Reference · 99 terms

Gold Glossary: Bullion and Jewelry Terms Explained

Plain-English definitions of the words used in gold pricing, bullion trading, coins and jewelry, from ask and assay to troy ounce and vermeil.

0–9

10K gold: Ten parts gold in 24, or 41.7% pure, stamped 10K or 417. Under the FTC Jewelry Guides it is the lowest purity that can be sold as “gold” in the United States. The large alloy share makes it harder and more scratch-resistant than 14K, but also paler and quicker to tarnish. 10K gold →
14K gold: Fourteen parts gold per 24, which works out to 58.3%. Most American engagement rings and wedding bands are 14K because it holds prongs and resists scuffs better than higher karats while still looking properly yellow. In Europe the same alloy is usually stamped 585. 14K gold →
18K gold: Three quarters gold, marked 18K or 750. It has a deeper color than 14K and remains hard enough for most rings, so it is the default for fine jewelry in much of Europe. The other 25% decides the shade: silver and copper for yellow, extra copper for rose, palladium or nickel for white. 18K gold →
22K gold: Twenty-two parts gold in 24, or 91.67%, often stamped 916. It dominates wedding and investment jewelry in India, the Gulf and much of South Asia. Several bullion coins are struck in 22K, among them the American Gold Eagle, the Krugerrand and the British Sovereign, because the small alloy share makes them tougher than pure gold. 22K gold →
24K gold: Pure gold, which in practice means at least 99.9% fine and a stamp of 999 or 9999. It scratches and bends easily, so you see it mostly in bars, in coins such as the Maple Leaf and Buffalo, and in chains sold by weight in Asian markets. Stone-set rings are rarely made from it. 24K gold →
417: The fineness stamp for 10-karat gold: 417 parts gold per 1,000. It turns up on European and some Asian pieces where an American maker would have stamped 10K. The two marks describe the same alloy, and a scrap buyer prices either one at 41.7% gold content.
585: Fineness mark for 14K gold, meaning 585 parts per 1,000 are gold. It is the usual stamp on 14K jewelry from Europe, Turkey and Russia. Since 14 divided by 24 is 58.33%, the 585 figure is a rounded trade standard rather than an exact conversion of the karat.
750: Eighteen karat expressed as fineness: 750 parts gold per 1,000, exactly three quarters. Italian and French pieces normally carry 750 instead of 18K, frequently beside a maker’s registration mark. Refiners and scrap buyers treat the two stamps as identical.
916: The stamp for 22K gold, taken from 22 ÷ 24 = 0.9167. In India it appears inside the BIS hallmark as “22K916,” and across South Asia and the Middle East 22K jewelry is commonly called simply “916 gold.”
999: Three-nines fine: at least 99.9% gold, which is what retail sellers usually mean by 24K. Many small bars, wafers and Asian chains are 999. The remaining tenth of a percent is trace metal the refining process did not remove.
9999: Four-nines fine, or 99.99% gold. The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf moved to this standard in 1982, and the American Gold Buffalo has been struck at 9999 since it was introduced in 2006. Many refiners now pour kilobars and gram bars at this purity as a matter of course.

