Gold Chest

Gold Chests are rare loot chests hidden across the explorable worlds in Destiny. Rarer than ordinary loot chests, they are hidden much more cleverly, and store better items than regular chests. Each area in the game boasts only five of them, and upon acquiring all gold chests in an area, a special reward is unlocked. There are twenty known Gold Chests, five for each major location.

Old Russia

 * The Divide, obtained during the tutorial. First chest encountered.
 * Devil's Lair, underneath the stairs on the right side of the boss room (facing the direction the room was entered from)
 * Mothyards, on the path to the Forgotten Shore, after the large waterfall on the left side (heading to the Forgotten Shore), there's a cave midway up the cliff wall with the chest inside.
 * Forgotten Shore, on the path to the Skywatch there's a piece of road jutting out over the cliff overlooking the water. Facing the water, drop down to the left and follow the narrow path to the end to find the chest.
 * Lunar Complex, on top of the roof of the building the Fallen Captain is in during Patrol, in the same room that you fought the Wizard during the story mission.
 * Completion Reward: Sparrow upgrade

Ocean of Storms

 * Hellmouth, nestled into a small crag. Not really near any landmarks of note.
 * World's Grave, on the right side of the last room facing the entrance.
 * Hall of Wisdom, at the bottom of the spiral staircase leading to World's Grave follow the water to a small crevice instead of going through the door. The chest is right there.
 * Temple of Crota, near the circular docked ship. Look down to the left from the ramp leading to the ship to see the chest on a small platform. Drop down to get it; there are other platforms you can use to climb back up.
 * The Summoning Pits, in the room you fight Phogoth during the Strike mission, near the back on a lowered platform.
 * Completion Reward: Rare chest armor piece.

Ishtar Sink

 * Winter's Lair, during the mission Scourge of Winter, after defeating the Kell Guard but before the tunnel to the next area, on the top level across a gap you have to jump across. If your Ghost mentions a Ketch, you've gone too far.
 * The Shattered Coast, underneath the building on the path to Ishtar Acadamy, behind a pillar.
 * The Cinders, when you first get onto the Ketch, turn and go all the way to the end, the chest is on a small ledge.
 * Campus 9, behind an orange bunker near where you enter the area from the Waking Ruins. The bunker is the one on the far side of the area.
 * N/GEN Branch, as soon as you enter the larger area turn right and go into a small wrecked office. The chest is behind a cubicle.

Meridian Bay

 * The Barrens, after triggering the failsafe in the story mission Exclusion Zone, in the large open area there is a building right to your right, the chest is inside on a stack of crates.
 * The Hollows, in the broken down building between The Barrens and The Hollows, just before entering The Hollows you can jump into the ceiling and crawl under a beam; the chest is in a corner up there.
 * Dust Palace, in the first large area after entering, go up the stairs to the right into a ruined office. The chest is hiding behind the desk.
 * Iron Line, in the large area you get ambushed in during the mission The Garden's Spire, there's a cluster of pipes near the top of the room. Jump on those, then up to a platform, then across a gap to another platform to find the chest tucked in a corner.
 * Tharsis Junction, in the first part by the first Vex portal in the mission Rising Tide, there's a room behind the portal with the chest tucked in a corner behind a metal grate. The grate has a small gap by the other corner of the room through which you can enter.
 * Completion Reward: Rare machine gun