Gold bars are available in two forms--minted and cast. How the bars are made determines if they are minted or cast. A minted bar is hand-cut from a flat piece of gold. The standard size of a mint bar in the United States is approximately 7 inches by 3 5/8 inches x 1 3/4 inches, making each bar just smaller than a building brick. These minted bars contain 400 troy ounces of gold. A troy ounce is the measurement used for gold. It is equal to 31.1034768 grams.

Cast bars are made by pouring molten gold in to a mold or ingot. With both minted and cast bars any markings that appear are generally applied with a press.

As technology has changed a new type of gold bar has been created, the ChipGold. The size of a credit card, this small bar is 1/20 of a gram and comes in a sealed and certified package.

Fort Knox Bullion Depository in Fort Knox, Kentucky is famous as the repository of gold bars. The bars were first stored there in January 1937. Today, the United States' bullion stocks are divided amongst several locations, including the Philadelphia and Denver Mints, the San Francisco and New York Assay offices, and Fort Knox.

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