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Related Parties - Sponsor, Trustee, Custodian And Marketing Agent Fees (Details Textual)	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 Marketing agent [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Trustee [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Sponsor And Marketing Agent [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2010 Sponsor And Marketing Agent [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2009 Sponsor And Marketing Agent [Member] USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 Sponsor [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Custodian Tier Two [Member] XAU	Sep. 30, 2011 Custodian Tier One [Member] XAU
Related Parties - Sponsor, Trustee, Custodian and Marketing Agent Fees (Textual) [Abstract]
Related party fees payable at annual rate		0.15%	0.02%				0.15%	0.06%	0.10%
Aggregate weight of gold to determine custodian fee tiers								4,500,000	4,500,000
Ordinary expenses accrual rate if gross assets drop discussion				If at the end of any month, the estimated ordinary expenses of the Trust exceed an amount equal to 0.40% per year of the daily ANAV of the Trust for such month, the fees payable to the Sponsor and the Marketing Agent from the assets of the Trust for such month will be reduced by the amount of such excess in equal shares up to the amount of their fees
Unforeseen expenses of the Trust discussion				if the Trust incurs unforeseen expenses that cause the total ordinary expenses of the Trust to exceed 0.70% per year of the daily ANAV of the Trust, the ordinary expenses will accrue at a rate greater than 0.40% per year of the daily ANAV of the Trust, even after the Sponsor and the Marketing Agent have completely reduced their combined fees
Assets under management required for Trust accrual				1,200,000,000
Trust expense ratio				0.40%
Sponsor and Marketing Agent combined fees at a rate				0.30%
Sponsor and Marketing Agent fees reduction				6,865	175,823	657,248
Trustee maximum fee	2,000,000
Trustee minimum fee	$ 500,000

X

- Definition

Aggregate weight of gold used to determine appropriate custodian fee tier to use in calculating custodian fee.

+ Details

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X

- Definition

Combined Sponsor's and Marketing Agent's fees which can be waived to maintain the total expenses charged to the Trust at the expense ratio of the Trust.

+ Details

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X

- Definition

Discussion that relates to the approximate assets under management below which the ordinary expenses will accrue at a rate greater than the expense ratio.

+ Details

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X

- Definition

Discussion that relates to the approximate assets under management below which the ordinary expenses will accrue at a rate greater than the expense ratio.

+ Details

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X

- Definition

Discussion that relates to the approximate assets under management below which the ordinary expenses will accrue at a rate greater than the expense ratio.

+ Details

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X

- Definition

Discussion that relates to the rate at which unforeseen expenses might accrue which would result in the expense ratio charged to the Trust being exceeded.

+ Details

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X

- Definition

The reduction in the Sponsor's and Marketing Agent's fees made to ensure that the total expenses charged to the Trust do not exceed the expense ratio of the Trust.

+ Details

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X

- Definition

Related parties sponsor trustee custodian and marketing agent fees.

+ Details

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- Definition

Related party fees at the annual contractual rates charged on the daily adjusted net asset value of the Trust.

+ Details

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X

- Definition

The maximum annual fee payable to the Trustee.

+ Details

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X

- Definition

The minimum annual fee payable to the Trustee.

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