Glossary of Terms

Gold Coin related glossary.

Glossary
Ag	The chemical symbol for silver.
Argentum	Latin for silver.
Ask	The price which the seller is willing to accept for a commodity; also known as the offer price.
Assay	The act of testing the purity of precious metals.
Au	The chemical symbol for gold.
Aurum	Latin for gold.
Bear Market	Market characterized by a declining trend in terms of prices.
Bid	The bid price is the price at which a dealer is willing to buy a commodity; opposite of "ask".
Bullion	Precious metals, including gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, that are traded based on their intrinsic metal value.
Bullion Coin	A precious metal coin whose market value is determined by its inherent precious metal content. They are bought and sold mainly for investment purposes.
Bull Market	Market characterized by upwardly moving price trend.
Cash	U.S. currency.
Central Bank	The entity responsible for establishing a nation's monetary and fiscal policy and controlling the money supply and interest rates. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve Board is often referred to as the central bank.
Close	The official end of a trading session.
Commission	The fee charged by a broker for the execution of an order.
Deliverable Bar	A precious metals bar with a weight, fineness and hallmark approved as a tradable unit on a commodity exchange.
Delivery	The exchange by which an underlying commodity, cash, or other delivery instrument is tendered and received by the contract holder.
Dore Bullion	An impure alloy of silver or gold named for the Dore furnace used at mining facilitues that produces it.
Ductility	An ability to change shape drastically without breaking. The capacity of a metal to be hammered into a thin sheet or drawn into a fine wire.
Face Value	The monetary value of an investment coin, which does not necessary correspond to its actual worth. For example, the face value of a gold American Eagle one-ounce coin is $50, but its actual worth is tied to the spot value of its gold content – a much higher value.
Fineness	The purity of precious metal measured in parts per thousand. A "Good Delivery" bar contains a least 995 part pure gold and no more that 5 parts other metals or impurities. Many gold and silver bullion products, such as the original gold Maple Leaf coins are 99.99% pure gold and are often described as being struck from .9999-fine gold.
Fine Weight	The weight of precious metal contained in a coin or bullion as determined by multiplying the gross weight by the fineness.
Fine Silver	Pure silver. Generally 99.9% pure.
Gold	A soft, shiny, heavy, malleable,and highly ductile transition metal that has long been used as a store of wealth and a standard for currencies worldwide. For centuries, gold has been used in coinage, jewelery, and in countless industrial applications.
Gold/Silver Ratio	The number of ounces of silver required to buy one ounce of gold at current spot prices.
Good Delivery	Approved metals brands acceptable for delivery against the metals contracts.
Hallmark	A stamped impression on the surface of a precious metals bar that indicates the producer, serial number, weight, and purity of metal content.
Hedge	An investment made as a strategy to mitigate risk of adverse price movements in a given asset.
Intrinsic Value	The actual value of the precious metals contained within a bullion bar or coin.
Karat	A measure of the purity of gold. Pure gold is 24-karat.
Liquid Market	A market characterized by the ability to buy and sell with relative ease.
London Fix	Price set each day in London by five old-line firms. The "fixing price" reflects the price at which buy and sell orders from the firms' customers' are in balance. The London Fix is an internationally recognized benchmark price for that particular moment in time.
Money Order	Order for the payment of a specified amount of money, usually issued and payable at a bank or post office.
National Futures Association (NFA)	Futures industry trade association which promulgates rules of conduct and mediates disputes between
Offer	A motion to sell a commodity at a specified price. Opposite of bid. The Offer price is the price at which a dealer offers to sell a commodity.
Palladium	A rare silver-white metal of the platinum group. Palladium resembles platinum chemically and is extracted from some copper and nickel ores. It is primarily used as an industrial catalyst and in jewelry.
Pd	The chemical symbol for palladium
Platinum	A chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. A heavy, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal, platinum is resistant to corrosion and occurs in some nickel and copper ores along with some native deposits. Platinum is used in jewelry, laboratory equipment, electrical contacts, dentistry, and automobile emissions control devices.
Premium	The market value of a coin less the intrinsic value of its metal content. Premiums are set by issuing authorities (e.g., U.S. Mint) and/or bullion dealers and vary by product.
Pt	The chemical symbol for platinum.
Silver	A chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Ag (from the traditional abbreviation for the Latin Argentum) and atomic number 47. A soft white lustrous transition metal, silver has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal and occurs in minerals and in free form. This metal is used in coins, jewelry, tableware, and photography.
Spot	Term which describes one-time open market cash transaction, where a commodity is purchased "on the spot" at current market rates. Spot transactions are in contrast to term sales, which specify a steady supply of product over a period of time.
Spot Market	A market of immediate delivery of product and immediate payment.
Spread	The difference between the bid price and the ask price of a bullion bar or coin.
Sterling Silver	Silver of a fineness of 92.5%.
Troy Ounce	The Troy ounce is the traditional unit weight for precious metals, believed to be named after a weight used at the annual fair at Troyes in France in the Middle Ages. Conversion: 1 Troy ounce = 480 grains = 31.1035 grams = 1.09711 avoirdupois ounces.