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Maryna Lenga


What are the weight and purity measurements of precious metals?

Although the weight of gold and silver is sometimes quoted in kilograms or grams, the official weight measurement to gauge the mass of precious metals is the troy ounce. One troy ounce (oz) equals 31.1034768 grams. Note that a troy ounce is not the same as an avoirdupois ounce (more commonly known as the kitchen ounce) which equals approximately 28.34 grams.

The purity of gold and silver is measured in millesimal fineness, which denotes the purity of the metal in parts per thousand. For example, the PAMP 100 gram gold bar contains a gold fineness of 999.9, which means that the bar is 99.99% pure gold. Another example, the $20 Double Eagle with a gross weight of 33.43624 grams contains a gold fineness of 900, which denotes a gold purity of 90% or 33.43 x 0.9 = 30.092 grams of pure gold.

In addition to fineness, the traditional purity measurement of gold is the karat (K). The highest karat rating is 24 and this equals or is greater than 99.9% pure gold. Gold jewellery in Europe most often contains a gold purity of 14 and 18 karats, which equals 14/24 = 58.3% and 18/24 = 75% pure gold respectively.

The basics: what is spot, bid & ask, spread and premium?

Before purchasing in precious metals, make sure you know the basics.

What is spot? bid & ask? spread and premium?

The spot is the current market-clearing price of gold or silver set by supply and demand factors in the global financial markets. Spot price refers to 1 troy ounce of .999 fine gold or silver.

The bid (or buy as a layman’s term) is the price at which market participants, such as Tavex, are ready to buy gold or silver at any given time.

The ask (or sell as a layman’s term) is the price at which market participants, such as Tavex, are ready to sell gold or silver at any given time.

The spread is the difference between the ask and the bid price. For example, if the bid for a 1-ounce British Britannia gold coin is £1,400 and the asking price is £1,410, then the “bid-ask spread” is £10. A low bid-ask spread is often a good indicator of high liquidity. Products with high liquidity, such as the Gold Britannia coin, will have a lower bid-ask spread than other lesser known gold coins. This means that you will save money when trading in and out of your purchase.

A premium is added to cover the cost of the production and distribution of the item. Every product that Tavex sells comes with a premium. The premium is calculated by taking the price of a product minus the spot price of the metal. For example, if the current spot price of gold is £1,420, and if Tavex sells a 1oz Gold Britannia for £1,470, then the premium is £50 or 3.5%.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to Book a consultation or Contact us.

Which product should I choose?

Bullion is typically classified into two categories, namely bars and coins. A common question that people often have before purchasing bullion is which product is the right one for them. To provide some assistance, there are some important factors to consider when choosing the right product: the lowest price per gram, the global traceability of the product, and the different sizes and values of the product.

In general, larger products tend to have lower margins, so it is recommended to buy a larger quantity of gold at once rather than smaller amounts more frequently. For example, it is advisable to purchase a 10g Gold Bullion Bar once instead of 10 x 1g Gold Bullion Bars. That is due to the cost of minting a bar remaining constant, regardless of the gold price. However, what varies is the price of the minting process compared to the current market price of gold. Furthermore, when selling, the price of gold is always a bit under the spot price, therefore, the closer to the spot price you purchase gold the better.

The following products have the lowest price per gram and are among the most reputable products accepted internationally by banks, private individuals, or other gold traders:

100g Valcambi gold bar (produced by our partner Valcambi SA)

100g Valcambi Gold Bar, Tavex, gold bar Out of stock

100g Valcambi Suisse Gold Bullion Bar

6574.81 6574,81 6574.81 6574,81 6574.81 6574,81 6843.07 6843,07 6829.78 6829,78 6809.85 6809,85
We buy £6,574.81
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1oz British Britannia Gold Coin

CGT EXEMPT
2025 British Britannia Gold Coin Reverse1 In Stock

1oz British Britannia Gold Coin 2025

We sell 1+ £2,120.17 2045 2045,00 2045 2045,00 2045 2045,00 2120.17 2120,17 2118.1 2118,10 2115 2115,00
We sell £2,115.00 2045 2045,00 2045 2045,00 2045 2045,00 2120.17 2120,17 2118.1 2118,10 2115 2115,00
We buy £2,045.00
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50g Valcambi Gold Bullion Bar

The 50 gram gold bar is manufactured by Valcambi, Switzerland's largest precious metals foundry In Stock

50g Valcambi Suisse Gold Bullion Bar

We sell 1+ £3,438.15 3287.41 3287,41 3287.41 3287,41 3287.41 3287,41 3438.15 3438,15 3428.19 3428,19 3421.54 3421,54
We sell £3,421.54 3287.41 3287,41 3287.41 3287,41 3287.41 3287,41 3438.15 3438,15 3428.19 3428,19 3421.54 3421,54
We buy £3,287.41
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1oz South African Krugerrand Gold Coin

1 oz South African Krugerrand gold coin In Stock

1oz South African Krugerrand Gold Coin

We sell 1+ £2,149.10 2024.34 2024,34 2024.34 2024,34 2024.34 2024,34 2149.1 2149,10 2144.97 2144,97 2138.77 2138,77
We sell £2,138.77 2024.34 2024,34 2024.34 2024,34 2024.34 2024,34 2149.1 2149,10 2144.97 2144,97 2138.77 2138,77
We buy £2,024.34
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1oz Austrian Vienna Philharmonic Gold Coin

1 oz Austrian Philharmonic gold coin In Stock

1oz Austrian Philharmonic Gold Coin

We sell 1+ £2,149.10 2024.34 2024,34 2024.34 2024,34 2024.34 2024,34 2149.1 2149,10 2144.97 2144,97 2138.77 2138,77
We sell £2,138.77 2024.34 2024,34 2024.34 2024,34 2024.34 2024,34 2149.1 2149,10 2144.97 2144,97 2138.77 2138,77
We buy £2,024.34
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1oz Australian Kangaroo Gold Coin

Australian Kangaroo 1 oz gold coin reverse 2024 In Stock

1oz Australian Kangaroo Gold Coin 2024

We sell 1+ £2,149.10 2024.34 2024,34 2024.34 2024,34 2024.34 2024,34 2149.1 2149,10 2144.97 2144,97 2138.77 2138,77
We sell £2,138.77 2024.34 2024,34 2024.34 2024,34 2024.34 2024,34 2149.1 2149,10 2144.97 2144,97 2138.77 2138,77
We buy £2,024.34
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By considering these factors and the recommended products listed above, you can make an informed decision about which gold or silver bullion products to choose. Also, let us know if you have any further questions. Our

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