A

Acid test: A fast bench test. The piece is rubbed on a black touchstone, and the streak is dabbed with nitric-based acids made for different karats. If 14K acid dissolves the streak but 10K acid leaves it, the gold falls between those grades. Cheap and quick, but it only reads the surface, so thick plating can fool it.
Actual gold weight (AGW): The weight of pure gold in a coin or bar, as opposed to its gross weight. A 1-ounce American Gold Eagle weighs 33.931 grams in total because it is 22K, yet its AGW is exactly one troy ounce. Melt value is always calculated from AGW, never from what the coin weighs on a scale.
All-time high: The highest price gold has ever reached in a given currency. Nominal records ignore inflation, so an old dollar peak can look small next to later prices yet still be a record in real terms. The London fix of $850 an ounce on January 21, 1980 stood as the nominal dollar record until January 2008. All-time high →
Allocated gold: Metal held in your name as specific, identified bars or coins, usually listed by serial number on each statement. The custodian may not lend it out, and it does not become part of the custodian’s estate in a bankruptcy. Storage costs more than an unallocated account because every item must be tracked and kept separate.
Alloy: Gold mixed with other metals, usually silver, copper, zinc, nickel or palladium, to change its hardness, color or melting point. Every karat below 24K is an alloy. When you sell, you are paid for the gold content only; the alloy metals are worth little or nothing in a scrap quote.
Ask: The price at which a dealer or market maker will sell to you, sometimes called the offer. It always sits above the bid. On a retail coin or bar, the ask is spot plus the dealer’s premium, and it is the number to compare if you are pricing a purchase.
Assay: Laboratory measurement of exactly how much precious metal a sample contains. Fire assay, in which the sample is melted with fluxes, the gold is separated out and then weighed, remains the reference method refiners and mines use to settle payment. Faster instrument tests are checked against it.
Assay card: The sealed plastic card that holds many minted bars, printed with weight, fineness, serial number and the refiner’s name. Keeping the card intact makes resale easier, since a buyer can match the serial number to the bar without further testing. Once the seal is broken, many dealers will want to verify the bar.
Avoirdupois ounce: The everyday American ounce for food and postage: 28.349523125 grams, or 437.5 grains. A troy ounce is about 9.7% heavier. Weigh a piece of gold on a kitchen scale set to ounces and the reading will be higher than its troy weight, which is the weight you are actually paid for.

B

Backwardation: A futures curve in which the spot or nearest price is higher than prices for later delivery. It is unusual in gold and rarely lasts, because anyone holding metal can sell spot and buy it back forward at a profit. When it does appear, it points to physical metal being hard to borrow.
Bid: The price a dealer or other market participant will pay you. It is the figure that matters when you sell. For coins and bars it is usually quoted relative to spot; for scrap jewelry it is normally a percentage of melt value after the karat has been tested.
Bretton Woods: The monetary system agreed at a July 1944 conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. Other currencies were pegged to the dollar, and foreign central banks could convert dollars into gold at $35 an ounce. The arrangement ended in practice when the United States closed the gold window in August 1971.
Bullion coin: A coin valued for its metal, issued by a government mint in standard weights with a nominal face value. The American Gold Eagle, Canadian Maple Leaf and South African Krugerrand are the familiar examples. They trade at spot plus a premium and are recognized by dealers almost everywhere. All coin values →

C

Cast bar: A bar made by pouring molten gold into a mold. The surface is slightly rough and rounded, and the markings are stamped in afterward. Casting takes fewer production steps than minting, so cast bars usually carry lower premiums. Large Good Delivery bars are cast.
Central bank gold: Gold held as official reserves by central banks, finance ministries and bodies such as the IMF. The United States reports the largest national holding, kept mainly at Fort Knox, West Point and Denver. Changes in official holdings are reported monthly through IMF statistics and are closely followed by the market.
Chỉ (Vietnamese): The Vietnamese unit for gold, equal to 3.75 grams. Ten chỉ make one lượng, also called a cây or tael, of 37.5 grams, and domestic bar prices are quoted per lượng. Rings and other jewelry are usually priced per chỉ.
Coin grading: U.S. coins are graded on the Sheldon scale from 1 to 70. A 70 is a flawless strike, and grades of 60 and above are Mint State, meaning uncirculated. Third-party services seal graded coins in tamper-evident holders. Grade drives price for collector coins; on common bullion issues it adds only a modest premium.
Collectibles tax rate: Long-term gains on physical gold, silver and other precious metals held more than a year are taxed at a maximum federal rate of 28%, compared with 20% for stocks. Gains on metal held a year or less are taxed as ordinary income. Physically backed gold ETFs structured as grantor trusts generally fall under the same collectibles rule.
COMEX: The metals exchange of the New York Mercantile Exchange, part of CME Group, where U.S. gold futures and options trade. Its most active contract drives much of the spot price shown on American screens, and bars in its approved depositories stand behind delivery. Gold futures →
Contango: The normal shape of the gold futures curve, in which each later delivery month is priced above the one before it. The gap roughly equals the cost of carrying metal until delivery: interest on the money tied up, plus storage and insurance.
Cost basis: What you paid for your gold, including premiums, commissions and shipping, used to calculate taxable gain when you sell. Keep invoices; without records, the entire sale price can be treated as gain. Inherited gold generally takes a basis equal to its value on the date of the owner’s death.

