Reference
Gold and silver glossary
A
- Ask and bid
- The ask is what a dealer charges to sell to you. The bid is what a dealer pays to buy from you. The gap between them is the spread.
- Assay
- A test that measures exactly how much gold or silver is in an item. An "assay card" is the sealed certificate that comes with many bars.
- Avoirdupois ounce
- The everyday ounce used for food: 28.35 grams. Precious metals are not priced in this ounce. Weights and measures
B
- Bullion
- Gold or silver valued for its metal content, in the form of bars, ingots or bullion coins.
C
- Carat
- A unit of weight for gemstones: 0.2 grams. Not the same as karat, which measures gold purity.
- Collectible (tax)
- The IRS category for physical gold, silver, coins and art. Long-term gains on collectibles are taxed at up to 28%. Taxes when you sell gold
- COMEX
- The New York commodities exchange where gold and silver futures trade. Our price history uses its daily closing prices.
- Custodian
- The bank or IRS-approved trustee that runs a self-directed IRA and holds its assets. Precious metals IRA
D
- Depository
- A secure, insured vault that stores precious metals for IRAs and private owners.
F
- Fine weight
- The weight of the pure metal in an item: total weight multiplied by purity. This is what melt value is based on.
- Fineness
- Purity written as parts per thousand. 999 means 99.9% pure, 925 is sterling silver, and 585 is 14 karat gold. Purity and hallmarks
- Futures price
- The price agreed today for metal to be delivered later. The nearest futures contract trades very close to the spot price.
G
- Gold : silver ratio
- How many ounces of silver it takes to buy one ounce of gold: the gold price divided by the silver price. Gold/silver ratio today
- Gold filled (GF)
- A thick layer of gold bonded to a base metal. It contains far less gold than solid gold jewelry.
- Gold plated (GP, GEP, HGE)
- A very thin layer of gold on another metal. Scrap buyers usually pay little or nothing for it.
H
- Hallmark
- A stamp on jewelry or silverware showing its purity, and sometimes its maker, place and year.
J
- Junk silver
- Worn US coins with silver in them, like dimes, quarters and halves from 1964 and earlier. Valued for their metal, not as collectibles. US silver coins
K
- Karat (K)
- Gold purity in 24ths. 24K is pure gold; 14K is 14 parts gold out of 24, or 58.3%.
M
- Melt value
- What the pure metal in an item is worth at the spot price: weight × purity × spot. Calculator
N
- Numismatic
- To do with coin collecting. A numismatic coin is valued for its rarity and condition, not only its metal.
P
- Pennyweight (dwt)
- One twentieth of a troy ounce: 1.555 grams. Jewelers and scrap buyers often weigh gold in pennyweights.
- Proof coin
- A specially struck collector version of a coin with a mirror finish. Proofs cost much more than bullion versions and may not sell for that much more later.
R
- Refiner
- A company that melts and purifies metal into bars. Well-known refiners’ bars are easier to sell.
- Rollover
- Moving money from one retirement account to another. A 60-day (indirect) rollover passes through your hands; a direct rollover does not. Rollovers and transfers
- Round
- A coin-shaped piece of bullion made by a private mint. It is not legal tender.
S
- Spot price
- The current market price for one troy ounce of pure gold or silver, for immediate delivery. It changes all day. Live prices
- Spread
- The difference between a dealer’s selling price and buying price for the same item. The smaller, the better for you.
- Sterling silver
- Silver that is 92.5% pure, usually stamped STERLING or 925.
T
- Transfer (IRA)
- Moving IRA money directly from one custodian to another. It never passes through your hands and has no yearly limit. Rollovers and transfers
- Troy ounce (ozt)
- The unit gold and silver are priced in: 31.1035 grams, about 10% heavier than an everyday ounce.
W
- Weighted silver
- Silverware such as candlesticks filled with cement or resin. Only the thin silver shell has metal value. Selling silver
X
- XRF test
- X-ray fluorescence: a machine that reads an item’s metal content without damaging it.