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The
purpose of this article is to acquaint you with some of the terms used
in weighing,
measuring
and calculating
quantities of gold. It is useful if
you are interested in understanding more about what is involved
in the buying and selling of gold.
You
can use this information...
To better understand the
relationship between weight, fineness (or purity) and content of gold
coins and other gold objects.
When selling your gold
coins, jewelry or "scrap" gold
- when a dealer quotes you a price for your gold by
pennyweight or gram, this information can help you calculate
what discount s/he is offering in
relation to the spot price of gold.
To
help (and impress!) your friends and family members
- who want to buy gold or are interested in selling their gold coins or
jewelry and don't have the slightest idea of what it
is worth or how to proceed.
Let's
get started...
The
Troy Weight
System
The
Troy weight system is the universal system used to weigh gold (and
silver). Unlike the Avoirdupois weight system, the system commonly used
in the United States that is based on 16 ounces to the pound,
the Troy weight
system is a series of units of weight based on a pound of 12 ounces and
an ounce of 20 pennyweights or 480 grains.
Under
the Troy system...
1
grain (the smallest unit) = 0.042
pennyweight metric
equiv. = 0.0648 grams
1 pennyweight = 24
grains = 0.05 ounces
"
" = 1.555 grams
1 ounce = 20 pennyweight = 480
grains
"
"
= 31.103 grams
1 pound = 12 ounces
= 240 pennyweight
"
" = 0.373
kilograms
To
see how this weight system is used as it relates to gold, lets look
at two popular gold coins - the Gold
American Eagle and the
gold Canadian Maple Leaf. Each contain one Troy ounce of fine gold. The
Maple Leaf has a gold fineness or purity of .9999. Since this coin is
pure gold, its gross weight and net gold weight are both one Troy ounce
or 31.103 grams.
The
Gold American Eagle is not pure gold. It is alloyed for
hardness and has a gold fineness of .9167. In order for this
coin to contain one Troy ounce of gold, the gross weight has been
increased to 1.0917 Troy ounces or 33.956 grams.
The
Avoirdupois Weight System
Under
the Avoirdupois system...
1
grain (the smallest unit) = 0.036
drams
metric
equiv. = 0.0648 grams
1 dram = 27.343 grains = 0.0625
ounces
"
"
= 1.771 grams
1 ounce = 16 drams = 437.5
grains
"
" = 28.349
grams
1 pound = 16 ounces = 7,000
grains
"
" = 0.453
kilograms
You
can convert Avoirdupois ounces to Troy ounces by
multiplying Avoirdupois oz. times 0.911
You
can convert Troy ounces to Avoirdupois ounces by multiplying Troy oz.
times
1.097
The
Gold Karatage (a.k.a. Caratage) System
Most
gold jewelry uses the Karatage (or Caratage) system to define the
gold content in the piece. It is used to to identify the fineness or
purity of gold as a fraction of 24 parts. Pure gold (or fine gold)
is 24 karats which has a fineness of .9999 or 99.99%. Sometimes
gold content is expressed in parts per thousand so if you see 500
stamped on your gold jewelry, it is an alloy containing 50% gold.
You
can use the following Karatage list as a guide to for
determining gold fineness and percentages in the U.S.
24 karats =
.9999 fineness = 99.99% gold purity
22 karats = .9167 fineness = 91.67% gold purity
18 karats = .7500 fineness = 75.00% gold purity
14 karats = .5833 fineness = 58.30% gold purity
12 karats = .5000 fineness = 50.00% gold purity
10 karats = .4166 fineness = 41.66% gold purity
Let's say you have a piece of gold
jewelry you are interested in selling. You see a 18K stamp
on the jewelry so you know it is 75% pure gold. Since gold is such a
soft metal, the remaining 25% is
likely one or more metals to "harden" the piece of jewelry, add color
to it or both.
Most
dealers will quote you a price for your gold by gram or
pennyweight, taking into account the gold fineness. So, in the example
above, they will give you a price of what they are paying for
an 18K piece of jewelry based on the weight and a
gold fineness of .7500 or 75%
purity.
The question then becomes "Is that a fair deal? What
percent discount is their offer
in relation to the spot price of gold?" That is the subject of
a future article - Selling
Your
Gold.
If you would like to be notified when I post this or any future
articles, please E-mail me your address at
.
I promise not to sell or
share your E-mail address with anyone.
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