By Rocco Clayfield, trading as GoldPaid; the business incorporated as GOLDPAID LTD (company 17382540) on 5 August 2026 · Published · updated
Found 999 on your piece? Send us a photo of it
Photograph the number stamped inside the ring or on the clasp, then the whole piece, and send both on WhatsApp. We will reply with what the mark means and a rough estimate of what we would pay. No obligation, and nothing needs posting.
No WhatsApp? Call 07944 014111, 8am to 9pm.
Not sure what the mark says? Use the hallmark lookup. Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
The number explained
999.9 gold is 24 carat. The stamp means 999.9 parts per thousand, or 99.99% pure gold by weight, sometimes written 9999 and known as four-nines gold. It is the standard purity for modern bullion bars and for coins such as the post-2013 Britannia.
999 parts per thousand of pure gold is 99.9% pure by weight. The remaining 0.1% is trace metals from the refining process: silver, copper, sometimes platinum-group metals at the level of fractions of a per cent. For most practical purposes, 999 is treated as pure gold.
Some refiners go further. 9999 (four nines, also written 999.9) is 99.99% pure gold and is the standard for the Canadian Maple Leaf, the Australian Kangaroo, and some Swiss refinery bars. The British Britannia coin moved to 9999 from 2013.
Why 999 is used for bullion
Bullion is gold held as a store of value, not as a wearable object. Investment-grade purity standardises the trade: a 1 oz bar of 999 gold from Umicore is interchangeable with a 1 oz bar of 999 gold from PAMP or Metalor for value purposes. Major refiners are LBMA-accredited (London Bullion Market Association), and their bars trade at a tight margin to spot.
A 999 coin or bar needs no refining, so it sits closer to the market than any other carat, and the offer reflects the fine gold we measure and the live market.
Why 999 is not used in jewellery
Chinese 24k wedding bangles are sometimes sold at very near 999 purity and are kept as gift and savings pieces rather than worn daily. They show dents and softening of edges quickly.
How 999 sells at scrap
GoldPaid values 24ct on the fine gold we measure and the live market. Specialist bullion dealers often pay closer to spot for recognised bars and coins in their original packaging, which is worth checking before you post bullion.
Final offers depend on inspection, item weight, purity, hallmarks, stones, non-gold components, condition and the live precious-metal market.
Identifying 999
- On bars: look for the refiner name (Umicore, PAMP, Valcambi, Metalor, Heraeus, Argor-Heraeus, Perth Mint), the weight (1g, 5g, 10g, 1 oz, 100g, 1 kg), the purity (999 or 9999), and the serial number.
- On coins: identify the design and the mint. Britannia, Maple Leaf, Australian Kangaroo and Vienna Philharmonic are all 999 or 9999. The Krugerrand is not: it is struck in 22 carat (916) throughout, and still holds a full ounce of fine gold.
- On jewellery: 999 stamps on rings or chains are rare. Where they appear, often Chinese imports, the alloy is genuinely close to pure and the piece is soft to the touch.
- Anything you cannot place from the stamps can still be tested. XRF reads the alloy to within fractions of a per cent.
- Original packaging, assay certificates and tamper-evident cards add to the resale value of bars and coins and should be sent with the parcel.
A note on counterfeit bullion
Tungsten-cored fake gold bars exist. Tungsten has a density very close to gold, so a fake can match the weight of a genuine bar. XRF measures surface composition, so it catches plated base metal quickly, but a tungsten core under a thick gold skin reads as gold on the surface and needs ultrasound or specific gravity testing to identify. Investment-grade bars in tamper-evident packaging from LBMA-accredited refiners are the safest format.
Sending bullion by post
Royal Mail cover may be available up to £2,500 depending on the postal method and cover level used. Several coins worth more than that together can be split across more than one prepaid label, but a single bar or one-ounce coin worth more than £2,500 cannot be split, so message us before you post and GoldPaid can confirm the appropriate postal option before you post. GoldPaid is postal-only and covers the whole of the UK. For parcels under £2,500, the postal route works as it does for jewellery: a bar is tested, weighed and valued against the live market, and for coins, send a photo on WhatsApp first and we will tell you how we would value them before you post anything. How fine gold is priced once it has been tested sets out the method.
See how to sell gold by post for the full method.
Post it, or take it to a bullion dealer
999 is the closest gold gets to a commodity. The pricing is transparent, the margin is small, and the test is fast. If you are sitting on bullion you do not want to keep, the route is straightforward and the figure is honest. For high-value bars and full coin collections, a bullion dealer you can visit in person may suit better than the post, because Royal Mail cover may be available only up to £2,500. For one or two coins, the postal route is the simpler answer.