D

Depository: A secured, insured vault that stores precious metals for individuals, funds or exchanges and is audited on a regular schedule. COMEX approves particular depositories whose bars can be delivered against futures. Private vaults offer segregated storage, where your items are kept apart, or cheaper commingled storage.
Don (Korean 돈): The Korean unit for gold, 3.75 grams, the same weight as the Vietnamese chỉ. Korean jewelers and the domestic retail market quote pure gold per don, and a traditional gold ring for a baby’s first birthday often weighs one don.
Doré: A semi-pure bar poured at the mine, typically gold and silver with smaller amounts of other metals. Its make-up varies widely from one mine to the next. The bars are shipped to a refiner, which assays them, pays the miner for the contained metal and separates out investment-grade gold and silver.

E

EFP (exchange for physical): A trade that swaps a COMEX futures position for the same amount of physical gold, usually in London, or the reverse. The EFP price is the gap between New York futures and London spot. It normally stays close to the cost of carry but can widen sharply when metal is hard to move between the two centers.
ETF (exchange-traded fund): A fund that trades on a stock exchange like a share. Physically backed gold ETFs hold allocated bars in vaults, and each share represents a fraction of an ounce that shrinks slightly each year as fees are paid in metal. Other gold ETFs hold futures or mining stocks rather than bullion. Gold ETFs →
Executive Order 6102: Signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 5, 1933, it required Americans to deliver most gold coin, bullion and gold certificates to the Federal Reserve by May 1, 1933. Up to $100 in gold coin per person was exempt, as were coins of special value to collectors. Private gold ownership became legal again on December 31, 1974.

F

Face value: The legal tender amount a coin carries. On bullion coins it is symbolic: a 1-ounce American Gold Eagle has a $50 face value while holding far more than that in gold. Face value only drives the price of junk silver, which dealers trade in multiples of it.
Fine ounce: A troy ounce of pure gold content. Large bars are billed in fine ounces, calculated as gross weight multiplied by fineness, so a 400-ounce bar at 995 fine contains 398 fine ounces. The distinction matters any time the metal is less than pure.
Fineness: Purity stated as parts per thousand of pure metal, such as 999.9, 995, 916 or 750. It is more precise than karat and is the standard marking on bullion. A bar stamped 995 contains 995 parts gold in every 1,000 by weight.
Form 1099-B: The IRS form brokers and some bullion dealers file to report the proceeds when a customer sells. For precious metals, the reporting duty applies only to certain products and quantities, so many small sales generate no form. Your gain is taxable either way.
Form 8300: The report a business must file with the IRS within 15 days of receiving more than $10,000 in cash in a single transaction or a series of related ones. Coin dealers file it on large cash purchases. Breaking a payment into smaller amounts to avoid the report is a separate crime known as structuring.
Fort Knox: The United States Bullion Depository in Kentucky, run by the U.S. Mint and completed in 1936. It holds more than half of the Treasury’s gold. Much of that gold sits in bars melted from old coins, so a large share is below the 995 fineness of modern Good Delivery bars.
Fractional coin: A bullion coin smaller than one ounce, typically 1/2, 1/4 or 1/10 ounce. Striking a small coin costs nearly as much as striking a large one, so fractional sizes carry noticeably higher premiums per ounce of gold. In exchange, you can sell in smaller amounts.
Front month: The futures contract closest to expiry. Gold trading concentrates in the active months of February, April, June, August, October and December, so the “front” contract on a data feed is often the nearest active month rather than the next calendar month.

