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Significant Accounting Policies (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Dec. 31, 2013
Dec. 31, 2012
Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]      
Minimum block of shares issued redeemed against gold 50,000sgol_MinimumBlockOfSharesIssuedRedeemedAgainstBullion    
Annualized rate of Sponsors Fee 0.39%sgol_AnnualizedRateOfSponsorsFee [1]    
Sponsor Fees $ 4,165,756us-gaap_SponsorFees $ 5,712,292us-gaap_SponsorFees $ 7,200,166us-gaap_SponsorFees
Fees payable to Sponsor $ 321,355us-gaap_AccountsPayableRelatedPartiesCurrent $ 350,601us-gaap_AccountsPayableRelatedPartiesCurrent  
[1] Effective January 1, 2014, the Trust has adopted the provisions of Topic 946, Investment Companies, and follows specialized accounting.  Refer to Note 2.1 for additional information.