Gold Price per Gram UK: 9ct, 14ct, 18ct, 22ct and 24ct Values

Author: Paweł Kucharzak, GoldInvest24 | 19 October 2026
Reading time: 7–9 minutes | Prices with a quote date

On 19 October 2026 a gram of fine gold was worth £100.65. That puts 9ct gold at £37.74, 14ct at £58.88, 18ct at £75.49, 22ct at £92.20 and 24ct (999) at £100.55 per gram. These are melt values — the worth of the pure gold inside — calculated from the National Bank of Poland reference price of 522.84 PLN per gram and its official rate of 5.1946 PLN per pound.

The price changes every few seconds while markets are open, so treat this page as a dated reference and a guide to the calculation. For the current figure use our live gold price chart. Below you will find how carat translates into price, how to value your own gold, why buying and selling prices differ from the spot price, and how the price per gram in pounds has moved since 2016.

Gold price per gram by carat

A carat is a share of 24. 24ct is (almost) pure gold, 18ct is 18/24 = 75% gold, 9ct is 9/24 = 37.5%. UK hallmarks express the same thing in parts per thousand, so 9ct is stamped 375 and 18ct 750. The value of a gram of each standard is simply the price of fine gold multiplied by that fraction.

Two notes on the table. 22ct coins such as the sovereign are struck at 916.7 fine, slightly above the 916 jewellery standard — a full sovereign holds 7.3224 g of pure gold. Bullion bars are usually 999.9 fine, which at today's rate is £100.64 per gram.

How to calculate the value of your gold

The formula works for any item, from a broken chain to a bar:

value = weight in grams × fineness × price of 1 g of fine gold

• 9ct chain, 12 g: 12 × 0.375 = 4.5 g of gold → £452.93
• 18ct ring, 5 g: 5 × 0.750 = 3.75 g of gold → £377.44
• 22ct bangle, 20 g: 20 × 0.916 = 18.32 g of gold → £1,843.92
• 1 troy ounce of fine gold (31.1035 g) → £3,130.59 — see how much an ounce of gold weighs

Three things lower the result in practice. Stones, solder, clasps and steel springs add weight but no gold, so weigh them out or deduct them. Gold-plated and rolled-gold items contain only a thin layer of gold and are valued very differently. And an item without a hallmark has to be tested before anyone will pay for its gold content. Our guide to gold and silver purity explains the marks to look for.

Why a buyer pays less than the melt value

The figures above are what the gold is worth after it has been refined into a bar. A scrap buyer has to get it there: test the alloy, melt it, send it to a refiner and wait for settlement, while the price may move against them. Refining charges, assay costs and the buyer's margin come off the melt value. The gap is usually smaller for bullion bars and coins than for jewellery, because a sealed 999.9 bar or a sovereign needs no refining and can be resold as it is.

That is why the price a dealer quotes for a sovereign or a bar is closer to the spot price than the price quoted for a bag of mixed 9ct jewellery. If you are selling, compare the offer with the melt value from the formula above. Our sell gold and silver page lists the bars and coins we buy back.

Why bullion costs more than the spot price per gram

The spot price is a wholesale benchmark for 400-ounce bars traded between banks. A 1 g bar carries the cost of minting, assay certificate, packaging and distribution, spread over a single gram. A 100 g bar spreads similar costs over a hundred times more gold. The result is a market premium that falls as the bar size rises:

• 1 g gold bars — the highest premium per gram, chosen for gifts and small, regular purchases
• 10 g gold bars — a middle ground between flexibility and cost per gram
• 100 g gold bars — a lower premium per gram than the smaller sizes

A worked comparison of bar sizes is in our article on how much a gold bar costs. All bar sizes are listed in the gold bars category.

UK hallmarks and gold standards

Under the Hallmarking Act 1973, gold items sold in the UK and described as gold must be hallmarked by one of the four assay offices — London, Birmingham, Sheffield or Edinburgh — unless they fall below the exemption weight, which for gold is 1 gram. The approved gold standards are 375 (9ct), 585 (14ct), 750 (18ct), 916 (22ct), 990 and 999.

A full UK hallmark has three compulsory parts: the sponsor's mark (who sent the item for testing), the fineness mark (the number in a shape that indicates the metal) and the assay office mark. A date letter is optional. A number alone, such as "375" stamped by a manufacturer without the other marks, is not a UK hallmark.

Gold price per gram in pounds since 2016

The table converts the National Bank of Poland gold price into pounds on the same day, using the bank's own sterling rate. It shows the price of 1 g of fine gold in October of selected years.

