Transactions of gold sovereign coins amounting to approximately 150 million euros are estimated to have taken place so far in 2025, through the two main official channels, namely the Bank of Greece and Piraeus Bank.
Given that the BoG carries out approximately a quarter of the annual transactions (purchases and sales), the main volume of purchases and sales in 2025 was carried out by Piraeus Bank, which maintains its own reserves and is the only commercial bank in the country active in gold products and services, as the official representative and distributor of the Royal Mint of Great Britain for the distribution of gold sovereigns.
The rise in the price of gold by approximately 55% since the beginning of the year – on Tuesday it reached $4,145 per ounce – is mainly triggered by increased purchases by central banks, with an emphasis on the central bank of China and the weakening of the dollar.
In the Greek market, it has led to an increase in the selling price of the gold sovereign in this country, from €666.3 at the end of 2024 to €950.4 on Tuesday, based on the selling price published by the Bank of Greece. Correspondingly, the buying price was €811.18, from €568.50 at the end of 2024, recording an increase of 42.7% in less than a year. The selling price from Piraeus Bank is very close to €950.40, while the buying price is €811.18.
Given the strong relationship between Greeks and gold over time, it is estimated that the value of the sovereigns they hold represents 2-3% of total deposits – i.e. around €4-5 billion. In addition to those who buy gold coins as an investment, there are also many who buy gold sovereigns as a gift at social events, such as weddings, christenings, etc.
Besides the two official channels, pawnshops are an unofficial purchase channel, transactions through which require special attention, as they do not always have specialized certifiers to evaluate gold coins that have various characteristics depending on their origin or even their use.
There are many people who took advantage of the surge in the price of gold and liquidated their profits by selling sovereigns they had in their possession. According to Piraeus data, the increased demand for gold coin purchases was reversed in the last quarter, as 60% of total transactions are sales by those who had gold sovereigns and benefited from the rate rise.