Your Weight in Gold

av Robert Wood - Sosiolog -
Ounces, Troy Ounces, oz., karat and carat, gram and kilo, tonn and tonnes.

All fields of knowledge have their special words and expressions to simplify communication. An investor in gold and silver or precious metal coin collector will know that a troy ounce is 31,103 grams and that it is internationally accepted as a weight unit for precious metals alongside the more modern weight units of gram and kilo.

   What they probably don’t know is that the old fashion weight unit troy ounce is a 14. century French word from the city of Troyes. The people of this city used this weight unit at the market place. One kilo of silver or gold is equivalent to 32.15 troy ounces or1000 grams.

Karat or Carat

Another unit of interest is Karat. Carat is the unit of choice in the diamond trade, but the unit is also used to describe the purity (fitness) of gold. Karat measure the parts by 24. Usually we talk about 14, 18, 22 and 24 Karat.

   A 24 Karat bangle are pure gold 999, but almost is not precise enough for gold investors. They prefer parts of 1000. Pure gold is 1000/1000, but in real life you can’t get gold without some kind of impurities in it.

   Modern gold and silver coins are 999/1000 or 999.9/1000 pure. It is possible to buy coins with five nines stamped on them (999,99), (The Royal Canadian Mint – Call of the Wild series), but ultra-pure gold is way very expensive to refine.

Norwegian Scrap Gold

In Norway, 14 Karat or 585/1000 is the name of the game. You have to pay through you nose, both to the profitgreedy goldsmith and 25 percent Value Added Tax to the taxhungry government. Advice: Don’t buy gold jewelry in Norway unless you are willing to pay for the design.