A glossary designed to specifically cater to clients who want to know more about Gold and its terminology.

‘#'

10kt Gold: Contains 41.7% pure gold. Jewelry that is 10kt is usually stamped “10kt” or “417”. This is the minimum karat weight that can be called “gold” in the United States.
14kt Gold: Contains 58.5% pure gold. Jewelry that is 14kt is usually stamped “14kt” or “585”.
18kt Gold: Contains 75% pure gold. Jewelry that is 18kt is usually stamped “18kt” or “750”.
22kt Gold: Contains 91.3% pure gold. Jewelry that is 22kt is often stamped “22kt”, but may not be labeled. Middle Eastern and Indian jewelry is often made with 24kt or 22kt gold.
24kt Gold: Considered pure gold and is most often 99.9% purity. Jewelry that is 24kt is often stamped “24kt”, but may not be labeled. Middle Eastern and Indian jewelry is often made with 24kt or 22kt gold.

'A'
Alloyed: Mixing different metals with gold to increase its hardness or to change its color.
Ask: The price at which a dealer offers to sell.
Assay: A test to ascertain the purity and weight of gold.
Austrian 100 Corona: Bullion gold coin containing .9802 ounces of gold.

'B'
Bear market: A market where the trend is downward.
BU: Brilliant uncirculated, used to describe a brand new coin.
Bull market: A market in which the trend is upwards.
Bullion: Gold in the form of bars that are at least 99.5% pure.
Bullion coin: A coin with a symbolic face value but that trades at a price relative to its intrinsic value.

'C'
Carat: A method to measure the weight of a diamond. It is not to be confused with Karat, which is the purity of Gold.
Cleavage: The tendency of the stone to have cracks and faults.
Clipping: Deliberate shearing or shaving from the edge of gold and silver coins.
Comex: The Comex is in New York City and is a division of the New York Mercantile Exchange where gold and silver are traded.
Correction: A fall in prices followed by a rise.
Corrosion: The chemical destruction of a mineral. Corrosion often occurs through oxidation (e.g. tarnish).
Cross rates: The exchange rate between two currencies.
Cull: A coin that is extremely damaged.

'D'
Damascening: Designs made of gold, silver, or copper adorning a base metal.
Demi Parure: A two-to-three piece jewelry set with matching pieces such as ring, earrings and necklace.
Denomination: The face value of a coin.
Double Eagles: U.S. $20 gold coins used as legal tender 1850-1933. Double Eagles contain .9675 ounce of gold and come in two designs: the St. Gaudens (Walking Liberty) and the Liberty.
Dwt: The symbol for "pennyweight", or 1/20th of a troy ounce, approx 1.555 grams.

'E'
Edge: The side of a coin that could be plain or lettered.
Electroplated: Jewelry that has been coated with gold, usually made up of a base metal such as silver.
Electroplating: Coating jewelry made up of a base metal with gold.
Estate Jewelry: Often the remaining property of an estate that is sold at auction or in jewelry stores. Also sometimes refers to jewelry that has simply been previously owned.

'F'
Face value: The legal monetary value stamped on a coin.
Field: The background on a coin.
Fine Ounce: A troy ounce of gold or silver which has a minimum purity of 99.5%
Fineness: A measure of the amount of pure gold, in parts per thousand.
Finish: The way the surface of the gold is textured.
Fire assay: The fire assay process is a miniature refining process to determine the gold content.
Foilback: A way of enhancing the appeal of a stone by coating the back of a stone with gold, silver or foil.
Fractional: A coin with an odd amount of metal.

