BULLION BARS AND COINS
Bullion Coins - legal tender issues struck from precious
metal designed to be kept as a store of value or an investment (opposed to
circulating coinage used day-to-day or proof collectables)
Junk Silver - older coins that derive most of their value
from their silver content
Troy Ounce (oz t) - traditional unit of measure
used for precious metals where 1 troy ounce = 1.097 avoirdupois ounce (or
31.103g)
Fineness / Purity - the amount (by weight) of pure gold or
silver in the coin eg 9999 parts per thousand = 99.99 per cent pure
Gross Weight - the coin's total weight as registered
by a scale
Fine Weight - the coin's gross weight multiplied by
its percentage purity
Spot Price - the price at which physical gold or
silver of specific fineness is traded at a particular place and time
Premium - the amount charged by the coin manufacturer
over and above the spot price of metal to cover the cost of fabrication and
other overheads
Face Value - the nominal or symbolic valueprinted on the
face of a bullion coin
Intrinsic Value - the value of the coin's precious metal
content (aka Melt Value). Calculation: gross weight x purity x metal spot
price
Numismatic Value - the amount over the intrinsic value
the market is prepared to pay for rarity or some other factor that makes the
coin collectable
Ask Price - the price of metal plus the coin premium
- in other words the selling price
Bid Price - The price at which a mint or gold dealer
will buy-back a bullion coin
Spread - The difference between the selling
price (Ask) and the buy-back price (Bid) - useful for determining how much
the coin must increase in value before a profit can be realised
