1g Noah's Ark Gold Coin

The 1g Noah's Ark Gold Coin

The 1 gram Noah's Ark is one of the smallest investment gold coins available anywhere, the entry denomination of the gold side of Armenia's bullion programme. Issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia and struck in Germany by Leipziger Edelmetallverarbeitung (LEV), the minting arm of the Geiger Edelmetalle group, it contains a single gram of .9999 fine gold with a face value of 100 Drams. Gold bullion versions of the Noah's Ark became available in September 2020, nine years after the silver series launched, and the 1g size makes the programme accessible to small-budget buyers in a way few sovereign coin series are.

The economics of gram-sized gold deserve honesty. Manufacturing, assaying, and distribution costs are roughly fixed regardless of size, so spread over one gram of metal they dominate the price; 1g gold products typically carry the highest premium-to-metal ratio of any standard weight, around 8-15% over spot for bars. Buying an ounce of gold one gram at a time costs far more than buying a single 1 oz Noah's Ark gold coin. The gram format earns its place for gifting, first purchases, and maximum divisibility rather than efficient accumulation.

What the Noah's Ark adds over the 1g bars that dominate this weight class is legal tender status. As a sovereign coin of post-1800 issue with purity far above 900 thousandths, it qualifies for the EU investment gold VAT exemption and appears on the EU's official list of exempt gold coins, while carrying Eduard Kurghinyan's Ark design, unchanged across the series since 2011.

1g Noah's Ark Gold Specifications

At 16.54 mm across and less than half a millimetre thick, this is a genuinely tiny coin, smaller in diameter than most fractional sovereign issues. The obverse carries the Armenian coat of arms, a shield supported by a lion and an eagle, with denomination, purity, weight, year of issue, and the mint symbol; the reverse shows Noah's Ark on the floodwaters with a dove carrying an olive branch and Mount Ararat behind, inscribed in Armenian and English.

The gold range also includes 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz, and 1 oz denominations, all .9999 fine. Limited gold proofs preceded the bullion issues in 2017, with the 1g proof capped at 3,000 pieces. Production quality is guaranteed and checked by the Central Bank of Armenia.

1g Noah's Ark Gold Tax Treatment

Despite its size, the coin qualifies as investment gold in the major markets, which is the chief advantage gold has over silver at any weight.

• UK: VAT-exempt as investment gold (a post-1800 legal tender coin well above the purity thresholds). Not CGT-exempt, since only UK legal tender coins such as Britannias and Sovereigns qualify; gains fall within the normal CGT regime, though the annual allowance and the small sums involved at this weight make that largely theoretical for gram-sized holdings.
• EU: VAT-exempt under the Investment Gold Directive, and the Noah's Ark gold coins are listed on the EU's official list of VAT-exempt gold coins. In Germany, gains on coins held for more than a year are tax-free.
• US: The .9999 purity comfortably exceeds the IRS 99.5% minimum for IRA-eligible gold. State sales tax varies; note that several threshold-based exemptions (California over $2,000, New York over $1,000) are unlikely to be met by a single 1g purchase, so small-coin buyers in those states can face tax that buyers of larger items avoid.
• Canada: GST/HST exempt as gold refined to at least 99.5% purity in coin form.
• Australia and New Zealand: GST-free in both countries as investment-grade gold of at least 99.5% purity.
• Singapore and Hong Kong: GST-exempt in Singapore as a qualifying legal tender gold coin; Hong Kong imposes no sales tax, import duty, or capital gains tax.

1g Noah's Ark vs Gram Bars and Fractional Coins

The 1g weight class is dominated by bars, not coins. The benchmark products are the PAMP Suisse Fortuna, the most recognised 1g bar globally, and 1g bars from Valcambi, Perth Mint, and other refiners, all sealed in assay cards. Against these, the Noah's Ark offers legal tender status and a sovereign design where the bars offer brand recognition and tamper-evident packaging. Valcambi's CombiBar takes the divisibility idea further: a perforated sheet of fifty 1g segments at a lower per-gram premium than individual gram products.

Among coins, few sovereign programmes go this small at all, which is itself the Noah's Ark's differentiator: the 1g denomination is one of the smallest investment gold coins available. The nearest mainstream comparisons are fractional issues like 1/10 oz Britannias or Maple Leafs, which contain about three times the gold and carry somewhat lower percentage premiums, since fractional gold premiums fall as weight rises.

Within the series itself the arithmetic favours size. The same design and purity are available at 1/4 oz, 1/2 oz, and 1 oz, and the 1 oz coin is positioned as one of the lowest-premium .9999 gold bullion coins in Europe. The gram coin is the sampler and the gift; serious accumulation belongs further up the range.