'G'
Gilt: Resembling gold or covered in gold.
Gold: Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive. However, gold also comes in white gold and rose gold colors. The purity of gold is indicated by its karat weight (i.e. 10kt, 14kt, etc.). Gold is one of the coinage metals and has served as a symbol of wealth and a store of value. Gold standards have historically provided a basis for monetary policies.
Gold Eagles: Modern gold bullion coins.
Gold Filled: Composed of a solid layer of gold bonded with heat and pressure to a base metal, typically brass, copper or silver. Gold filled jewelry is often marked “1/10” or “1/20” to indicate the amount of gold in the item.
Gold Flashed: Item with a gold coating which is less than seven millionths of an inch thick. Also called gold washed.
Gold Plated: An item that has had a thin layer of gold deposited onto the surface of a base metal such as copper or silver. Items are usually plated through electroplating. Gold plated jewelry is often marked “GP” or “EGP”.
Golden Valadium: Stainless steel that has been electro-charged to look like yellow gold.
Grain: Earliest weight unit for gold. One troy ounce contains 480 grains.
Gram: Unit of weight in the metric system, based on the weight of one cubic centimeter of water.

'H'
Hallmark: A mark or stamp on a bullion item that identifies the producer.
Hyacinth: A Zircon used as a gem which can be brown, red or orange.

'I'
Ingot: A term used to describe a gold or silver bar.
Intrinsic value: The value of a coin's metal content.
Inverted market: A time when prices for future deliveries are lower than the present price.

'J'
Jewelry return form: The form you are required to complete indicating your gold, silver and platinum items with descriptions and quantities to ship to JME along with your unwanted gold, silver or platinum items.
Jump Ring: A small oval wire ring used to link charms or pendants onto a chain.

'K'
Karat: Indicates the amount of pure gold present in a metal.
Karat Gold: Gold which is 10 karat or better used in the manufacture of jewelry. According to U.S. law, the metal must be at least 10 karat or it cannot be called “gold”.
Kilo bar: A bar weighing one kilogram (32.1507 troy ounces). Kilogram: 1,000 grams (32.1507 troy ounces).
Knife Wire: A very thin wire supporting a gemstone making it appear to float.
Koala: Australian platinum coin.
Krugerrand: South African gold coin.

'L'
Legal Tender: The coin or currency identified by a government to be acceptable as a medium of exchange.
Legend: The inscription on a coin.
Leverage: The degree to which a business is utilizing borrowed money.
Liquidity: The quality of being easily converted into cash.
Luster: A reference to the brightness of an object that shines with reflected light rather than producing its own.

'M'
Maple Leafs (Canadian): Modern gold, silver, and platinum coins minted by the Royal Canadian Mint.
Market value: The price at which a coin or bullion item sells.
Mass: A measure of the total amount of matter in a body.
Melt Value: The worth of precious metal in a coin.
Metal: A class of elements that have characteristic physical properties. Metals are generally good conductors, and are reflective, malleable, and ductile.
Metal markets: The price of gold fluctuates on a daily basis. Our payouts are affected by the metals market rates.
Mint: The place where a coin or bar was manufactured.
Mint mark: A symbol stamped on a coin to identify the minting facility where it was struck.
Mint State: Describes a coin in uncirculated condition.

'N'
NGC: Acronym for Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America, one of two major coin grading services in the United States.
Noble: Modern platinum bullion coin issued by the Isle of Man since 1983.
Nugget: Modern gold bullion coin minted by Australia.
Numismatics: The scientific study of coins and currency and their history.
Numismatist: A coin collector.
NYMEX: The New York Mercantile Exchange, an exchange where commodities are traded on a future basis.

'O'
Obverse: The front side of a coin which contains the principal design.
Ormolu: A term referring to gilded bronze or brass mounts. From the French for "ground gold"
Ounce: A unit of weight. In the precious metals industry, an ounce means a troy ounce equal to 31.1035 grams.
Oxidation: To become chemically combined with oxygen.

'P'
Paper Gold: Contracts to buy or sell gold which do not involve an actual exchange of physical metal. Paper gold could be used to describe futures contracts, options or certificates.
PCGS: Acronym for Professional Coin Grading Service, one of two major coin grading services in the United States.
Pennyweight: An American unit of weight for gold in which one pennyweight equals 24 grains or 1/20 of a troy ounce.
Planchet: A blank piece of metal used for stamping a coin or medallion.
Platinum: A white metallic element, popular in jewelry making. Alloys containing 10% iridium or 5% ruthenium possess hardness and working qualities highly desirable in jewelry making, and are known as "hard platinum."
Platinum Eagles: Modern platinum bullion coins minted by the U.S. Treasury.
Pot Metal: Alloys which do not have parts of gold, silver, or platinum, also called “White Metal”.
Premium: The dollar amount or percentage at which a coin sells over its intrinsic value.
Proof: A coin produced using special dyes and that results in a sharpness of detail and a virtually flawless surface.
Pure Gold: Gold having a purity of 24 karats or 99.9%.

