Krugerrand 1 oz or Philharmonic 1 oz: which is the better buy today?
Krugerrand 1 oz and Philharmonic 1 oz hold the same gold — 31.10 g of fine metal each — and differ in everything else: Krugerrand 1 oz is struck in 916.7 ‰ · 22 kt by South African Mint, Philharmonic 1 oz in 999.9 ‰ · 24 kt by Münze Österreich. With the metal identical, the only thing left to compare is what each dealer charges above it.
| coin | Krugerrand 1 oz | Philharmonic 1 oz |
|---|---|---|
| fine gold | 31.10 g | 31.10 g |
| gross weight | 33.93 g | 31.10 g |
| purity | 916.7 ‰ · 22 kt | 999.9 ‰ · 24 kt |
| diameter | 32.77 mm | 37 mm |
| thickness | 2.84 mm | 2.00 mm |
| face value | no denomination | 100 euro |
| struck | South Africa · since 1967 | Austria · since 1989 |
The prices come from the feed, and the feed has not answered yet.
Krugerrand 1 oz — The coin that invented the one-ounce bullion market in 1967. Copper in the alloy gives it its red tone and its hardness.
Philharmonic 1 oz — Europe’s own one-ounce coin, and the only one with a euro face value. Wide and thin: 37 mm across for the same ounce of gold.
Krugerrand 1 oz is 916.7 ‰ · 22 kt, so it weighs 33.93 g for its 31.10 g of gold; Philharmonic 1 oz is 999.9 ‰ · 24 kt, 31.10 g on the scale. Neither holds more gold for the difference: the alloy is hardness, which is why Krugerrand 1 oz can be handled and Philharmonic 1 oz travels in a capsule.
Both are modern bullion coins, struck for investors — Krugerrand 1 oz since 1967, Philharmonic 1 oz since 1989 — and priced on their metal and the margins above it.
So the comparison is the premium. Whichever of the two a dealer asks less for above its metal is the cheaper gold that day — and that changes shop by shop and day by day, which is what the numbers above are for.