Glossary
The words of the metal market.
Short answer: every term below has a one-sentence definition you can read in seconds, and a page with more detail and related terms.
A
- Allocated storage
- Allocated storage means specific bars are set aside in your name and recorded as yours.
- Assay
- An assay is a laboratory test that determines the purity of a precious metal.
- Assay card
- An assay card is a sealed card packaged with a bar that records its refiner, weight, fineness and often serial number.
B
- Bid-ask spread
- The bid-ask spread is the gap between the price a dealer will pay for a piece and the price they sell it for.
- Bullion
- Bullion is precious metal valued by its weight and purity, usually held as bars or coins.
- Bullion bar
- A bullion bar is a rectangular piece of refined metal sold by weight, made by a refiner or mint.
- Bullion coin
- A bullion coin is a government-issued coin sold for its metal content, with a nominal face value far below its metal value.
C
- Cost basis
- Cost basis is the total amount you paid for an asset, used to measure your gain or loss.
D
- Dollar-cost averaging
- Dollar-cost averaging means buying a fixed amount at regular intervals, whatever the price.
F
- Face value
- Face value is the denomination stamped on a coin, such as 50 dollars.
- Fineness
- Fineness is the purity of a precious metal in parts per thousand, so 0.999 fineness is 99.9% pure.
G
- Gold-silver ratio
- The gold-silver ratio is how many ounces of silver it takes to buy one ounce of gold.
- Good delivery bar
- A good delivery bar is a large bar that meets the London market's standards for weight, purity and markings.
- Grain
- A grain is 0.06479891 grams, and a troy ounce contains 480 grains.
H
- Hallmark
- A hallmark is an official mark on a precious metal item that certifies its purity and often its maker.
K
- Karat
- A karat is one twenty-fourth part of pure gold, so 24 karat is pure gold and 18 karat is 75% gold.
L
- Legal tender
- Legal tender means a government has declared a coin or note acceptable for settling debts at its face value.
M
- Melt value
- Melt value is the worth of the pure metal in an item at the current spot price.
- Mint
- A mint is an organisation, state-owned or private, that strikes coins and sometimes bars.
- Mint mark
- A mint mark is a small letter or symbol on a coin that shows which mint struck it.
N
- Numismatic coin
- A numismatic coin is valued for rarity, condition and history as well as for its metal.
P
- Pennyweight
- A pennyweight (dwt) is 24 grains, or 1.55517 grams, and there are 20 in a troy ounce.
- Platinum group metals
- The platinum group metals are platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium.
- Premium over spot
- The premium over spot is the amount you pay above the metal's spot value for a coin or bar.
- Proof coin
- A proof coin is struck with polished dies on specially prepared blanks, giving mirror-like fields and frosted designs.
- Purity
- Purity is the share of a piece that is the named precious metal, expressed as a percentage, fineness or karat.
R
- Realized gain
- A realized gain is the profit locked in when you sell an asset for more than its cost basis.
- Refiner
- A refiner is a company that purifies metal to high fineness and produces investment-grade bars.
- Round
- A round is a coin-shaped piece of metal made by a private mint that is not legal tender.
S
- Scrap gold
- Scrap gold is broken, worn or unwanted gold jewelry and items valued only for their metal content.
- Serial number
- A serial number is a unique number stamped on a bar or its assay card to identify that piece.
- Spot price
- The spot price is the current market price for one troy ounce of a metal for immediate delivery.
- Stacking
- Stacking is the informal term for steadily accumulating physical gold or silver.
T
- Tola
- A tola is a traditional South Asian unit of weight commonly taken as 11.6638 grams.
- Troy ounce
- A troy ounce is 31.1034768 grams and is the unit used to price gold, silver, platinum and palladium.
- Tube and monster box
- A tube commonly holds 20 one-ounce coins, and a monster box commonly holds 25 tubes, or 500 coins.
U
- Unallocated storage
- Unallocated storage gives you a claim on a pool of metal rather than ownership of specific bars.
- Uncirculated
- An uncirculated coin has never been used in circulation and shows no wear.
- Unrealized gain
- An unrealized gain is the increase in value of something you still hold, before you sell it.
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