Precious Metals Glossary
Every term you need to buy, sell, and store gold, silver, and platinum with confidence — defined clearly, without the jargon.
Pricing
The current market price for immediate delivery of a precious metal.
The markup above the raw metal's spot price that dealers charge for finished bullion products.
The difference between the price a dealer will buy (bid) and sell (ask) a bullion product.
Weights & Measures
The standard unit of weight for precious metals, equal to 31.1035 grams.
Purity & Composition
The proportion of pure metal in an alloy, expressed as parts per thousand.
A measure of gold purity where 24 karats equals 100% pure gold.
Basics
Physical gold, silver, platinum, or palladium in bar or coin form, valued primarily by metal content.
The nominal dollar value stamped on government-issued bullion coins, far below their actual metal value.
Coin Types
Collectible coins valued by rarity, grade, and historical significance rather than metal content alone.
Pre-1965 US silver coins with 90% silver content, traded in bulk by face value as a low-premium silver source.
A specially struck collectible coin made with polished dies on hand-selected planchets, producing a mirror-like finish.
Market Analysis
The number of silver ounces needed to buy one ounce of gold, used as a relative valuation signal.
International banking regulations that reclassified physical gold as a Tier 1 zero-risk-weight asset in 2021.
Authentication
An official document verifying the weight, purity, and authenticity of a precious metal product.
Products
The official US gold bullion coin, minted since 1986, in 22-karat gold (.9167 fine).
A government mint's standard case of silver coins, typically holding 500 one-ounce coins in 25 tubes of 20.
Investing
A self-directed IRA that holds physical gold and other approved precious metals as tax-advantaged retirement assets.
Storage
A precious metals storage arrangement where specific, serialized bars or coins are assigned exclusively to one client.
Trading
A private trading desk for large, negotiated precious metals transactions above standard retail thresholds.
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