The Good Delivery specification is a set of rules issued by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) describing the physical characteristics of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

bars used in settlement in the wholesale London bullion market. It also puts forth requirements for listing on the LBMA Good Delivery List of approved refineries. Good Delivery bars are notable for their large size and high purity. They are the type normally used in the major international markets (

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Sydney,

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, and

Zürich , neighboring_municipalities = Adliswil, Dübendorf, Fällanden, Kilchberg, Maur, Oberengstringen, Opfikon, Regensdorf, Rümlang, Schlieren, Stallikon, Uitikon, Urdorf, Wallisellen, Zollikon , twintowns = Kunming, San Francisco Zürich () i ...

) and in the gold reserves of governments,

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s, and the

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''The Good Delivery Rules for Gold and Silver Bars''

The entire Good Delivery specification is contained in the LBMA document titled ''The Good Delivery Rules for Gold and Silver Bars: Specifications for Good Delivery Bars and Application Procedures for Listing''. The document includes specific requirements regarding the

fineness The fineness of a precious metal object (coin, bar, jewelry, etc.) represents the weight of ''fine metal'' therein, in proportion to the total weight which includes alloying base metals and any impurities. Alloy metals are added to increase hard ...

, weight, dimensions, appearance, marks, and production of gold and silver bars. It specifies procedures for weighing, packing, and delivery. It also describes policies for ensuring refiners' compliance with the specifications. The current edition of the ''Good Delivery Rules'' was published in January 2019.

Basic specifications

Gold bars

* Fineness: minimum of 995.0 parts per thousand fine gold * Marks: serial number, refiner's

hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term '' hallmark'' can a ...

, fineness, year of manufacture * Gold content: * Recommended dimensions ** Length (top): ** Width (top): ** Height:

Silver bars

* Fineness: minimum of 999.0 parts per thousand silver * Marks: serial number, refiner's hallmark, fineness, year of manufacture * Silver content: (Bars manufactured after January 1, 2008); (Bars manufactured prior to January 1, 2008); recommended * Recommended dimensions ** Length (top): ** Width (top): ** Height: Weight is not recommended to be stamped on bars of either gold or silver, because bars will be officially weighed on delivery, and this weight, which may be different from that originally marked, will prevail. A bar's weight may also change by handling or sampling, thus invalidating the original mark.

Non–Good Delivery

Bars that do not comply with Good Delivery rules are termed Non–Good Delivery. If they are similar to Good Delivery bars but do not fully meet the requirements, they must be stamped with "NGD" to distinguish them from conforming bars.

LBMA Good Delivery List

The LBMA maintains two Good Delivery Lists of approved refineries (one for gold and one for silver) that meet certain minimum criteria (age, net worth, and production volume) and have demonstrated their ability to produce Good Delivery bars. Listed companies agree to submit to monitoring by the LBMA. Those listed companies that refuse to participate in regular monitoring are removed from the Good Delivery List and added to the Former List.

Good Delivery Referees

Five companies are accredited by the LBMA as Good Delivery RefereesLondon Bullion Market Association
LBMA Referees
/ref> in order to supervise the Good Delivery System and monitor the companies with Good Delivery certification. The referees' main functions are: * Technical assessment of applicants for listing * Proactive monitoring of refiners on the Good Delivery List * Provision of technical advice on a range of topics The companies accredited as referees are: * Argor-Heraeus SA (Switzerland) * Metalor Technologies SA (Switzerland) * PAMP SA (Switzerland) * Rand Refinery (PTY) Ltd (South Africa) * Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K. (Japan)

References

External links

LBMA - Good Delivery Explained

LBMA - Good Delivery Rules
{{DEFAULTSORT:Good Delivery Gold Silver Commodity markets