tarnish doesn't change the silver content, but most people would like their gift to stay bright.

Receipts, wrapping and getting the gift to them

Keep your receipt, and think about passing a copy to the recipient or filing it with family papers. It records the brand, weight and date of purchase, which is handy for their own records. If they ever sell, we test the piece at the counter whatever the paperwork says, and the final amount is set at that moment's price.

For wrapping, most people bring their own: a red packet, a small box, a card that suits the occasion. If you want to know what packaging we have on the day, ask when you collect or WhatsApp us first.

You can buy online and pay by PayNow or bank transfer, then collect free from our shop at Centrium Square on Serangoon Road, or have it sent by courier within Singapore. In the shop we also take cash and card, though card carries a fee. Prices follow the live world spot price through the day; at weekends, when the world market is closed, we sell at the last closing price. For purchases above S$20,000, we take your NRIC or passport details, as the PSPM Act requires of every registered dealer. That comes up with wedding gifts more often than with red packets.