Gold is the fancy metal of Skyrim: worth 100 gold per ingot and weighing just one pound, it is one of the best things to sell. At the forge it makes 8 pieces of gold jewelry, from plain rings to diamond necklaces, and at the Aetherium Forge it goes into the Aetherial Crown and Aetherial Staff. Fun fact: it is also what you temper the dragon priest mask Konahrik with.
How to get it
Smelt two 
Gold Ore into one ingot. The best mine by a wide margin is Kolskeggr Mine with 17 veins, plus 4 loose ingots. Frossel has 6 veins, and Darkshade and Lost Prospect Mine have 3 each.
Gold Ingots are not part of normal merchant stock, so you are on your own. Bandits sometimes carry one, and you can turn silver ore into gold ore with the Transmute spell.
Loose ingots are worth chasing: 11 in the Shrine of Mehrunes Dagon, 7 in Forsaken Cave and 7 in Kagrumez, plus 6 outdoors near Pilgrim’s Trench and 4 each in Damphall Mine and Broken Tusk Mine.
Gold jewelry is a cheap Smithing booster too.
Smelting and tanning
- 2 Gold Ore → 1 Gold Ingot at the smelter
Used to craft
Gold Ingot appears in 10 recipes in the game files.
Weapons and other items
- no perk: Gold Sapphire Ring (1), Gold Emerald Ring (1), Gold Diamond Ring (1), Gold Ring (1), Gold Ruby Necklace (1), Gold Jeweled Necklace (1), Gold Diamond Necklace (1), Gold Necklace (1)
- Aetherium Forge: Aetherial Crown (2), Aetherial Staff (1)
The number in brackets is how many Gold Ingot each recipe needs. Bold labels are the Smithing perk the recipe requires.
Improving gear
At a grindstone or workbench, Gold Ingot is the material used to improve (temper) 1 items, including Konahrik.
Good to know
- Use Transmute Mineral Ore on silver ore to make gold ore.
- At 100 gold per pound, Gold Ingots are among the best items to carry for selling.
Data from the Skyrim game files (Skyrim.esm and the official add-ons): value, weight, ore veins, recipes and merchant lists. ID 0005AD9E is the item’s form ID for the console.
