| Renewable | Yes |
|---|---|
| Stackable | Yes (64) |
| Tool | |
| Blast resistance | 6 |
| Hardness | 3 |
| Luminous | No |
| Transparent | No |
| Flammable | No |
| Catches fire from lava |
No |
| Map color | 30 GOLD |
| Note block instrument | Bell |
| Sulfur cube archetype | Slow Flat |
A block of gold, internally known as a gold block, is a precious metal block equivalent to nine gold ingots.
Obtaining
Breaking
Blocks of gold can only be mined with an iron pickaxe or better.
| Block | ||
|---|---|---|
| Hardness | 3 | |
| Tool | ||
| Breaking time (sec)[A] | ||
| Default | 15 (JE) 15 (BE) | |
| 7.5 (JE) 7.5 (BE) | ||
| 3.75 (JE) 3.75 (BE) | ||
| 3.05 (JE) 3 (BE) | ||
| 0.75 (JE) 0.75 (BE) | ||
| 0.6 (JE) 0.6 (BE) | ||
| 0.5 (JE) 0.5 (BE) | ||
| 1.3 (JE) 1.25 (BE) | ||
- incorrect tool, drops nothing
- correct tool, drops nothing or something other than the block itself
- correct tool, drops the block itself
- italicized can be instant mined
- ↑ These durations ignore any other influential factors (e.g., Mining Fatigue) and are measured in seconds. For more information, see Breaking § Mining efficiency.
Crafting
| Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
|---|---|
| Gold Ingot |
Natural generation
Ocean monuments have a central room containing 8 blocks of gold encased in dark prismarine.
Blocks of gold generate as part of ruined portals and bastion remnants in varying quantities.
Generated loot
| Item | Structure | Container | Quantity | Chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Java Edition | ||||
| Bridge chest | 1 | 11.2%{ "item": "Block of Gold", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.11242603550295849, "structure": "Bastion Remnant", "container": "Bridge chest" }
| ||
| Hoglin stable chest | 2–4 | 16%{ "item": "Block of Gold", "stacksize": "2–4", "chance": 0.16000000000000003, "structure": "Bastion Remnant", "container": "Hoglin stable chest" }
| ||
| Treasure chest | 2–5 | 33.7%{ "item": "Block of Gold", "stacksize": "2–5", "chance": 0.33668648071940255, "structure": "Bastion Remnant", "container": "Treasure chest" }
| ||
| Generic chest | 1 | 19%{ "item": "Block of Gold", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.18999999999999995, "structure": "Bastion Remnant", "container": "Generic chest" }
| ||
| Chest | 1–2 | 1.5%{ "item": "Block of Gold", "stacksize": "1–2", "chance": 0.014974764874937763, "structure": "Ruined Portal", "container": "Chest" }
| ||
| Bedrock Edition | ||||
| Bridge chest | 1 | 11.2%{ "item": "Block of Gold", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.11242603550295849, "structure": "Bastion Remnant", "container": "Bridge chest" }
| ||
| Hoglin stable chest | 2–4 | 18.2%{ "item": "Block of Gold", "stacksize": "2–4", "chance": 0.18181818181818177, "structure": "Bastion Remnant", "container": "Hoglin stable chest" }
| ||
| Treasure chest | 2–5 | 33.7%{ "item": "Block of Gold", "stacksize": "2–5", "chance": 0.33668648071940255, "structure": "Bastion Remnant", "container": "Treasure chest" }
| ||
| Generic chest | 1 | 19%{ "item": "Block of Gold", "stacksize": 1, "chance": 0.18999999999999995, "structure": "Bastion Remnant", "container": "Generic chest" }
| ||
| Chest | 1–2 | 1.5%{ "item": "Block of Gold", "stacksize": "1–2", "chance": 0.014974764874937763, "structure": "Ruined Portal", "container": "Chest" }
| ||
Usage
Blocks of gold are a compact way to store gold ingots.
Beacons
Blocks of gold can be used to "power" a beacon. The beacon can be powered by a 3×3 square with blocks of gold underneath it, and can optionally also include a 5×5, 7×7 and 9×9 layer in the shape of a pyramid under the original layer to increase the effects from the beacon. The layers do not have to be entirely made with blocks of gold, as they may also contain blocks of iron, blocks of emerald, blocks of netherite, and blocks of diamond.
Piglins
Piglins run toward any block of gold item on the ground and inspect it for 6 seconds in Java Edition or 8 seconds in Bedrock Edition[1] before putting it in their inventory. They become enraged if the player breaks a block of gold near them.
