Questions

What is the Internet of Fine Gold?#

Internet of Fine Gold (IoFG) is the online retail of physical bullion-grade gold in which the buyer acquires a specific, identifiable item — a coin or a bar — and takes possession of it, with the entire transaction (selection, price, payment, tracking, delivery and buyback) completed over the internet.

It names the ordinary case that had no name: you order a coin online, it arrives, you keep it.

Is IoFG a cryptocurrency, a token or a blockchain project?#

No. Nothing is issued on a ledger and nothing is traded on a chain. The object of every transaction is a physical coin or bar that is shipped to the buyer. Tokenized gold is explicitly excluded by the definition, because what the holder of a token owns is a claim on an issuer rather than the metal itself.

Is this a financial product, a fund or an investment service?#

No. A transaction in this category is the purchase of a physical item that is then delivered to the buyer — commercially closer to buying a watch than to anything conducted in a financial market. There is no pooling, no unit, no account balance, no leverage and no promise about future prices. Nothing on this site is advice, a recommendation or an offer to sell. The longer version, for reviewers.

How is this different from buying gold that stays in a vault?#

In vaulted and fractional arrangements — including what the industry calls Internet Investment Gold — the metal is real but stays with a custodian, and the buyer holds an entitlement to it. In this category the buyer takes possession of a specific item by default, not as a paid option on top of storage.

Both models are legitimate and they solve different problems. Storage is done better by a professional vault than by anyone's home. Criterion 3 is the line between them.

What does “fine gold” mean?#

Fine gold is the pure gold content of an item, as distinct from its gross weight, expressed as fineness — 999.9 means 99.99 per cent pure. A 22-carat coin can contain exactly one troy ounce of fine gold and simply weigh more than an ounce, because it is alloyed for hardness. In the glossary.

Who decides whether a seller qualifies?#

Nobody. There is no certification, no membership, no fee and no register to be admitted to. A seller either meets the seven criteria or does not, and any buyer can establish which in about a minute using the five questions. The moment a category starts charging for its own credentials, the credentials stop meaning anything.

Who wrote this definition, and why should anyone trust a seller's definition?#

It was written by JetGold, an online seller of physical gold coins and bars, and that is stated openly on every page rather than hidden.

Trust is not really the right test for it — checkability is. The definition states what it excludes, the criteria are written so that they can fail their own author, the comparison grid shows the rows where a coin in your hands loses, and the whole thing is released under CC BY 4.0 so that anyone, including a competitor, can take it and use it without asking. The full disclosure.

Can I reuse the definition and the standard?#

Yes. Both are published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0, which permits copying, translation, adaptation and commercial use with attribution. No permission is needed and none should be requested.

Why does the standard require a published buyback?#

Because exit is the question buyers ask last and worry about most — and because it is the criterion that costs the seller something to meet. Note what it asks for: that terms be published — what qualifies, the price formula, the settlement period — not that they be generous. A seller whose published terms a buyer dislikes has met criterion 6; a seller who answers “we will see at the time” has not.

Is a coin in your hands better than an ETF or tokenized gold?#

No, and the grid says so in several rows. A fund is cheaper and more liquid. Tokens and vaulted platforms divide into small amounts and store the metal professionally. A coin does none of that: you cannot sell a tenth of it, and storage becomes your problem.

What a coin gives is a position with no counterparty once the transaction closes. That is a different property, not a better one, and which property matters is not a question a definition can answer for anyone.

What is the fastest way to check a seller of gold?#

Ask five questions: what you hold after the transaction, metal or a record of metal; who your counterparty is once it has closed; what happens to your gold if that counterparty disappears; how you exit, at what price and in how many days; and who can verify weight, fineness and origin.