'Q'
Quartz: The family name for crystals composed of silica or silicon dioxide occurring in hexagonal crystals.

'R'
Rally: An advancing price movement following a decline in the market.
Refining: The separating and purifying of gold and silver from other metals.
Restrike: Officially issued reproduction of a formerly circulating coin.
Revaluation: An increase in the foreign exchange value of a currency, because of gold.
Reverse: The back of a coin.
Rhodium: Rhodium can be applied to base metals, gold, sterling silver, or some other alloy, to give it a shiny white surface like platinum.
Rose finish: Jewelry finished so that it has the look of Rose Gold, but has no actual gold content.
Rose gold: An alloy of gold mixed with copper, which gives it a pink tint.
Round: A disc-shaped non-numismatic piece of precious metal bullion.

'S'
Semi-Mount/Semi-Mounting: A piece of jewelry already embellished with gemstones, but lacking the main stones. You can purchase an engagement ring semi-mount and a diamond separately and have the diamond placed in the semi-mount.
Silver Eagles: Modern 1-oz silver bullion coins.
Sovereign: English gold coin with a face value of one pound sterling and a gold content of .2354 ounce.
Spot: The current market price of a precious metal based on delivery in two business days. The closing spot price varies with markets located in numerous cities and countries throughout the world.
Spread: The difference between the buying price and the selling price of a precious metal coin.
Stippled finish: A texture made by pricking the metal with a steel punch.
Swap: Commonly used in physical gold markets to describe a transaction entered with another party where gold in one location is swapped for gold in another location.
Symbolic face value: Nominal value given to legal tender coins sold for their metal content.

'T'
Tola: A unit of weight of India equal to 180 grains or 0.375 troy ounces (11.7 grams).
Tola bars: Gold bars measured in tolas, the most popular of which is the 10-tola cast bar (3.75 troy oz).
Troy ounce: Unit of weight for precious metals. One troy ounce equals 31.1035 grams or 480 grains.
Two-Nines Five (0.995): Gold with a purity of 99.50%. This is the standard accepted by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) for delivery against "Spot" bullion contracts.

'U'
Ultrasonic cleaner: A machine that cleans jewelry by using a fluid that is vibrated at 20,000 cycles per second.
Unallocated: An account in which the client's gold bars are not separated from other metal that may be held by the bank, and which may be cheaper than an allocated account as some banks do not charge for storage.
Uncirculated: A coin in brand new condition, sometimes said to be "brilliant uncirculated" or "BU."

'V'
Valadium: Stainless steel that resembles white gold.
Vermeil: Gold which has been chemically bonded to sterling silver. The finish looks so much like solid gold that it is often difficult to tell the difference.

'W'
Wafer: A generic term used to describe small gold bars (usually less than 50 grams).
Wear: Metal lost during handling and contact with other objects.
White gold: An alloy made of gold mixed with nickel, sometimes also containing palladium or zinc.
White Metal: Any combination of alloys with no precious metal content, also called "Pot Metal".
Width: The horizontal measurement across the widest area of an item of jewelry.
World Gold Council: An industry-based organization sponsored by a number of gold mining companies. The role of the World Gold Council is to promote the use of gold around the world.

'X'
XRF: X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Spectrometry is a non-destructive analytical technique used to identify and determine the concentrations of elements present in scrap metal.

'Y'
Yellow gold: The most popular gold alloy made up of gold, silver, copper, and zinc.
Yield: A measure of the annual return on an investment expressed as a percentage.

'Z'
Zinc: A bluish-white, metallic element of the magnesium-cadmium group.
Zone of oxidation: The upper portion of an ore body that has been oxidized.