Crafting ingredient
| Name | Ingredients | Crafting recipe |
|---|---|---|
| Gold Ingot | Block of Gold |
Sounds
metal sound type | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | Closed captions | Source | Description | Identifier | Translation key | Volume | Pitch | Attenuation distance |
| Block broken | Blocks | Once the block has broken | block | subtitles | 1.0 | 1.2 | 16 | |
| Block placed[until: JE 26.4] | Blocks | When the block is placed | block | subtitles | 1.0 | 1.2 | 16 | |
| Block breaking | Blocks | While the block is in the process of being broken | block | subtitles | 0.25 | 0.75 | 16 | |
| Something falls on a block | Entity-Dependent | Falling on the block with fall damage | block | subtitles | 0.5 | 1.25 | 16 | |
| Footsteps | Entity-Dependent | Walking on the block | block | subtitles | 0.15 | 1.5 | 16 | |
metal sound type | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | Closed captions | Source | Description | Identifier | Translation key | Volume | Pitch |
| Block broken | Blocks | Once the block has broken | dig | subtitles | 1.0 | 1.1–1.2 | |
| Block placed | Blocks | When the block is placed | use | subtitles | 1.0 | 1.2–1.25 | |
| Block breaking | Blocks | While the block is in the process of being broken | hit | subtitles | 0.3 | 0.75 | |
| Footsteps | Players | Falling on the block with fall damage | fall | subtitles | 0.4 | 1.0 | |
| Footsteps | Players | Walking on the block | step | subtitles | 0.35 | 1.0 | |
| Footsteps | Blocks | Jumping from the block | jump | subtitles | 0.12 | 1.0 | |
| Footsteps | Blocks | Falling on the block without fall damage | land | subtitles | 0.22 | 1.0 | |
Data values
ID
| Name | Identifier | Form | Block tags | Item tags | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
gold_block | Block & Item | beacon_base_blocksguarded_by_piglinsmineable/pickaxeneeds_iron_tool | piglin_loved |
block |
| Name | Identifier | Numeric ID | Form | Item ID[i 1] | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
gold_block | 41 | Block & Giveable Item[i 2] | Identical[i 3] | tile |
Achievements
| Icon | Achievement | In-game description | Actual requirements (if different) | Gamerscore earned | Trophy type (PS) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS4 | Other | |||||
| Oooh, shiny! | Distract a Piglin using gold | Give a piglin a gold item while it is aggressive toward the player. | 30 | Silver | ||
Advancements
| Icon | Advancement | In-game description | Actual requirements (if different) |
|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Oh Shiny | Distract Piglins with gold | Use a gold ingot on an adult piglin, or throw one of these 28 gold-related items in the
#piglin_loved item tag for it to pick up:
|
Videos
History
Development
| May 21, 2009 | Notch shows interest in adding "metal block"s. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Java Edition
| Java Edition Classic | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0.20a | |||||||
| 0.24_SURVIVAL_TEST | Blocks of gold now drop themselves when mined. | ||||||
| October 24, 2009 | |||||||
| 0.26 SURVIVAL TEST | |||||||
| Blocks of gold are no longer destroyed by explosions. | |||||||
| 1-3 blocks of gold are now dropped from gold ore. | |||||||
| Java Edition Indev | |||||||
| 0.31 | 20100128-2200 | Gold ore no longer drop blocks of gold. | |||||
| 20100129-1447 | Blocks of gold can now be crafted with 4 gold ingots. | ||||||
| Blocks of gold can no longer be found in the starting house chests. | |||||||
| 20100130 | Blocks of gold are now more expensive, requiring 9 gold ingots (3×3) instead of 4 (2×2). | ||||||
| Blocks of gold can be crafted into 9 ingots. | |||||||
| Java Edition Infdev | |||||||
| 20100227-1414 | Blocks of gold can now be used to craft golden apples. | ||||||
| Java Edition Alpha | |||||||
| v1.2.0 | |||||||
| Java Edition Beta | |||||||
| 1.2 | The side and bottom textures of blocks of gold have been removed from terrain.png. | ||||||
| Java Edition | |||||||
| 1.0.0 | Beta 1.9 Prerelease 5 | ||||||
| 1.1 | release | Golden apples are no longer crafted using blocks of gold. | |||||
| 1.3.1 | 12w21a | Blocks of gold can now be used to craft enchanted golden apples. | |||||
| 1.4.2 | 12w32a | Blocks of gold can now be used to construct beacon pyramids. | |||||
