Precious-metals glossary
Terms you should understand before buying physical gold or silver.
Assay
Testing or certification of a metal’s purity. Retail bars may come in assay packaging.
Bullion
Metal products valued primarily for weight and purity rather than rarity.
Fineness
Purity expressed as a decimal, such as .999 or .9999.
Melt value
The value of the precious-metal content at a chosen spot price.
Premium
The amount paid above metal value for the finished product and transaction.
Round
A privately minted coin-shaped bullion piece that is not legal tender.
Sovereign coin
A legal-tender bullion coin issued by a government mint.
Spread
The difference between a retail purchase price and a resale bid.
Spot price
A market reference price for the underlying metal.
Troy ounce
The 31.1035-gram weight unit used for precious metals.
Allocated storage
Custody where specific metal is recorded as belonging to the customer.
Numismatic
Relating to collectible coin value beyond metal content.