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What is pennyweight?
A pennyweight is a not SI-conform mass widely used in North America as a unit of weight in the jewelry trade. It originates from the weight of a British silver penny in the Middle Ages. It is equal to 1/20 troy ounce, 1.56 grams and 24 grains. The pennyweight is abbreviated as dwt (also pwt and PW, former d).
Karat (North-American writing) or Carat (British writing) is a measure for the fineness of gold, mostly used for gold jewelry. It should not be confused with the the diamond weight of karat, which corresponds to 2 gram. The scale of the “gold karat” has a maximum of 24, which is also called fine gold.
A Good Delivery Bar refers usually to the London Good Delivery, describing the physical characteristics of gold (and silver) bars. It is the accepted standard for gold bars. The London Good Delivery List is maintained by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA).
A troy ounce is a measure for gold and other precious metals. It corresponds to 31,1034768 gram. Its abbreviation is “t oz”. Troy ounce only refer to the content of pure gold, excluding other materials. Thus, a 1 ounce gold coin weights slightly more, as physical gold always contains other metals.
One tola corresponds to 0.375 ounce (11.1g). This unit of weight originates from the Indian subcontinent. It was standardized in 1833 by the British as 180 troy grains or exactly 3/8 troy ounce. However, the tola was in use much longer.
One tael equals 1.20337 troy ounces (37.4290g). Centers for gold trading in tael bars are Hong Kong and Taiwan. 1. The gold is mostly traded in 5 and 10 tael. A basic tael gold contract consists of 100 tael, combined of 5 times 20 tael bars. A tael was a Chinese currency unit and measurement for silver. Its exact weight varied in place and time.
Fineness, or purity, refers to the gold content in bars, coins or jewelry. Also known as Millesimal fineness, it is indicated in 1000 parts of the whole weight. Bullion gold coins have commonly a fineness of .999 (e.g. George the Victorious) and .9999 (e.g. Maple Leaf). The gold market accepts gold bars only up to a purity of .9999 (four nines).
The Jerusalem of Gold is a bullion coin first issued in 2010 by the Bank of Israel. The coin is named after the yearly changing motive: “The Tower of David” for the 2010 coins, and “The Western Wall” for the 2011 series. The 24-karat (.9999 fineness) coin has legal tender status and is minted only with the denomination of one ounce with a face value of 20 New Sheqalim. Its quantity is strictly limited to 3,600 pieces.
The Kijang Emas is a gold bullion coin struck by the Royal Mint of Malaysia. It was first issued in 2001. The purity is 999,9 (24 karat). Its weights are 1/4, 1/2 and ounce, with denominations of 50, 100 and 200 Ringgit.
The Mexican Libertad is a bullion gold coin issued by the Casa de Moneda de Mexico from 1981. It is legal tender in Mexico. Until 1990 the coin’s purity stood at .900 (21.6 karat). From 1991 the fineness was increased to .999 (24-karat) and the denominations expanded from 1/4oz, 1/2oz, 1 ounce to also include 1/20oz and 1/10oz. Sometimes these two kinds of gold coins are distinguished as Libertad I and Libertad II. Apart from the difference in purity, the 2. Libertad had a bigger size and different carving.
The British Sovereign gold coin has a history ranging back to the 15th century. The bullion grade Souvereign coins were issued irregularly throughout the 20th century, and continuously since 2000. Royal Mint in Llantrisant, Wales is responsible for minting. Since 1817 the weight is constantly 0.2354 troy ounce; with a fineness of .9167, 22 karat. The coin is supplemented by a half sovereign. In 2009 the Royal mint released quarter sovereigns.
The Orzeł Bielik gold coin is a 24-karat bullion issued by the Polish National Bank starting from 1995. The weights and face values range from 1/10 ounce (50 zloty) to 1 ounce (500 zloty).
The Golden Irbis is a 2009 bullion coin issued by the Central Bank of Kazakhstan and minted by The Kazakhstan mint of NB RK. The 24-karat coin (.9999 fineness) is available in denominations of 1/10oz, 1/4oz, 1/2oz and one ounce.
The Russian Georpge the Victorious Gold coins have been minted since 2006 as a 1/4-counce (7,89g) bullion. The issuer is the Central Bank of Russia, minting takes place in Moscow (ММД) and St. Petersburg (СПМД). The gold fineness is .999. Its face value stands at 50 rubles.
The Australian Lunar Series consists of 12 different motives which are based on the Chinese Lunar calendar. The first motive was minted in 1996 with the mouse as animal. 12 years later, in 2007 the lunar calendar and the coin series ended its cycle with the Pig. This series is known as the Lunar Series I to distinguish it from a second set of lunar coins, stated in 2008 (Lunar Series II).
The Chinese Gold Panda is a bullion coin first minted in 1982 by the China Mint and issued, since 2006, by the China Gold Coin Incorporation on behalf of the Chinese Government. The fineness is 99,9%.
The American Eagle Gold Coin is a United States bullion coin. It was first struck in 1986 by the US Mint. Weights are 1/10, 1/4, 1/2 and 1 fine ounce. The coin has 22-karat, which is 91.67 per cent gold. The rest is copper and silver to increase the durability of the coin. The coins are legal tender, with a face value of 50 dollar for the one-ounce coin.
The American Buffalo is a United States bullion coin. It was issued for the first time in 2006. The gold coin is issued by the United States Mint and produced in West Point( New York). It is the first 24 karat, pure gold coin (99,99% fineness), struck by the US Mint.
The Gold Nugget is an Australian bullion gold coin minted by the Perth Mint. Same as the Britannica, it was issued for the first time in 1987. Its initial denominations were 1 ounce, 1/2, 1/4, 1/10 and 1/20. Later other sizes were added: 2 oz, 10 oz in 1991, and since 2010 1kg and 0.5g. The fineness ist 999,9/1000.
The Britannia was minted for the first time in 1987, as the first European bullion coin. It is issued by the British Royal mint in four weights. In 1987, the annual production of the one ounce coin had an absolute maximum of 92,000 pieces. Today, its market share is around one percent.
