Frequently asked questions

Guest checkout is on delivery and Click & Collect orders if:

• your order is AUD 2,000 or less 
• your order does not include bullion or loose diamonds
• you are paying by credit card.

As a guest, your order history will not be saved. If you would like to open an account you can register here.

The Perth Mint can only verify the authenticity of products if you have made the purchase directly from us. Unfortunately, we cannot verify the authenticity of any bars via email, digital channels or using the bar numbers as the numbers themselves can be faked. The Perth Mint cannot verify the authenticity of products not sold directly by The Perth Mint. 

Our advice to customers is to buy gold bars from a reputable dealer as a dealer would not jeopardise their business or reputation by selling counterfeits. In most cases, dealers will have an x-ray fluorescence (XRF) handheld machine to test for gold.  

We are also aware of ‘novelty’ replica bullion bars sold on eBay, Ali-Express and Gumtree and third-party online markets. Suspected counterfeits can be reported to:

The Perth Mint Spot Price updates every five minutes when global markets are open. Check the current spot price here.

Yes, we buy gold, white gold and rose gold jewellery. We do not accept silver jewellery, although we do buy back silver coins and bars.  

If you are a resident of Western Australia, it is a condition of our second-hand dealer’s licence that you complete your jewellery transactions in person at The Perth Mint.  

Further details can be found here.

The Perth Mint is normally open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm, running tours. We are closed on New Year's Day, Australia Day, Anzac Day, Good Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Find out more on our Visitor information page. 

For enquiries about your existing retail order you can contact us on the numbers below. 

Visit our Customer care page for further information. 

Our luxury jewellery range is available for viewing and purchase at our in-store boutique. Appointments may be made by contacting:  

Yes. We offer this service for jewellery that meets certain conditions at The Perth Mint Shop. You can find out more information here.

Yes. The GoldPass app is a Perth Mint product. The product has been discontinued. Find out more on our GoldPass page.

If you have any questions or feedback contact us at: 

We maintain transactional bank accounts in Australian dollars and foreign currencies at domestic and international banking institutions with high credit ratings. We monitor the credit ratings and appropriate limits for cash holdings with these institutions on an ongoing basis. 

Client cash and bullion investments held with us are not subject to any government seizure or confiscation clauses. Find out more about our government guarantee. 

We are committed to making our website’s content accessible and user friendly for as many people as possible. We endeavour to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WACG) 2.1 to a AA level. You can read our policy here. 

Goods that are sold by The Perth Mint and exported from Australia are not subject to GST.

You are responsible for any local taxes and import duties that may be imposed at the point of importation into a European Union country or the UK. Further details of applicable charges can be found on the European Commission website and UK government website.

Clearing times for each payment method may vary depending on the different banks. Please find the average clearing times below:

• Telegraphic transfer, wire transfer: Two working days.
• BPay (Australia only): Two working days.
• Electronic funds transfer: Two working days.
• Credit card and direct debit credit card: For orders of bullion products made on the phone for less than AUD 5,000, payments will be debited from your credit card immediately.
• Real time gross settlement (RTGS): Two working days. RTGS is only accepted on orders over the counter. Any bank fees associated with payments are to be borne by the customer.

• Under no circumstances can debit cards be used as a payment method for phone and online transactions.

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide numismatic valuations. However we would suggest talking to a reputable coin dealer for further help. You can find a list of Australasian Numismatic Dealer’s Association (ANDA) coin specialists on their website. 

The best places to buy The Perth Mint collector coins are either from The Perth Mint Shop where you can buy in-person, or from our website for delivery to your address. 

The Perth Mint does buy back certain coins from the bullion trading room in The Perth Mint Shop. These include The Perth Mint gold, silver and platinum coins and medallions and other recognised legal tender gold and silver issues, excluding coins in current circulation. However, the coins must meet certain conditions, so it is best to check the buy and sell gold page for more information. 

You can check the current prices The Perth Mint will pay for gold, silver and platinum coins on our metals prices page. 

