Gold bolts were rare items that appeared in the first Ratchet & Clank game,in Tools of Destruction and also in the latest installment: Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time.
In the first game, there were forty, divided over the sixteen planets, Drek's Fleet, and Nebula G34. They were very valuable, and along with a varying sum of normal bolts, could be traded for gold weapons, which were more powerful versions of the original weapons of the game. However, not all the weapons could be upgraded.
In Tools of Destruction, gold bolts were used much like in Up Your Arsenal to acquire new skins.
Gold bolts also appeared in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time