5g Lucky Scarab Gold Bar

PAMP's 5g Lucky Scarab: Collectible Gold in an Assay Card

The Lucky Scarab is a limited-edition 5 gram gold bar from PAMP Suisse, part of the refinery's Good Luck programme of collectible bars that draws on symbols of fortune from different cultures. Where PAMP's standard Fortuna and Rosa bars run unlimited production, the Scarab is capped at 6,000 pieces worldwide, each individually serialised and sealed in CertiPAMP assay packaging. The design is an Egyptian scarab beetle with radiating sun motifs, a symbol the ancient Egyptians associated with the god Khepri, the daily rebirth of the sun, and protection.

PAMP (Produits Artistiques Metaux Precieux) was founded in 1977 in Castel San Pietro, Switzerland, is LBMA Good Delivery accredited, and is the world's largest privately owned precious metals refinery. It was also the first refinery to put artistic designs on investment bars, starting with the Fortuna in 1979, so themed bullion is its home turf.

Be clear about what you are buying. At 5 grams (about 0.161 troy oz), fractional gold already carries a higher per-gram premium than larger bars, and the Scarab's limited mintage pushes it above a standard 5g PAMP bar again. It is positioned as a gift and collectible with investment-grade gold inside, not the cheapest route to 5 grams of metal. The 6,000 cap is deliberate: scarce enough to collect, common enough to actually find.

5g Lucky Scarab Specifications

The obverse carries the scarab with its sun motifs and ornamental detailing; the reverse shows the PAMP Suisse logo with "SUISSE", "5 g", "FINE GOLD", "999.9", and the serial number. PAMP does not widely publish exact dimensions for this bar, but its other 5g bars measure approximately 23.3 x 14.0 mm, roughly credit-card thin in its card.

The CertiPAMP packaging is the primary security feature: a tamper-evident card certifying weight, purity, and serial number, designed so that removing the bar is visually evident. Keep it sealed; a broken seal reduces resale value and may mean re-assaying. PAMP's Veriscan smartphone authentication, which analyses surface topology, is standard on many PAMP products, though its availability on the 5g Good Luck bars is not confirmed.

Lucky Scarab Tax Treatment by Country

As a .9999 fine gold bar from an LBMA-accredited refiner, the Lucky Scarab qualifies as investment gold almost everywhere, which makes it far more tax-efficient than themed silver products.

• UK: VAT-free as investment gold (bars of 995+ fineness qualify). Bars are not CGT-exempt, however; that benefit is limited to UK legal tender coins, so gains above the annual allowance are taxable.
• US: no federal sales tax, and most states exempt gold bullion. IRA eligibility is possible through approved custodians since the bar exceeds the 99.5% purity floor from an accredited refiner, though IRA buyers usually prefer non-collectible formats. Long-term gains are taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28%.
• EU: VAT-exempt under the Investment Gold Directive (bars at 995+ fineness).
• Canada: GST/HST exempt at 99.5%+ purity.
• Australia and New Zealand: GST-free as investment-grade gold (99.5%+ purity).
• Singapore: GST-exempt as an Investment Precious Metal, with no capital gains tax.
• Hong Kong: no sales tax, import duty, or capital gains tax.

One caveat applies everywhere: the collectible premium you pay over spot is not a tax and not recoverable through any exemption. The tax treatment covers the gold; the scarcity premium rides on top.

Lucky Scarab vs Fortuna, Plain 5g Bars, and the Lucky Cat

The most direct comparison is in-house. The PAMP Fortuna 5g carries the refinery's flagship Lady Fortuna design, the Roman goddess of luck, with no mintage limit; the Scarab offers identical weight and purity at a higher premium, and what you are paying for is the 6,000-piece cap and the theme. The same logic applies against the unlimited Rosa. Within the Good Luck programme itself, the 2.5g Lucky Cat covers the Japanese Maneki-neko at a smaller weight, and the Koi Fish takes the series up to 1 oz, so the Scarab is the mid-size entry in the set.

Outside PAMP, an Argor-Heraeus 5g or Valcambi 5g bar delivers the same Swiss LBMA pedigree and .9999 purity with plain refinery branding and a lower premium; those are the better choice for buyers who just want 5 grams of gold. The Perth Mint's 5g Oriana bar offers a dragon design with Tuvalu legal tender status, a different positioning again. At this price point a 1/10 oz sovereign coin is also in play, and generally brings better liquidity and brand recognition than any 5g bar.

The Scarab makes sense when the design, the mintage cap, and PAMP's brand are the point, as a gift or a collectible with melt-value insurance underneath.