From time to time The Perth Mint will buy coins struck by other mints including the Royal Australian Mint and the Royal Mint. For more information about what we buy visit the buy and sell gold page, and for prices visit the metals prices page.   

The Perth Mint can ship bullion to the countries listed in the table below. For security purposes, the following limits will be applied to international bullion orders. 

Customers can buy gold and silver bullion from The Perth Mint online for direct delivery  or online for storage. or in-person at the bullion trading room in The Perth Mint Shop.

Online bullion purchase from The Perth Mint must be made through a registered Perth Mint bullion account. For purchases over AUD 2,000, registration involves an identity verification process which must be completed prior to transaction. 

If your bullion purchase is up to AUD 2,000 you will be asked to create an account for online purchases. 

If your intended bullion purchase is AUD 2,000 or more, will need to provide proof of identification and open an account.

For more information you can contact us on the details below or visit our Account FAQs: 

Insurance is optional for retail customers and is charged at 1.1% of the transaction value (including GST for Australian customers). 

We do not offer credit accounts for retail customers. 

The limit is AUD 5,000 (inclusive of a 1.9% credit card surcharge). 

The Contract Completion Guarantee requires you to pay for bullion within two days of placing your order. It serves as a check that the credit card (which must be in your name) is valid and agreement that you will pay an administration fee and for losses if you do not settle your account.

By providing a Contract Completion Guarantee, you agree that:

• The Perth Mint may arrange a third party to charge a $0 pre-authorisation fee in order to validate your credit card and protect The Perth Mint against suspected fraudulent activity; and
• The Perth Mint may charge an AUD 150 administration fee, plus the cost of any other losses to your credit card, in the event that a bullion transaction is not settled within two business days of your order.

Please note that while a credit card is required for a Contract Completion Guarantee, other payment methods are available for bullion purchase and will appear in checkout.  

Prices for gold, silver and platinum bullion products are live and updated every five minutes during Perth WA business hours (AWST), which is when you can purchase bullion products. 

A countdown timer will appear on the screen when you are viewing a bullion product indicating how long before the next price refresh. 

Once you are in the checkout process, the price will be locked for five minutes to allow you to complete your transaction. If you do not complete your transaction in this time, the price will refresh and you will need to restart the checkout process. 

The Perth Mint is a wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia with precious metal holdings backed by a government guarantee. This guarantee covers the obligations of The Perth Mint Depository. 

Since its formation in 1899, The Perth Mint has employed specialist security officers to monitor for external and internal threats and work closely with specialist gold detectives from the West Australian Police Service. 

As a working refinery and mint, we operate several vaults for our operational inventory (which backs our unallocated liabilities) as well as vaults for Depository customer allocated and pool allocated metal.  

Our category 11 vaults meet AUS/NZ Standards 3809. The vault specifications have been vetted by our underwriters. 

The Perth Mint’s sites are monitored 24 hours per day with access controlled from a Class 1 security control room. Our risk management team ensure compliance with an impressive level of procedural security for receiving, releasing and accounting for precious metal. We have a dedicated metals accountant whose sole focus is ongoing reconciliation of our ounce assets and liabilities. 

Nationwide Police Clearances are carried out on all staff prior to employment. 

No. For security reasons we are unable to store metal that you have in your possession, even if purchased from the Perth Mint.

No. As The Perth Mint is not a registered investment advisory, we  are unable to provide any investment advice. We recommend seeking independent financial advice on your investments.

Our news section provides ongoing insights and analysis and a wealth of information about precious metals. Read the latest investment news.

As a global manufacturer and one of the world’s largest precious metal refiners, The Perth Mint requires a substantial amount of physical metal to support its ongoing operations, we therefore don’t charge storage fees on unallocated metal.

Storage fees are charged on allocated and pool allocated products because we incur additional vaulting and insurance costs for storing this custodial precious metal. Find out more about our storage fees.