Over ten years the price of a gram in pounds rose from £33.07 to £100.65, about three times. The sharpest climb came between October 2024 and October 2025 (£66.85 → £102.82). In the twelve months to October 2026 the price was almost flat in pounds (£102.82 → £100.65), after a higher reading of £114.28 in April 2026.

What moves the UK gold price per gram

Gold is priced globally in US dollars per troy ounce. The UK price per gram is that dollar price divided by 31.1035 and converted into pounds, so two things move it:

• The dollar gold price — driven by interest rate expectations, central bank purchases, demand for bars and coins, and periods of financial or political stress.
• The pound against the dollar — a weaker pound raises the price of gold in pounds even when the dollar price stands still, and a stronger pound does the opposite.

Between 21 October 2025 and 19 October 2026 the dollar price implied by the NBP data fell from about $4,279 to $4,173 per ounce (−2.5%), while the pound barely moved against the dollar (1.338 → 1.333). The small fall in the sterling price per gram therefore came from the dollar gold price, not from the currency.

VAT and tax on gold in the UK

HMRC treats bullion differently from jewellery. Under VAT Notice 701/21, gold bars and wafers of at least 995 fineness and qualifying gold coins (at least 900 fine, minted after 1800 and legal tender in their country of origin) are exempt from VAT as "investment gold". Jewellery is not covered by the exemption and is subject to VAT at 20% when sold by a VAT-registered business.

UK legal tender coins such as the sovereign and the gold Britannia are also outside Capital Gains Tax for individuals, because they are sterling currency. Bars are not. Our article on tax on gold in 2026 covers the rules in more detail. This is general information, not tax advice.

Frequently asked questions

What is the gold price per gram in the UK today?

On 19 October 2026 a gram of fine gold was worth about £100.65. That is the National Bank of Poland reference price of 522.84 PLN per gram converted at 5.1946 PLN per pound. For the live figure, check our gold price page, which updates during trading hours.

How much is 9ct gold worth per gram?

9ct gold is 37.5% pure, so a gram contains 0.375 g of fine gold, worth about £37.74 on 19 October 2026. A scrap buyer pays less than this melt value because the metal still has to be tested and refined.

How much is 10 grams of 22 carat gold worth?

10 g of 22ct gold (916 fine) contains 9.16 g of pure gold, worth about £921.96 on 19 October 2026. The figure is the melt value; jewellery with stones or other metals contains less gold than its total weight suggests.

How much is 18ct gold per gram?

18ct gold is 75% pure, so its melt value was about £75.49 per gram on 19 October 2026. An 18ct ring weighing 5 g holds 3.75 g of fine gold, about £377.44.

Why does 24ct gold cost more per gram when I buy it than the spot price?

The spot price is a wholesale benchmark for large bars. A small bar or coin also carries minting, packaging, distribution and the dealer's margin. The smaller the item, the larger that share per gram.

How do I work out the value of my gold?

Multiply the weight in grams by the fineness and by the price of a gram of fine gold. Example: a 12 g 9ct chain contains 12 × 0.375 = 4.5 g of gold; at £100.65 per gram that is about £452.93.

Is there VAT on gold in the UK?

Bars of at least 995 fineness and qualifying coins count as investment gold under HMRC VAT Notice 701/21 and are exempt from VAT. Jewellery and gold below those standards are subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20%.

Summary

On 19 October 2026 a gram of fine gold was worth £100.65 in pounds. 9ct gold works out at £37.74 per gram, 18ct at £75.49 and 22ct at £92.20. To value any item, multiply its gold weight by its fineness and by the price of a gram of fine gold, then expect a buyer to pay somewhat less and a seller of small bars to charge somewhat more.

Sources

• Gold price: National Bank of Poland, price of 1 g of gold (fineness 1000), 19 October 2026: 522.84 PLN, and historical prices for the dates in the table
• Exchange rates: National Bank of Poland table 203/A/NBP/2026 (GBP 5.1946 PLN, USD 3.8974 PLN) and the A tables for the historical dates
• UK hallmarking standards and exemption weight: Hallmarking Act 1973; The Assay Office London, hallmarking guidance
• VAT: HMRC, VAT Notice 701/21 Gold and VAT Notice 701/21A Investment gold coins
• 1 troy ounce = 31.1034768 g

The values above are calculations based on the reference price of 19 October 2026. They show the value of the gold content, not a quote to buy or sell.