The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in both the British imperial and United States customary systems of measurement. Various definitions have been used; the most common today is the international avoirdupois pound, which is legally defined as exactly 0.45359237 kilograms, and which is divided into 16 avoirdupois ounces. The international standard symbol for the avoirdupois pound is lb; an alternative symbol is lbm, #, and ℔ or ″̶.
Tael, or liang, also known as the tahil and by other names, can refer to any one of several weight measures used in East and Southeast Asia. It usually refers to the Chinese tael, a part of the Chinese system of weights and currency. The Chinese tael was standardized to 50 grams in 1959.
The gram is a unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one thousandth of a kilogram.
Troy weight is a system of units of mass that originated in the Kingdom of England in the 15th century and is primarily used in the precious metals industry. The troy weight units are the grain, the pennyweight, the troy ounce, and the troy pound. The troy grain is equal to the grain unit of the avoirdupois system, but the troy ounce is heavier than the avoirdupois ounce, and the troy pound is lighter than the avoirdupois pound. Legally, one troy ounce equals exactly 31.1034768 grams.
Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value. Precious metals, particularly the noble metals, are more corrosion resistant and less chemically reactive than most elements. They are usually ductile and have a high lustre. Historically, precious metals were important as currency but they are now regarded mainly as investment and industrial raw materials. Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium each have an ISO 4217 currency code.
The ounce is any of several different units of mass, weight, or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the uncia, an Ancient Roman unit of measurement.
Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from the Anglo-Norman term for a melting-house where metal was refined, and earlier from French bouillon, "boiling". Although precious metal bullion is no longer used to make coins for general circulation, it continues to be held as an investment with a reputation for stability in periods of economic uncertainty. To assess the purity of gold bullion, the centuries-old technique of fire assay is still employed, together with modern spectroscopic instrumentation, to accurately determine its quality.
A gold gram is the amount of value represented by exactly one gram of gold. It is a unit of account frequently used for digital gold currencies. It is sometimes denoted by the symbol "gg", "AUG", or "GAU".
The United States Bullion Depository, often known as Fort Knox, is a fortified vault building located next to the United States Army post of Fort Knox, Kentucky. It is operated by the United States Department of the Treasury. The vault is used to store a large portion of the United States' gold reserves as well as other precious items belonging to or in custody of the federal government. It currently holds roughly 147 million troy ounces of gold bullion, a little over half the total gold presently held by the federal government. The United States Mint Police protects the depository.
The Perth Mint is Australia's official bullion mint and wholly owned by the Government of Western Australia. Established on 20 June 1899, two years before Australia's Federation in 1901, the Perth Mint was the last of three Australian colonial branches of the United Kingdom's Royal Mint intended to refine gold from the gold rushes and to mint gold sovereigns and half-sovereigns for the British Empire. Along with the Royal Australian Mint, which produces coins of the Australian dollar for circulation, the Perth Mint is the older of Australia's two mints issuing coins that are legal tender.
Of all the precious metals, gold is the most popular as an investment. Investors generally buy gold as a way of diversifying risk, especially through the use of futures contracts and derivatives. The gold market is subject to speculation and volatility as are other markets. Compared to other precious metals used for investment, gold has been the most effective safe haven across a number of countries.
The Chinese Silver Panda is a series of silver bullion coins issued by the People's Republic of China. The design of the panda is changed every year and minted in different sizes and denominations, ranging from 0.5 troy oz. to 1 kilogram. Starting in 2016, Pandas switched to metric sizes. The 1 troy ounce coin was reduced to 30 grams, while the 5 troy ounce coin was reduced to 150 grams. There is also a Gold Panda series issued featuring the same designs as the Silver Panda coins.
Silver may be used as an investment like other precious metals. It has been regarded as a form of money and store of value for more than 4,000 years, although it lost its role as legal tender in developed countries when the use of the silver standard came to an end in 1935. Some countries mint bullion and collector coins, however, such as the American Silver Eagle with nominal face values. In 2009, the main demand for silver was for: industrial applications (40%), jewellery, bullion coins and exchange-traded products. In 2011, the global silver reserves amounted to 530,000 tonnes.
Investment in platinum is often compared in financial history to gold and silver, which were both known to be used as money in ancient civilizations. Experts posit that platinum is about 15–20 times scarcer than gold and approximately 60–100 times scarcer than silver, on the basis of annual mine production. Since 2014, platinum prices have fallen lower than gold. Approximately 75% of global platinum is mined in South Africa.
The Chinese Gold Panda is a series of gold bullion coins issued by the People's Republic of China. The Official Mint of the People's Republic of China introduced the panda gold bullion coins in 1982. The panda design changes every year and the Gold Panda coins come in different sizes and denominations, ranging from 1⁄20 to 1 troy ounce.
The Good Delivery specification is a set of rules issued by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) describing the physical characteristics of gold and silver bars used in settlement in the wholesale London bullion market. It also puts forth requirements for listing on the LBMA Good Delivery List of approved refineries.
MKS (Switzerland) SA is a trader of precious metals. Based in Geneva, the group employs approximately 1,500 workers. MKS is an associate of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), and its subsidiary PAMP has been on the LBMA's Gold List, widely recognised in the financial services industry as the indicator of quality, since 1987.
The Vienna Philharmonic, often shortened to Philharmonic, is a bullion coin of gold, silver, or platinum produced by the Austrian Mint. The coin is named for the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra, which inspired the design of both sides. It was introduced in 1989, as a one-troy ounce (ozt) gold coin with a face value of 2,000 Austrian schillings. It is one of the world's best selling bullion coins. In 2002, with the adoption of the euro currency, the nominal value of the one-ounce coin was changed to 100 euros. In 2008, the Mint introduced a one-ounce silver version of the coin with a nominal value of 1.5 euros. The silver coin is also one of the top selling bullion coins, ranked third in 2013. In 2016, the mint introduced a one-ounce platinum coin with a face value of 100 euros.
PAMP SA is an independent precious metals refining and fabricating company, and a member of the MKS Group. Established in 1977 in Ticino, Switzerland, the company originally started as a minting facility for bars weighing less than 100 grams and as an alloy specialist for the jewelry and luxury watch-making industries. It has since expanded to provide a full range of services, from collecting doré from mines to assaying, hedging, and delivering its bars and other products. PAMP produces bullion bars ranging from 1 gram to 12.5 kilograms.
The one hundred pound coin (£100) is a commemorative denomination of sterling coinage. Issued for the first time by the Royal Mint in 2015 and sold at face value, £100 coins hold legal tender status but are intended as collectors' items and are rarely found in general circulation. As of 1 November 2024, the silver content of each coin was worth about £46.