G

GC contract: The standard COMEX gold futures contract: 100 troy ounces of gold at least 995 fine, quoted in dollars and cents per ounce. A minimum move of 10 cents is worth $10 per contract. Delivery is made with one 100-ounce bar or three 1-kilogram bars held in an exchange-approved depository. Gold futures →
Gold IRA: A self-directed retirement account that holds physical metal instead of securities. Tax law permits bullion that meets a minimum fineness, gold at 995, plus certain coins such as the American Gold Eagle. The metal must stay with a trustee or approved depository, not at home, and custody fees apply each year.
Gold Reserve Act of 1934: Signed on January 30, 1934, the act transferred monetary gold to the Treasury and let the president revalue the dollar. The next day the official price was set at $35 per ounce, up from $20.67, and it stayed there for official settlements until the early 1970s. Gold price history →
Gold standard: A system in which a currency is defined as a fixed weight of gold and can be exchanged for it. The Gold Standard Act of March 14, 1900 formally put the United States on gold. Domestic convertibility ended in 1933, and the last link, for foreign governments, was cut on August 15, 1971.
Gold-filled: A layer of karat gold, at least 10K, mechanically bonded to a base-metal core, with the gold making up at least 1/20 of the total metal weight. A stamp such as “1/20 14K GF” says exactly that. Gold-filled outlasts plating by years, but a scrap buyer will pay for only a small fraction of its weight.
Gold-plated: A thin gold coat applied over brass, copper or steel. Under FTC guidance, “gold electroplate” means a coating of at least 10K gold and 0.175 microns thick, and “heavy gold electroplate” calls for 2.5 microns. Marks include GP, GEP and HGE. The gold is too thin to matter for melt value.
Gold/silver ratio: The number of ounces of silver it takes to buy one ounce of gold, found by dividing the gold price by the silver price. It has swung widely over the past century. Traders use it to compare the two metals, though what counts as a “normal” level is open to debate. Gold/silver ratio →
Good Delivery bar: The large bar accepted in the London wholesale market: 350 to 430 fine troy ounces, at least 995 fine, from a refiner on the LBMA list. Most weigh close to 400 ounces, about 12.4 kilograms. Central bank reserves and ETF holdings are stored mainly in these bars. Gold bar prices →
Grain: The smallest unit in the troy system, exactly 64.79891 milligrams. A troy ounce holds 480 grains and a pennyweight 24. The grain is the same in the troy and avoirdupois systems, which makes it the link between them. Small bars and gold nuggets are sometimes sold by the grain. Gold per grain →
Gram: The metric unit behind gold prices in most of the world. One troy ounce equals 31.1034768 grams, so the price per gram is the ounce price divided by that figure. Small bars come in 1, 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 gram sizes. Gold price per gram →

H

Hallmark: An official purity mark applied by an independent assay office, as in Britain, where hallmarking dates to 1300, or under India’s BIS scheme. The United States has no mandatory hallmarking. American jewelry carries the maker’s own quality stamp and trademark instead, and those are the maker’s claim, not an independent test.

J

Junk silver: Circulated U.S. dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 or earlier, which are 90% silver. Dealers trade them by face value, and by convention $1 face is counted as about 0.715 troy ounce of silver to allow for wear. Kennedy halves from 1965 through 1970 are 40% silver and priced separately. Junk silver calculator →

K

Karat: The American measure of gold purity in 24ths: 24K is pure, and 18K is 18 parts gold to 6 parts other metal. British English spells it carat, the same word used for gemstone weight. Under FTC rules, nothing below 10K may be sold as gold in the United States.
Kilobar: A bar of one kilogram, about 32.15 troy ounces. It is the working bar of Asian markets and a common size for larger private purchases, since its premium per ounce is lower than that of small bars. Most are 995 or 9999 fine. Gold per kilo & pound →

L

LBMA: The London Bullion Market Association, the trade body for London’s over-the-counter gold and silver market. It sets the Good Delivery standard for large bars, keeps the list of accredited refiners and requires those refiners to follow its responsible-sourcing rules.
LBMA Gold Price: London’s twice-daily benchmark, set in an electronic auction at 10:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. London time. ICE Benchmark Administration has run it since March 20, 2015, when it replaced the London gold fixing that began in 1919. Contracts, funds and central banks often value gold off the afternoon price. Closing price →
Loco London: Gold held in London vaults for settlement there; “loco” just means location. A loco London price assumes Good Delivery bars sitting in London, so metal elsewhere or in other bar sizes trades at a premium or discount that reflects shipping and recasting costs.