| 1.8 | 14w25a | Blocks of gold now generate naturally in ocean monuments. | |||||
| 1.9 | 15w44a | Blocks of gold are no longer used to craft enchanted golden apples. | |||||
| 1.12 | 17w17a | Block of gold can now be used to play the bell, if they are under note blocks. | |||||
| Texture Update | ? | ||||||
| 1.14 | 18w43a | ||||||
| 18w47a | |||||||
| 1.16 | 20w16a | Blocks of gold can now generate as part of bastion remnants or be found in its chests. | |||||
| Blocks of gold can now generate as part of ruined portals or be found in its chests. | |||||||
| 26.2 | snap1 | Added sulfur cubes, which have the ability to absorb blocks of gold, providing the medicine ball/slow flat effect to the mob. | |||||
Bedrock Edition
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demo | |||||||
| v0.2.0 | |||||||
| v0.3.2 | Blocks of gold can now be crafted from 6 gold ingots. | ||||||
| Now gold blocks can be uncrafted into 9 gold ingots. | |||||||
| v0.3.3 | Blocks of gold now requiring 9 gold ingots instead of 6. | ||||||
| v0.5.0 | Blocks of gold are now required to build the Nether reactor. | ||||||
| v0.12.1 | build 1 | Blocks of gold are now used to craft enchanted golden apples. | |||||
| The Nether reactor functionality has been removed, so blocks of gold are no longer used to build them. | |||||||
| v0.16.0 | build 1 | Blocks of gold now generate naturally in ocean monuments. | |||||
| build 4 | Blocks of gold can now be used to construct beacon pyramids. | ||||||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||||
| 1.2.0 | beta 1.2.0.2 | Blocks of gold can no longer be used to craft enchanted golden apples. | |||||
| 1.13.0 | beta 1.13.0.9 | ||||||
| Block of gold can now be used to play the bell, if they are under note blocks. | |||||||
| 1.16.0 | beta 1.16.0.57 | Blocks of gold can now generate naturally in bastion remnants and ruined portals. | |||||
| 26.20 Experiment | Preview 26.20.23 | Added sulfur cubes, which have the ability to absorb blocks of gold, providing the medicine ball/slow flat effect to the mob. | |||||
| 26.30 | Preview 26.30.20 | Implemented all features from the "Drop 2 of 2026" experiment in vanilla gameplay. | |||||
Legacy Console Edition
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xbox 360 | Xbox One | PS3 | PS4 | PS Vita | Wii U | Switch | |
| TU1 | CU1 | 1.00 | 1.00 | 1.00 | Patch 1 | 1.0.1 | |
| TU3 | |||||||
| TU14 | 1.04 | Blocks of gold can now be used to craft enchanted golden apples. | |||||
| TU19 | CU7 | 1.12 | 1.12 | 1.12 | Blocks of gold can now be used to construct beacon pyramids. | ||
| TU31 | CU19 | 1.22 | 1.22 | 1.22 | Patch 3 | Blocks of gold now generate naturally in ocean monuments. | |
| TU53 | CU43 | 1.49 | 1.50 | 1.49 | Patch 23 | 1.0.3 | Block of gold can now be used to play the bell, if they are under note blocks. |
| 1.90 | |||||||
New Nintendo 3DS Edition
| New Nintendo 3DS Edition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1.0 | |||||||
Data history
| Java Edition | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.8 | 14w06a | Blocks of gold now use the newly-implemented model json file models/block/cube.json; previously the geometry was defined in the game code itself. | |||||
| 1.13 | 17w47a | Prior to The Flattening, this block's numeral ID was 41. | |||||
Issues
Issues relating to "Block of Gold" are maintained on the bug tracker. Issues should be reported and viewed there.
Trivia

- In Xbox 360 Edition, before TU19, four blocks of gold stacked on top of an obsidian block could be found inside the tutorial world's desert pyramid. This is a reference to Achievement Hunter's Let's Play Minecraft series, in which this combination is used to create the "Tower of Pimps" (seen right), a structure first created by Gavin Free, which is now used in many episodes as a trophy.
Gallery
Screenshots
-
Gold blocks exposed in an ocean monument -
A spyglass staring at gold -
Blocks of gold in Overworld Adventures
In other media
-
A Block of Gold as it appeared in Minecraft Earth -
A foam block of gold at MINECON 2015
References
- ↑ MCPE-99448 – Piglins need 8 seconds to barter, while they only need 6 in java
External links
- "Block of the Week: Gold" by Tom Stone – Minecraft.net, February 17, 2017.
- "Build With It: Gold!" by Nova Barlow – Minecraft.net, January 24, 2020.









