It is believed that traders in a French town called Troyes had grown so accustomed to measuring with troy ounces that it necessitated implementation across the board in France’s trade markets. It was convertible into 12 one-ounce units. They had to come up with a system of their own that can make trading and bartering easier.īack then, the Romans used bronze for currency with one standard measure being “aes grave” or one pound. (3)Īs Europe rose to economic prominence in the 10 th century, merchants and traders from all over the world had to get acquainted with the way they measured things. Romans implemented this across the board and called it “uncia,” which became the modern-day word for ounce. Historians believe that it led to complications within the ancient Roman monetary system, so Rome decided to establish a new measuring system exclusively for gold, silver, and palladium. The History of the Troy OunceĪ thousand years ago, precious metals were weighed using the same system as everyday items. This avoids confusion in the conversion between troy ounces and the troy pound. Most of the bullion on the market is often measured in troy ounces or kilos. There are fewer troy ounces in a troy ounce than there are dry ounces in a dry pound. One dry ounce is only equal to 1/16 pounds, so a troy pound must heavier, right? Not quite. So it’s interesting – a troy ounce is heavier than a regular ounce, but a regular pound weighs more than a troy pound. If you find yourself buying gold or silver that is one troy pound, that will only be 12 troy ounces. There are about 12 troy ounces in one troy pound, though many traders do not currently use that unit of measurement. A Troy PoundĪ troy ounce is roughly 10% heavier than the regular ounce, which makes a big difference when it comes to precious metals. A troy ounce is a little bit heavier than the average ounce, converting to 31.1 grams per troy ounce and 1.097 dry ounces per troy ounce. Troy ounces weigh precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. However, regular ounces weigh regular things. These usually are the units you see in electronic scales near checkout counters in grocery stores. We can break regular ounces down into grams, which would give us 28.35 grams per ounce. If you’re using dry ounces, you would need a weighing scale. So if you’re using liquid ounces, you would need a measuring cup. Liquid ounces are used to measure liquids like milk, water, and even egg whites. Dry ounces are what we use to measure everyday things like fruits, grains, and sugar. To elaborate on the difference between a troy ounce and our typical ways of gauging mass and volume, let’s start with its closest relative: The dry ounce. Understanding the difference between these measurements can stop some unnecessary stress. When their customers get home and get a chance to put their metals on the scale, they then realize they’re a few grams light. (1) They might quote items per kitchen ounces but sell them at the troy ounce price. Precious metals are never measured by the kitchen ounce.īefore new buyers can learn these standards, scammers try to take advantage of their naivety. The dealers and traders in the market would assume you know this. When you are buying gold, you are always going to have to measure by troy ounces. In this explainer, you’re going to learn the difference between troy ounces and other usual forms of measurement. However, if you are just getting into gold investing, you are already one step ahead by being proactive in your learning. It is equivalent to about 30 milliliters.If you are already a big buyer of gold and silver, you would know that being able to measure with troy ounces is an indispensable part of any trader’s knowledge base. fl., old forms ℥, fl ℥, f℥, ƒ ℥), but instead of measuring mass, it is a unit of volume. The troy ounce, nowadays, is used only for measuring the mass of precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and, palladium.Īnother unit is the fluid ounce (abbreviated fl oz, fl. There is another unit called ounce: the troy ounce of about 31.1 g (grams). The avoirdupois ounce is used in the US customary and British imperial systems. One avoirdupois ounce is equal to approximately 28.3 g (grams). Definition of avoirdupois ounce and the differences to other units also called ounce One pound, the international avoirdupois pound, is legally defined as exactly 0.45359237 kilograms. One gram is also exactly equal to 0.0352739619495804 ounce 0r approximately 0.035 oz. This prototype is a platinum-iridium international prototype kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. It is equal to the mass of the international prototype of the kilogram. The kilogram (kg) is the SI unit of mass.