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Organization
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Organization [Abstract]  
Organization

1. Organization

The ETFS Gold Trust (the “Trust”) is an investment trust formed on September 1, 2009 (the “Date of Inception”) under New York law pursuant to a depositary trust agreement (the “Trust Agreement”) executed by ETF Securities USA LLC (the “Sponsor”) and the Bank of New York Mellon (the “Trustee”) at the time of the Trust’s organization. The Trust holds gold bullion and issues ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (“Shares”) (in minimum blocks of 50,000 Shares, also referred to as “Baskets”) in exchange for deposits of gold and distributes gold in connection with the redemption of Baskets. Shares represent units of fractional undivided beneficial interest in and ownership of the Trust which are issued by the Trust. The Sponsor is a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of ETF Securities Limited, a Jersey, Channel Islands based company. The Trust is governed by the Trust Agreement.

The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the performance of the price of gold, less the Trust’s expenses and liabilities. The Trust is designed to provide an individual owner of beneficial interests in the Shares (a “Shareholder”) an opportunity to participate in the gold market through an investment in securities. The fiscal year end for the Trust is December 31.

The accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements were prepared in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America for interim financial information and with the instructions for the Form 10-Q. In the opinion of the Trust’s management, all adjustments (which include normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2014 and for all periods presented have been made.

Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America have been condensed or omitted. These condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Trust’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2014 are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for the full year.