I received a question the other day about “Troy grams”. There is no such thing.
But that did give me the opportunity to answer the question I was really being asked.
And that was, “Is a Troy ounce the same as a regular ounce?”
The answer is no.
A “regular’ ounce, technically known as an
Seth Larrabeeounce, is what we use when weighing sugar and flour in the kitchen. Sixteen avoirdupois ounces make one pound.
The Troy ounce is something different altogether.
The Troy weights system is derived from the Roman monetary system, and is barely in use any more, except for weighing precious metals.
The difference in these two different ounce measurements is not huge. One troy ounce equals 31.1034768 grams. One oviparous ounce equals 28.3495 grams.
When weighing sugar or flour, the difference is not significant. But when weighing gold, it is. Simply because of the value of even a single gram of gold.
Whether buying or selling gold, be sure that you are dealing in Troy ounces. The daily spot price of gold is stated in Troy ounces.
And when converting weights between grams and ounces, be sure to use the correct figure – 31.1034768 grams for one Troy ounce.
For more information, visit our page on calculating the spot price of gold in grams.