M

Maker’s mark: The trademark of the manufacturer or importer stamped next to a karat or fineness mark. U.S. federal law requires one whenever a quality mark is applied, so a karat stamp standing alone on a modern American piece is a reason to test before trusting it.
Melt value: What the precious metal in an item is worth at the spot price: fine weight in troy ounces times spot. For jewelry, fine weight is gross weight times purity. A 10-gram 14K ring holds 5.83 grams of gold, or about 0.1875 troy ounce. Scrap gold calculator →
Minted bar: A bar cut from rolled gold strip and struck between dies, which gives it sharp edges, a polished face and often a design. Most bars under 100 grams are minted and sold sealed in assay cards. The extra steps raise the premium compared with cast bars.
Mithqal: A traditional gold weight in the Middle East and Central Asia, historically about 4.25 grams, the weight of the early Islamic gold dinar. The exact figure differs from country to country, so check the gram equivalent before comparing a mithqal price with one quoted elsewhere.

N

Numismatic value: The price a coin commands as a collectible, set by rarity, condition, date and mint mark rather than metal content. On scarce U.S. gold coins it can far exceed melt value. Graded collector coins are priced from auction and dealer markets, not from spot.

O

Over-the-counter (OTC): Trading done directly between banks, dealers and large clients rather than on an exchange. The London gold market is overwhelmingly OTC. Individual trades are not published, which is one reason public benchmarks such as the LBMA Gold Price exist.

P

Paper gold: Informal name for gold exposure that does not involve holding metal: futures, options, unallocated accounts, ETFs and mining shares. Along with the gold price, the holder carries the risk of the counterparty or the fund structure.
Pavan (sovereign): The unit for gold jewelry in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, equal to 8 grams. The name comes from the British gold sovereign, which weighs just under 8 grams. South Indian jewelers post their rate per pavan alongside the per-gram price. India →
Pennyweight (dwt): One twentieth of a troy ounce: 1.55517384 grams, or 24 grains. American jewelers, pawnbrokers and refiners still buy scrap by the pennyweight. The abbreviation dwt pairs d, the old symbol for a penny taken from the Roman denarius, with wt for weight. Gold per pennyweight →
Plumb gold (KP): A mark such as “14KP” meaning karat plumb: the maker asserts the item meets its stated karat with no negative tolerance, solder included. It arose when U.S. rules allowed pieces to fall somewhat below their stamp. KP is a claim about accuracy, not a different alloy.
Pre-33 gold: U.S. gold coins struck before 1933, including Liberty Head and Indian Head designs and the Saint-Gaudens double eagle, most of them 90% gold. Their price blends gold content with collector demand. The name refers to the end of gold coin circulation under Executive Order 6102.
Premium: The amount charged over melt value for a coin or bar. It covers fabrication, distribution, dealer margin and, for popular products, demand. Premiums are quoted per ounce or as a percentage; they are lowest on large bars and highest on fractional coins and proofs. Where to buy gold →
Proof: A way of striking a coin, not a grade. Proof coins are struck more than once with polished dies on specially prepared blanks, which produces mirror-like fields and frosted designs. Mints sell them to collectors at premiums well above the bullion version of the same coin.

R

Refiner: A company that purifies doré, scrap and recycled material into gold of 995 fineness or better and casts it into bars or grain. Refiners on the LBMA Good Delivery list must pass audits of their assaying and sourcing. The refiner named on a bar affects how easily it resells.
Refining charge: The fee a refiner takes for processing scrap or doré, often combined with a small percentage of metal withheld. Buyers of old jewelry build this cost into their offer, which is one reason a scrap quote comes in below full melt value.
Rhodium plating: A thin electroplated layer of rhodium, a platinum-group metal, used on white gold and silver for a bright white, scratch-resistant finish. It wears through with use, fastest on ring shanks, and jewelers re-plate pieces to restore it. It adds nothing to scrap value.
Rolled gold plate: Made the same way as gold-filled but with a thinner gold layer, less than 1/20 of the metal weight. Marks read like “1/40 10K RGP.” Vintage watch cases, pens and cufflinks often carry it. The gold content is small and costly to recover.
Rose gold: Gold alloyed with a larger share of copper, which gives the pink to reddish color. An 18K rose alloy is still 75% gold, the same as 18K yellow. The copper makes rose gold a little harder than yellow gold of the same karat, and it does not need plating. Rose gold price →

