1g CombiBar Gold Bar

Divisible Gold from Switzerland's Largest Refiner

The 1g Valcambi CombiBar is a single gram segment from Valcambi's patented divisible gold bar. The full CombiBar is a flat sheet of 999.9 fine gold scored with breakable grooves, allowing individual 1g segments to be snapped off by hand. The most common configuration is a 50g sheet containing 50 segments arranged in a 10 x 5 grid, roughly credit-card sized and just 0.85mm thick.

Valcambi SA, based in Balerna, Switzerland, has been LBMA Good Delivery accredited for gold and silver since 1968. The refinery was founded in 1961 as "Valori & Cambi" (exchange of valuables) and has an annual combined refining capacity of approximately 2,000 metric tonnes across all precious metals. The CombiBar, first issued in April 2011, is arguably their most innovative product and received widespread media coverage at launch.

The concept addresses a specific problem in physical gold ownership: how to liquidate part of a holding without selling an entire bar. A buyer who holds a 50g CombiBar can break off one or several 1g segments to sell or gift, keeping the rest intact. Each separated segment is a tiny square bar stamped with the Valcambi name, "SUISSE" origin mark, purity, and weight. The per-gram premium is significantly lower than buying 50 individual 1g gold bars separately, roughly 15-25% cheaper per gram, though higher than a solid 50g bar where no divisibility feature exists.

The tradeoff is provenance. The sealed PETG blister packaging contains a serial-numbered assay certificate that verifies the bar as a whole. Once a segment is broken off, the remaining bar and the separated piece lose their assay certification. Individual 1g segments can still be verified by weight and the Valcambi hallmark, but they carry less formal provenance than a sealed CombiBar or a standard 1g bar in its own assay card. Most dealers will still buy individual segments based on the hallmark and weight verification, potentially at a slightly reduced price.

Valcambi CombiBar 1g Gold Segment Specifications

Full CombiBar Configurations (Gold)

The CombiBar is also produced in silver (100 x 1g at .999 fine), platinum (50 x 1g at .9995 fine), and palladium (50 x 1g at .9995 fine). A 5g star-shaped novelty version exists, with five detachable 1g points aimed at the gift market. The gold version's 0.85mm thickness makes it one of the thinnest bullion products available.

CombiBar Tax Treatment by Country

The 999.9 gold purity of the CombiBar exceeds investment gold thresholds in all major jurisdictions. The bar format and private mint origin determine the remaining tax treatment, particularly around capital gains.

• UK: VAT-exempt on purchase as investment gold (bar form, 999+ fineness). Subject to Capital Gains Tax on disposal at 18% or 24%, with a £3,000 annual allowance. Not CGT-exempt because bars carry no UK legal tender status. Each segment sold separately constitutes a separate disposal for CGT purposes, which can be advantageous for spreading gains across tax years.
• US: No federal sales tax. State-level treatment varies across roughly 35 exempt states. Capital gains taxed at the 28% collectibles rate. Gold CombiBars at .9999 purity from Valcambi (LBMA-accredited) meet IRS Section 408(m) requirements for self-directed precious metals IRAs. However, some IRA custodians have specific policies about divisible bars and may require them to remain in original sealed packaging.
• EU: VAT-exempt under Directive 98/80/EC. In Germany, gains on gold held for more than one year are completely tax-free, making the CombiBar particularly attractive for German investors.
• Switzerland: No VAT on investment gold. No capital gains tax on private assets for individual investors, making Valcambi's home country one of the most favourable jurisdictions for holding gold.
• Canada: GST/HST exempt at 99.5%+ purity.
• Australia: GST-free as investment-grade gold (99.5%+ purity in investment form).
• Singapore: GST-exempt under the Investment Precious Metals scheme.
• Hong Kong: No sales tax, no import duty, no capital gains tax.

CombiBar 1g vs Individual 1g Bars and Larger Bars

The CombiBar's most direct competitors are standard individual 1g bars from Swiss LBMA refiners. A sealed 1g Argor-Heraeus Classic bar or a PAMP Suisse Fortuna 1g bar each come with their own assay certificate and serial number, maintaining full provenance regardless of how many bars a buyer owns. The tradeoff is cost: buying 50 individual 1g bars carries a substantially higher total premium than a single 50g CombiBar, because each individual bar incurs its own manufacturing, packaging, and assay costs.

Against a solid 50g bar from the same refiner, the CombiBar carries a higher premium, typically 5-15% more. That premium is the price of the divisibility feature: the precision groove-cutting and individual segment stamping. A buyer who expects to hold the full weight indefinitely gets better value from a solid bar. A buyer who values the option to liquidate in small increments pays a reasonable price for that flexibility.

The PAMP Multigram is the most similar competing product. It is a card containing multiple individually sealed 1g bars that can be popped out. The critical difference: each PAMP bar is individually assayed and sealed, so breaking out a piece does not affect the provenance of the remaining bars. The CombiBar's assay covers the sheet as a whole; breaking it destroys the assay for all pieces. For buyers who prioritise per-piece provenance, the PAMP Multigram has an advantage. For buyers who prioritise the lowest per-gram cost for divisible gold, the CombiBar typically wins.

For pure divisibility without the small-bar premium, fractional gold coins such as 1/10 oz Britannias or Maple Leafs offer an alternative. Fractional coins carry higher premiums per troy ounce than full-ounce coins but have legal tender status, individual recognisability, and in some jurisdictions (UK Britannias), CGT exemption. A separated CombiBar segment is a tiny 1g square with minimal identifying features beyond the Valcambi hallmark. It lacks the instant visual recognition of a coin.