Glossary
Troy ounce
A troy ounce is the international unit of weight for precious metals and equals 31.1035 grams.
The troy ounce, abbreviated oz, is the standard worldwide unit in precious metal trading. It equals exactly 31.1035 grams and is not the same as the ordinary 28.35 gram ounce used for other goods.
Gold, silver, platinum and palladium market prices are quoted per troy ounce, usually in US dollars. For buying in Germany, the price is converted to euros and divided by 31.1035 to obtain a price per gram. This is the figure behind every buying calculation.
Many bullion coins contain exactly one troy ounce of fine gold or silver, including Maple Leaf, Vienna Philharmonic and American Eagle. The Krugerrand does too: it contains a full troy ounce of fine gold but weighs 33.93 grams gross because of its copper alloy.
From ounces to price per gram
Suppose gold is quoted at 3.732,42 € per troy ounce. Dividing by 31.1035 gives 120,00 € per gram of fine gold. Every sound valuation starts from this figure, whether for a bar, coin or necklace.
A one-ounce fine gold coin therefore has a material value of 3.732,42 € in this example. We pay 97 % of spot for investment gold, giving 3.620,45 € here. At 1,20 € per gram, one ounce of silver has a material value of 37,32 €.
Ounces and grams when selling in Nordhorn
Our Nordhorn scale always displays grams, the unit that lets you check the result yourself. We convert the ounce price in front of you and show the conversion factor.
This avoids a common misunderstanding: a one-ounce coin rarely weighs exactly 31.1 grams on the scale. Alloyed coins such as the Krugerrand have a higher gross weight, while their fine gold content remains exactly one ounce.
The same unit applies to silver. One troy ounce of fine silver also weighs 31.1035 grams, but its price per gram is many times lower. A journey to sell silver therefore usually becomes worthwhile when several hundred grams have accumulated, such as a complete cutlery box.