The Perth Mint is wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia and has been trading for more than 120 years. The possibility of the government becoming insolvent is considered highly unlikely. Find out about The Perth Mint’s financial position in our annual reports.

The Western Australian Government imposes strict guidelines on The Perth Mint’s management. We are not a bullion bank and do not provide project financing or bullion lending/derivative services to mining companies or other entities. 

We provide one of the world’s safest locations for precious metal storage, especially in an environment of increasing global, financial and corporate risk. Use of unallocated metal outside of our operations is not consistent with this mission. It would introduce an unacceptable level of risk and compromise our international reputation as a safe haven depository. 

No. Any use of unallocated metal does not affect your right to sell or request delivery of metal in a physical form. We have a legal obligation to ensure your precious metal is available for collection within a specified period from the date of receiving a client’s instructions. 

We maintain an inventory of finished bars to meet normal demand from our network of distributors and depository customers. This means you will usually be able to convert your metal within a few days of giving us notice. 

If you request a physical product that is not in stock, or a large quantity, we may need to manufacture it. The lead times for manufacture will depend on the size of the order, current demand and production capacity. For this reason, some customers prefer allocated storage because their metal has already been fabricated and is ready for collection at short notice. 

Yes. You can convert between any one of the three storage methods at any time. If taking delivery of unallocated metal or pool allocated metal it must be converted to allocated. Fabrication costs will be payable at the time of conversion and based on precious metal market prices at the time of the conversion.  

Converting from allocated or pool allocated metal will be processed as a sell of the physical metal and a buy of the unallocated metal using the applicable spot prices and fees. Some products may be temporarily unavailable due to production lead time constraints. Find out more about storage options here and storage fees here. 

Yes. You can view your allocated metal but you must make a booking with at minimum of three business days’ notice. However, during busy periods we may require larger notice periods. For security reasons, only one viewing can take place at any time. 

If you are running late you must call our office to advise. Missed appointments can be rescheduled.  

When visiting The Perth Mint 

The following protocols apply:  

• Viewings of large metal holding will require more than three business days’ notice.
• You must inform us of the names of all persons attending the viewing with you prior to the day of your appointment. If we do not have the ID of all persons on file, this documentation will need to be faxed or scanned.
• All persons attending The Perth Mint must bring valid photo and signature ID with them.
• Persons without ID, or not listed with us, will not be allowed to the collection areas. This includes children.
• Photographs are not permitted.
• Customers are unable to view unallocated or pool allocated metal.
• Metal cannot be view, shipped or collected during stock takes, which are usually carried out at the end of May and November. 

Unallocated and pool allocated metals  

You cannot audit unallocated or pool allocated metals because no specific bar or coin is recorded against individual clients. You can view The Perth Mint’s audited Annual Reports, which are signed off by the Auditor General of Western Australia that they comply with the Financial Management Act 2006 and the Gold Corporation Act 1987. The reports are available on our Annual Reports page.  

You can also view a listing of the bars reserved against our pool allocated balances below. 

Pool allocated bar list - Depository and Certificate programs.pdf

Pool allocated bar list - Depository Online.pdf

No. Under Clause 3(2) of the Gold Corporation Act it states that a ‘reference in this Act to gold shall be construed as including a reference to silver, other precious metals’, precious stones and other minerals.

You can therefore be assured that the government guarantee covers all of your precious metal holdings in The Perth Mint’s Depository facility. 

No. A government’s power to tax can only be in terms of money, therefore its obligations must be expressed in monetary terms. If the government guarantee was  enacted, we would  immediately buy on the open market the required amount of precious metal needed to meet our obligations. We would then request funds from the government to pay for the purchase – the cash equivalent – of the precious metal due.  

We buy precious metal when you buy from us and sell when you sell to us on a 1:1 basis. All holdings, whether they are stored as allocated or unallocated are therefore 100% backed.  

If you are an authorised representative of the estate of the deceased (for example, an estate executor, next of kin or legal representative), please refer to the steps set out on our deceased estates page for information on how to notify us.