How Much Do These Common Items Weigh In Gold?

We've all heard someone or something described as "worth their weight in gold." So, just how much is that?

Weight of Common Items If They Were Made of Gold

How much does a gold bar weigh? We thought it would be fun to show you how much a gold bar weighs by imagining you had the fabled "Midas touch"!

What if you could turn things into gold? Unlike the tragic King Midas, let's say that you could control your power. Below, we've mostly chosen solid objects to turn into gold, with the exception of the iPhone 11.

First, here's what a standard size gold bar weighs and measures in terms of length, width, and height:

1 oz Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) gold bar: 50 mm by 28 mm by 1.5 mm

RCM gold bar from Royal Canadian Mint

1 oz Perth Mint gold bar: 41.6 mm by 24.6 mm by 1.71 mm

Perth Mint gold bar (Australia)

400 oz London Good Delivery gold bar: 250 mm (+/- 40 mm) by 70 mm (+/- 15 mm) by 35 mm (+/- 10 mm), with an undercut angle between 5° to 25°

400 oz Good Delivery gold bar

Gold iPhone 11

Unfortunately, no one would let us melt down their iPhone into a solid hunk, so we had to make some assumptions. We decided that there was 10% air by volume inside the phone, among all the circuits, battery, and stuff. This meant that only 90% of the volume of an iPhone 11 would turn into gold.

That gives the weight in gold of an iPhone 11 (assuming 10% air space inside) = 3.6 lb.

iPhone made of gold. Image: Deccan Chronicle

Here are some other things you might decide to turn to gold, and what they would weigh afterwards.

Gold Casino Dice

• A pair of regulation-size Las Vegas casino dice (3/4" by 3/4") = 0.575 lb of gold.

Casino dice made of gold. Image: Pinterest

Gold Golf Ball

• Standard golf ball (1.68" diameter) = 1.73 lb of gold.

Golf ball made of gold. Image: Tim Ressa Golf

Gold Chicken McNugget

• Average McDonald's Chicken McNugget™ (5 cm by 3.5 cm by 2 cm) = 1.49 lb of gold.

Chicken nugget made of gold. Image: Hypebeast

Gold Coke Can

• 12 oz can of Coke (liquid + can - air) = 15.33 lb of gold.

Coke can made of gold. Image: Pinterest

Gold Pizza

• A large (14") Domino's pepperoni pizza = 48.19 lb of gold.

Pizza made of gold. Image: Pinterest

Turning Your Money Into Gold

If you used the Midas touch on today's coins, a penny would be worth $400! Your pocket change adds up like this, assuming a gold price of $1900 (weight converted to troy oz):

Penny = 0.015 lb of gold = 0.218 troy oz = $414.20

Nickel = 0.031 lb of gold = 0.446 oz = $847.40

Dime = 0.001 lb of gold = 0.0127 oz = $24.13

Quarter = 0.034 lb of gold = 0.502 oz = $953.80

Half Dollar = 0.067 lb of gold = 0.981oz = $1,863.90

"Small" dollar = 0.047 lb of gold = 0.685 oz = $1,301.50

Are You Worth Your Weight In Gold?

The formula we used for these calculations is quite simple: First, multiply the weight in pounds by 14.583 to convert the weight to troy ounces. Then multiply that by the spot price of gold.

• Formula: Weight in pounds × 14.583 × spot price = value of your weight in gold.

Example: Someone weighs 150 pounds, and the spot gold price is $1,900.

150 × 14.583 × 1900 =2187.45 × 1900 = $4,156,155

If a person who weighs 150 pounds is worth their weight in gold, they are worth $4.1 million and change if the gold price is $1,900 an ounce.

(In metric, the formula is: Weight in kg × 32.15 × spot price = Value of your weight in gold.)

Find out what being "worth your weight in gold" looks like.

How Big Would Your Weight In Gold Be?

The next question is "what would my weight in gold look like?" The answer is a little more complicated than our previous examples.

One pound of gold has a volume of 1.433 cubic inches. Multiplying the weight of the gold gives us the total volume.

• Volume = weight in pounds × 1.433 cu in.

Taking the weight of the person in our first example, 150 × 1.433 = 214.95 cu inches.

The second step is getting the dimensions of the gold cube. To do this, we take the cube root of the volume. (If you can do this by hand, maybe you deserve your weight in gold.)

• Cube root of 214.95 cu in = 5.9898" (round to 6")

So, if you weigh 150 pounds and are worth your weight in gold, that gold would make a solid cube measuring six inches to a side.

While it's fun to think about getting free gold from magical powers, gold does some magic of its own in the real world. Gold increases in value when national currencies weaken due to inflation or central bank policies. It can offset losses in the stock market during big downturns.

In extreme cases, it can save someone's life by paying for their way out of regions suffering from wars, social upheaval, or natural disaster. And that may be its biggest magic of all.

More information about gold bars from Gainesville Coins:

What Are Gold Bars and What Are They Used For?

How Much Is a Gold Bar Worth Today?

How to Buy Gold Bars: Buyer's Guide

Shop for Gold Bars