S

Sales tax on bullion: Many U.S. states exempt investment gold and silver from sales tax, either fully or above a purchase threshold, while others tax it like any other goods. Definitions of qualifying coins and bars differ from state to state. Jewelry is taxable almost everywhere. Sales tax by state →
Scrap gold: Jewelry, dental gold, broken chains and other gold sold for its metal rather than resold as is. Buyers weigh it, test the karat and pay a percentage of melt value. Stones, steel springs and other non-gold parts are removed or deducted first.
Settlement price: The official daily price an exchange sets for each futures contract, used to mark positions to market and calculate margin. It is not simply the last trade; exchanges derive it from trading in a short window near the close. Futures charts labeled “close” usually show the settlement.
Solder: The lower-melting alloy used to join chain links, clasps and settings. Solder is often lower in karat than the piece around it, which is why buyers test more than one spot on a chain. Clasps with steel springs are usually weighed separately or deducted.
Specific gravity: A density test: the item is weighed in air and then suspended in water, and the two readings give its density. Pure gold is 19.32 grams per cubic centimeter, far above most base metals, so the result points to a karat range. Stones, hollow sections and trapped air throw the reading off.
Spot price: The benchmark price for one troy ounce of pure gold for immediate settlement, which in the London market means two business days. Spot quotes on U.S. sites are drawn from the global over-the-counter market and the most active COMEX contract, and they update nearly around the clock on weekdays. Gold spot price →
Spread: The difference between ask and bid. Between large banks it can be a fraction of a dollar per ounce; on retail coins and small bars it is much wider and pays the dealer’s costs. Comparing spreads is the fairest way to see what it costs to buy an item and later sell it back.

T

Tael: A traditional East Asian weight that varies by place. The tael used in Hong Kong’s gold trade is about 37.429 grams, roughly 1.2 troy ounces. Taiwan’s tael is 37.5 grams and mainland China’s market tael is 50 grams, so check which one a quote uses. Hong Kong →
Tola: A South Asian weight of 11.6638 grams, which is 180 grains or 0.375 troy ounce. Fixed under British rule, it is still the everyday gold unit in India, Pakistan, Nepal and the Gulf, where 10-tola bars are a standard trading size. Gold per tola →
Tonne: A metric ton: 1,000 kilograms, or about 32,150.7 troy ounces. Central bank reserves, mine output and ETF holdings are reported in tonnes. It is heavier than the U.S. short ton of 2,000 pounds.
Troy ounce: The unit for pricing precious metals worldwide: 31.1034768 grams, 20 pennyweights or 480 grains. Twelve troy ounces make a troy pound. When a gold price is quoted “per ounce,” it means a troy ounce of pure gold unless stated otherwise. Gold per ounce →

U

Unallocated gold: A claim on a pool of metal rather than ownership of specific bars. The account holder is an unsecured creditor of the bank or dealer, which can use the metal in its business. It is cheap to hold and easy to trade in small amounts, and it is the standard account type in the London market.
Underkarating: Selling gold that assays below the karat stamped on it. The National Gold and Silver Stamping Act sets tight federal tolerances, measured in parts per thousand, and requires a trademark beside any quality mark. Occasional underkarating in mass-produced chain is one reason careful buyers test instead of paying on the stamp alone.

V

Vermeil: Sterling silver coated with gold, pronounced “ver-MAY.” The FTC Jewelry Guides allow the name only when the gold is at least 10K and at least 2.5 microns thick. Most of the metal value in a vermeil piece is in the silver.
Vori (bhori): The traditional gold weight in Bangladesh and West Bengal, equal to one tola, about 11.664 grams. A vori divides into 16 ana, and each ana into 6 rati. Bangladeshi jewelers publish their reference prices per vori. Bangladesh →

W

White gold: Gold alloyed with a white metal, usually palladium or nickel, to cancel most of the yellow. Most white gold jewelry is also rhodium plated for a brighter finish. A 14K white ring contains the same 58.3% gold as 14K yellow, so its scrap value is figured the same way. White gold price →

X

XAU: The ISO 4217 currency code for one troy ounce of gold. XAU/USD is the dollar price of an ounce, the pair quoted on forex platforms. Silver, platinum and palladium follow the same pattern with XAG, XPT and XPD. XAU/USD →
XRF testing: X-ray fluorescence reads the elements in a metal’s surface in seconds without damaging it. Dealers use handheld or bench units to confirm karat and detect plating. Because it measures only the outer layer, a heavily plated bar with a tungsten core can pass, so XRF is paired with weight, dimension and density checks.