/——/ I’d rather lug a pound of gold than a pound of dollar bills.There is always the black market where you can trade also.Sale of any commodity goes through a broker. That broker will list different prices for buy and sell that are above and below the spot price (respectively). That is how the broker gets paid.
Institutional buyers and sellers will get a better price, depending on the volume bought or sold.
I'd be very surprised if a black market trader took less of a profit of the trade than a broker. Not a good business plan.
The black market in U.S. dollars is far far bigger, especially in Africa and Asia. Why lug gold around when you can smuggle paper currency instead?
How much is a pound of US 100 dollar bills worth
plus, it's easier to spend in smaller amounts. even in $5 bills it's $2,270.