About Weights
Common Silver and Gold Weight Conversions
When you are selling silver or gold, you may hear a lot of different measurment units mentioned. Actually, many dealers use obscure terms such as Pennyweight (DWT) in order to confuse the seller and make it seem like they are getting a higher price than they really are.
We do not beleive in such confusing and deceptive practices, so below is a list of the terms you may encounter and how to convert them:
First, lets start with Troy Ounces. Silver and Gold “Spot” prices are announced in Troy Ounces.
One Troy Ounce equals 1.09 Avoirdupois Ounces. Avoirdupois Ounces are what we commonly use for everyday measurements and are the ounces you would see on a postal scale.
One Troy Ounce equals 31.1 Grams
One Troy Ounce equals 20 Pennyweight (DWT) , the pawn shop and jewelers favorite term.
Next, lets talk about Grams. Grams are a common metric unit.
One Gram equals .032 Troy Ounces.
One Gram equals .035 Avoirdupois (postal scale) Ounces.
One Gram equals .643 Pennyweight (DWT)
And the most common, Advoirdupois Ounces. The everyday “Postage” ounce.
Many times, when trying to figure buy and sell prices for gold and silver, “Regular” Avoirdupois Ounces get mixed up with Troy Ounces.
One Avoirdupois Ounce equals .911 Troy Ounces
One Avoirdupois Ounce equals 28.3 Grams (So, simply put, if you have access to a postal scale that does not measure in grams, you can weigh your gold or silver on that, multiply the number by 28.3, and you’ll know how many grams of gold or silver you have)
One Avoirdupois Ounce equals 18.2 Pennyweight (DWT) – There is a little bit of info your friendly neighborhood Pawn Shop or Jeweler (or many of the other online “Cash For Gold Guys”) don’t want you to know!
Finally, here are conversions for Pennyweight (DWT):
One Pennyweight equals .05 Troy Ounce
One Pennyweight equals .055 Advoirdupois Ounces.
One Pennyweight equals 1.55 Grams.
We hope this clears up some of the confusion about Units of Measurement as they relate to buying or selling silver and gold.
