Money changes everything in Red Dead Redemption 2. One minute you're scavenging off a dead O'Driscoll for three cents and a half-eaten apple, and the next, you're sitting on a pile of bullion that could fund Dutch’s "plan" ten times over. If you want to stop worrying about camp contributions or that bounty on your head in New Hanover, you need to know exactly where to find gold bars in RDR2.
It isn't just about the money, though. It’s about the freedom to buy that Rose Grey Bay Arabian or fully upgrade your campfire without looting every single cabinet in Lemoyne.
The Limpany Burnout: Your First Easy $500
Most players stumble onto their first bar by accident, usually while running away from the law or exploring the charred remains of Limpany. It’s a tiny, scorched town just north of Flatneck Station. Look for the Sheriff’s office. It’s the building that isn't completely flattened. Underneath the desk, there’s a lockbox. Open it.
You’ll find a gold bar worth $500.
Back in the early days of the game, people used to exploit a glitch here to get infinite gold. Rockstar patched that out ages ago, so don't bother trying to save and reload to make the bar respawn. Just take the win. It’s the easiest five hundred bucks you'll make in Chapter 2, and it requires zero gunfights. Honestly, it’s a bit weird that nobody in the nearby camp at Horseshoe Overlook bothered to walk five minutes down the hill to grab it.
The Strange Statues Puzzle
This one is for the people who actually like using their brains. Or people who have an internet connection. North of Beedle’s Purity and south of the "I" in Ambarino, there’s a cave hidden behind some rocks. Inside, you’ll find a circle of creepy statues.
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Each statue has a different number of fingers.
You have to push the buttons on the statues in a specific order based on prime numbers: 2, 3, 5, and 7. If you mess it up, go around to the back of the statue to reset it. Once you get the sequence right, a compartment in the center pedestal opens up. You get three gold bars. That’s $1,500. That’s enough to buy basically every clothing item in the Saint Denis tailor and still have enough left for a high-stakes poker game.
Where to Find Gold Bars in RDR2 Map Locations
The game is massive. Truly massive. If you’re just riding around hoping to see a golden glint in the grass, you’re going to be playing until 2030. You have to be intentional.
Check the Braithwaite Manor after the "Blood Feuds, Ancient and Modern" mission in Chapter 3. Once the place is a smoking ruin, head back to the main house. Under some floorboards in the corner of a room, there’s a gold bar. It feels a bit like grave robbing, but considering what the Braithwaites were up to, you shouldn't feel too bad about it.
Then there’s the derailed train.
This one is located in a deep ravine in Corthora Woods, Granite Pass. You have to do some sketchy platforming to get into the vertical railcar. It’s frustrating. You’ll probably fall and die at least once. But there are two bars in there. If you’re keeping count, that’s another thousand dollars for the price of a few bruised ribs and a frustrated restart.
The Treasure Maps are the Real Secret
Treasure maps are the most consistent way to fill your satchel. The Jack Hall Gang map is usually the first one people find. You buy it from Maximo, a "famed explorer" you meet on a cliffside early on. Follow the clues to Caliban’s Seat, then O’Creagh’s Run. It ends at Cotorra Springs. It’s a classic hunt that rewards you with two bars.
The Poisonous Trail map is much harder.
It starts at Cairn Lodge and ends behind a literal waterfall at Elysian Pool. You have to navigate a dark, cramped cave system. Bring a lantern. If you don't, you'll just be stumbling around in the dark until you fall down a hole. At the end, you’re rewarded with four gold bars. $2,000. This is the big one. It takes time, but the payoff is legendary.
The High Stakes and Le Tresor des Morts
The High Stakes Treasure map is a bit of a random encounter. You’ll see an old man looking through binoculars on a hill. If you ignore him, he leaves. If you rob him or kill him, you get the map. It’s a bit cold-blooded, but that’s the Wild West. This hunt leads you through the mountains and ends at a precarious ledge near Bacchus Bridge. Three bars.
If you have the Special or Ultimate Edition of the game (or if you’re playing on PC/later consoles where it was added), you have access to Le Tresor des Morts.
- Start at the burned-out jailhouse in Limpany.
- Follow the sketch to the Saint Denis docks.
- Find the underground corridor near the cemetery.
- Grab the five gold bars.
Five bars is $2,500. It is arguably the most lucrative single stash in the entire game. If you have this quest available, do it immediately. It trivializes the early game economy, but in a way that lets you focus on the story rather than hunting deer pelts to pay off a $20 bounty.
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Cashing Out at the Fence
You can't just walk into a General Store and trade a gold bar for a box of crackers. Shopkeepers will look at you like you’re crazy. You need a Fence.
The Fence at Emerald Ranch is the easiest to access early on, unlocked after the "The Spined One" mission with Hosea. There are others in Saint Denis, Rhodes, and Van Horn. They buy gold bars for a flat rate of $500 each. No haggling. No questions asked. Just pure profit.
Maximizing Your Haul
There is a certain nuance to when you should collect these bars. Because of the way the story shifts in the later chapters—specifically the transition between Arthur and the Epilogue—you might want to think about who is holding the cash.
Without spoiling too much for the three people who haven't finished the game yet: Arthur’s wallet doesn't exactly transfer directly to the next person. However, there is a trick involving the Aberdeen Pig Farm. If you let the "friendly" couple there rob you right before the end of Arthur's story and don't go back to get the money, you can return as the Epilogue character to retrieve it from behind the painting. It’s a way to "bank" your gold bar earnings for the long haul.
Actionable Steps for Your RDR2 Gold Hunt
- Head to Limpany first. It’s the lowest effort for the highest immediate reward.
- Buy the Jack Hall Gang map from Maximo near Flatneck Station to trigger the treasure hunting mechanic.
- Visit the Strange Statues in Ambarino for a quick $1,500 boost if you’re comfortable with a simple logic puzzle.
- Locate a Fence as soon as possible; the Emerald Ranch Fence is the most central and safest bet for a low-honor Arthur.
- Save the Poisonous Trail for when you have a decent horse and a lantern, as the trek into the mountains and the cave can be grueling.
- Prioritize the Derailed Train if you’re good at the game’s somewhat clunky jumping and climbing mechanics.
- Check your satchel for maps regularly, as some are looted from random NPCs or found in obscure chimneys across the map.
By the time you finish even half of these locations, you'll have more money than you'll ever realistically spend on guns, horses, and tonics. It changes the way you play. You stop being a desperate outlaw and start being a well-funded force of nature. Just remember that no matter how much gold you have, you still can't buy your way out of the scripted drama of the Van der Linde gang.