Gold price today in Germany

How gold is sold in Germany

Germany has no compulsory hallmark. Under the Feingehaltsgesetz of 1884, gold goods may be made and sold at any fineness; the law only controls how the fineness is stated. The mark shows the gold content in thousandths (585 means 58.5% gold), and the real content may be no more than five thousandths below the number stamped. So always read the number, not just the word "gold". Today the bare international price works out to about 116.00 EUR per gram of 24k gold, 87.00 EUR for 18k (750), 67.86 EUR for 14k (585) and 38.63 EUR for 8k (333).

Much of Germany's jewellery comes from Pforzheim, which calls itself the "Goldstadt". The German jewellery and watch industry association says the trade there was founded in 1767 by Margrave Karl Friedrich of Baden and that around 75% of German jewellery is made in the city (an industry figure, not official statistics).

The Bundesbank's gold in Frankfurt

The Deutsche Bundesbank holds Germany's gold. Between 2013 and 2017 it brought 674 tonnes home to Frankfurt: 374 t from Paris and 300 t from New York. It finished on 23 August 2017, three years earlier than its 2020 target. After the move, 1,710 t (50.6%) sat in its own vaults in Frankfurt, 1,236 t (36.6%) at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and 432 t (12.8%) at the Bank of England in London, a total of 3,378 t. No German gold is kept in Paris any more. At the end of 2012, before the programme, only 1,036 t had been in Frankfurt. Our gold rate in Frankfurt page covers the city itself.

Five state mints and the €100 gold coin

German euro coins are struck by five state mints, and each puts its own letter on the coin: A for Berlin, D for Munich, F for Stuttgart, G for Karlsruhe and J for Hamburg. Germany's €100 gold coins are 999.9 fine and weigh 15.55 g, half a troy ounce. For the 2023 "Faust" coin, the official notice of 11 December 2023 split the striking equally between all five mints, so the same coin exists with five different letters. The face value of €100 is far below the gold value, so these coins trade on their gold.

Taxes: 19% VAT on jewellery, none on investment gold

Jewellery pays the standard 19% VAT. Investment gold is VAT-exempt under §25c UStG: bars of at least 995 fine, and gold coins of at least 900 fine, minted after 1800, legal tender now or in the past, and normally sold for no more than 80% above their gold value. For income tax, a gain on gold you hold privately counts only if you sell within one year of buying (§23 EStG). Total private-sale gains of less than €1,000 in a calendar year are tax-free; this is a threshold, so once the total reaches €1,000 the whole gain is taxed. The general euro rules are on our gold price in euros page.

Paying cash: the €2,000 rule

Germany's anti-money-laundering law, the Geldwäschegesetz, lists precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum first among high-value goods. A dealer in these goods must identify the customer and run due-diligence checks when it makes or accepts a cash payment of €2,000 or more. So expect to show an ID card or passport if you pay cash for bars or coins above that amount.

What moves the euro gold price

Gold is priced in US dollars, so the euro price is the dollar price converted at the EUR/USD rate. When the euro rises against the dollar, the euro gold price rises less than the dollar price; when the euro falls, it rises more. This page shows both numbers so you can see which one moved. See what moves gold prices.

Rules for gold traders in Germany

BaFin supervises investment firms in Germany. Beyond the EU-wide limits on CFDs, Germany in 2022 also restricted the marketing and sale to retail clients of exchange-traded futures that can create payment obligations beyond the money deposited. Check a firm's BaFin authorisation before you trade.

Our guide to trading gold in Germany covers the legal routes in more detail.

Trading hours in Central European Time

The international gold market trades almost around the clock, from Monday morning in Asia to Friday evening in New York. The busiest window, the London–New York overlap, falls today at about 14:00–18:00 CET/CEST. That is when US data such as payrolls and inflation is released and the price usually moves most. Germany is on CET (UTC+1) in winter and CEST (UTC+2) in summer, so the overlap falls in the afternoon; it moves by an hour for a few weeks a year because Europe and the US change their clocks on different dates. The gold market hours tool shows every session in your own time zone.

How this EUR gold price is calculated

Three numbers decide everything on this page. First, the international gold price in US dollars per troy ounce: $4,042.7 at the last update. Second, the exchange rate: 1 USD = 0.8924 EUR. Third, the weight: one troy ounce is 31.1035 grams, and one tola is 11.6638 grams.

1. Price per gram in USD = $4,042.7 ÷ 31.1035 = $129.98.
2. Price per gram in EUR = $129.98 × 0.8924 = 116.00 EUR (24k, pure gold).
3. Price per 10 grams = 116.00 × 10 = 1,159.97 EUR.
4. For a lower purity, multiply by the fineness: 18k = 0.75, 14k = 0.585, 8k = 0.333.

The gold price is the spot price of gold (XAUUSD) from a public real-time feed, refreshed every few seconds while the page is open; the 7-day table and the 30-session chart use COMEX gold futures closes, which usually sit a few dollars above spot. The exchange rate is a mid-market rate; the rate your bank or money changer gives you will be slightly different. If you want to do the maths yourself, our guide to converting the gold price per gram, tola and kilo walks through every step with worked examples.

What this price does not include

The figures above are the international spot price converted into local currency. They are the starting point for every retail price in Germany, but they are not the price you will pay or receive at a shop. The shop price adds some or all of these on top:

• Import duty or customs charges, where gold or jewellery is imported.
• Sales tax or VAT, where the country charges one. Many countries tax jewellery but not investment bars; the sections above say what applies here.
• Dealer premium: the margin a bullion dealer or bank adds to the spot price for bars and coins, usually larger on small pieces.
• Making charges (labour) on jewellery, often a percentage of the gold value or a fixed amount per gram.
• Local supply and demand, which can push the physical price to a premium or a discount against the international price for weeks at a time.

When you sell, the buyer usually quotes below the spot-based number and deducts for purity testing, wear and sometimes stones. The gap between the buying and the selling price is the real cost of owning physical gold, and it varies a lot between shops, so it is worth asking several.

Frequently asked questions