Costco Is Now Selling Platinum Bars and Coins: 5 Things You Should Know

A Costco wholesale location in Ottawa on July 11, 2022. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

Costco has started selling platinum bars and coins for its members in what appears to be an expansion of its already robust precious-metals business.

Starting last year, the retailer began selling both gold bars and silver coins through its website.

How Much Are the Bars and Coins?

The Kirkland, Washington-based retail giant started selling one-ounce Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf coins for $1,089.99 this week via its website, according to an Epoch Times review. A membership with Costco is required to purchase the item.

Costco is also selling Swiss-made one-ounce platinum bars for $1,089.99 via its website, also requiring a Costco membership, which was rolled out on Costco’s website this week.

The bars, which are described as 999.5 pure platinum, are manufactured by PAMP and feature an image of Lady Fortuna, the Roman goddess of prosperity, according to the maker’s website. PAMP has earned a Good Delivery accreditation from the London Bullion Market Association, a trade group for the precious metals industry.

How Many Can You Buy?

For both the bars and coins, Costco said it is limiting members to one transaction with a maximum of five units.

Customers cannot return the bars or coins after they purchase them, and delivery isn’t available in Nevada and Louisiana, according to a review of the company’s website.

The Epoch Times contacted Costco about the bars and coins on Friday but didn’t receive a reply by publication time.

Other Metals

Costco started selling 1-ounce gold bars in the fall of 2023 and has been doing a brisk trade of up to $200 million monthly, according to Wells Fargo estimates in April. When they appeared on Costco’s website, the bars retailed at around $2,000 per ounce.

Like the platinum bars and coins, the gold bars require a membership. They’re also made by PAMP and are described as a “999.9 fine gold minted bar with a proof-like finish.”

The big-box chain also sells silver coins to its members. When they were rolled out in March, the company was offering a 2024 one-ounce American Eagle Silver Coin in a pack of 20 for members as well as a one-ounce Canadian Maple Leaf Silver Coin in a pack of 25 for about $680.

Precious Metals Surging

While the price of platinum has remained flat for most of 2024, it has increased by about $87 per ounce since Oct. 26, 2023, data show. Currently, it’s trading at about $991 per ounce as of Friday, Oct. 4.

As of Oct. 4, the price of gold per ounce reached nearly $2,770, an increase of about 5.68 percent over the past month and 28.75 percent for 2024.

Silver is up by about 12 percent over the past month and is now $32 per ounce as of Oct. 4. The metal’s price has increased by 34 percent since the start of 2024.

Costco Recently Increased Membership Fees

In July, Costco said it would hike its annual membership fee by $5, to $65, for the “gold star” members, and to $130 from $120 for executive members, effective Sept. 1.

While ultra-low prices are driving demand for groceries and kitchen staples, Costco’s executives said last month that consumer spending on furniture, home, and sporting goods has been choppy, hurting sales at Costco’s warehouses.

“There’s definitely some signs that the consumer is being very choiceful in how they’re spending their dollars,” Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip said on a post-earnings call on Sept. 26.

Customers were looking for more deals, and appliances and electronics categories became more promotional over time, Millerchip said.

He also said Costco has been trying to keep its prices relatively low on certain items.

“We want to be the first to lower prices and the last to raise prices,” Millerchip said, adding that the price hike on memberships was done in a “very deliberate” manner and came, in part, due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on the economy.

Reuters contributed to this report.