Premiums and Spreads: How Much Markup Is Normal on Gold and Silver?

Every gold or silver coin costs more than the metal inside it. The extra is called the premium. When you sell, a dealer usually pays you a little less than you paid. The gap between those two prices is called the spread.

Premiums and spreads are the biggest costs most buyers face, and they are where the worst overcharging happens. Most honest markups are modest. Some dishonest ones are huge.

This guide explains the three terms in plain words, walks through a worked example, shows what one dealer charged on a set date, and gives the questions that keep the cost in the open.

What is a premium over spot?

The premium is the amount you pay above the spot price for the metal in a coin or bar. It is usually shown as a dollar amount or a percentage.

The spot price is the market price for one troy ounce of pure metal in bulk (our spot price guide explains it). A coin has to be refined, minted, packaged, shipped and insured, and the dealer needs to earn a living. The premium covers all of that.

A premium is normal. What you want to know is how big it is, and whether you can see it before you pay.

What is the spread, and what is a buyback price?

The buyback price is what a dealer will pay you for your metal. The spread is the gap between the dealer's selling price and its buyback price for the same item.

The CFTC and FINRA put it simply: a dealer sells above spot and buys back below spot, and the difference is the spread. They add that dealers set their own spreads. Some "may charge less than 20 percent," while "some fraudulent dealers have charged spreads of more than 300 percent."

The spread matters more than the premium alone. It is what it actually costs you to buy a coin and sell it back. A low premium paired with a poor buyback price can cost more than a slightly higher premium from a dealer that buys back near spot.

A worked example

Here is one purchase and sale, using made-up round numbers so the math is easy to follow. These are not real prices.

So in this example, gold would need to rise about 6% before you got your money back, and that is before shipping, sales tax (in states that charge it), storage and insurance. If you bought a collector coin with a 40% markup instead, the price of gold would need to rise far more just to break even.

To run the same check on a real quote, ask the dealer for two prices on the same item on the same day: what it sells for, and what the dealer would pay you for it.

Why can't a new American Eagle sell at spot?

Because the US Mint charges its own markup before the coin reaches any dealer.

The Mint doesn't sell bullion Eagles to the public. It sells them to large "authorized purchasers," which then sell to other dealers and to you. Its published prices to those dealers are:

These dealers must also buy very large amounts, starting at 1,000 ounces of gold or 25,000 ounces of silver per order. Every dealer after them adds its own costs and profit. That is why a brand new Eagle can't be sold near spot, and why smaller coins cost more per ounce. Our page on small gold coins looks at that trade-off.

How much over spot is normal?

There is no single normal number. Premiums change daily and differ by dealer, coin, size and payment method. To give you a sense of scale, here is what one large online dealer charged on October 31, 2026, for 1 to 9 pieces, paying by check or wire:

These were measured against that dealer's own spot price on the same page. They are one snapshot, not an average, and they will be different when you read this. Use them as a sense of scale, then get your own quotes on the same day.

A few patterns hold in most markets:

• Bars usually cost less over spot than coins of the same weight. See gold coins vs. gold bars.
• Previously owned pieces are often cheaper than new ones.
• Larger pieces cost less per ounce than small ones.
• Buying more pieces can lower the price per piece at some dealers.

Why are silver premiums higher than gold premiums?

Because the costs of making, packing and shipping a coin are spread over a much smaller amount of metal value.

A 1 ounce silver coin takes about as much work to mint, pack and ship as a 1 ounce gold coin, but the silver inside is worth far less. So the same costs are a much bigger share of the price. You can see it in the Mint's own pricing: gold Eagles carry a percentage markup, while Silver Eagles carry a fixed $3.05 per coin no matter what silver costs. You can see it in the snapshot above too.

Silver also costs more to store and ship, because it is so bulky for its value. Our guide on how to buy silver covers this.

Does paying by card cost more?

Usually, yes. On October 31, 2026, the same dealer charged about 4% more for card payments than for check or wire.

Card payments cost the seller a fee, which is one reason for the difference. On a large purchase, the difference can add up to more than the dealer's whole premium. Ask for the check, wire and card prices before you choose how to pay. Our guide to buying gold online safely covers payment methods in more detail.

Why do collector coins cost so much more?

Because the price includes a collector value on top of the metal, and that extra value can be hard to get back when you sell.

Rare, graded and proof coins are called numismatic coins. Some salespeople offer "semi-numismatic" coins as a middle ground. The CFTC and FINRA call that "a made-up industry term." These coins are typically not rare and can be harder to sell than plain bullion.

A CFTC case shows how this goes wrong. In April 2024, a federal court order in a CFTC case found that a company called Red Rock Secured talked about markups of 1% to 5% on common bullion, then sold customers Canadian Red-Tailed Hawk coins marked up about 92% to 130% over its own cost. At least 950 people paid over $69 million for coins worth about $30 million. Our page on bullion vs. collector coins explains how to tell them apart.

What does the CFTC warning about "300 percent" spreads mean?

It means some dealers charged prices far above what they would pay to buy the same metal back. The CFTC and FINRA warn that some fraudulent dealers charged spreads of more than 300 percent.

Spreads that big usually come with a sales pitch, not a price list. The common signs are a cold call, a "limited-time" offer, a push toward special coins, and fees that only show up after you agree. The regulators' advice is plain:

• Multiply the metal's weight by spot and compare it with the price you are charged.
• Ask the buyback price: what you would get if you sold the metal back tomorrow.
• Get all fees, costs and the agreed price in writing before you sign.
• Treat any dealer that won't put fees in writing as a red flag.

Our list of 10 red flags covers the rest of the warning signs.

Do gold IRAs charge the same markups?

The same premiums and spreads apply when the metal sits in an IRA, often with extra account fees on top. Our sister site explains how gold IRA companies make money.

How to keep premiums and spreads in the open

Many careful buyers follow the same simple routine:

1. Pick one common item (for example a 1 ounce Gold Eagle or a 1 ounce bar) so quotes are easy to compare.
2. Get two or three quotes on the same day, including shipping, insurance and any sales tax.
3. Ask each dealer for its buyback price on the same item.
4. Work out the spread yourself, in dollars and as a percentage.
5. Get the final price in writing before you pay.

Our 12 questions to ask a gold dealer puts these steps into a checklist you can print.