Tola
Also: Tolā, ভরি (Bhari)
The tola is a traditional South Asian unit of weight for gold and silver, equal to exactly 11.6638 grams, and is widely used in India, Pakistan, and Gulf markets.
The tola (Hindi: तोला) is an ancient unit of weight from the Indian subcontinent that has been used in the gold trade for centuries. Its weight of exactly 11.6638 grams originally derives from the weight of the silver rupee standardised under the Mughal Empire. Today the tola is encountered primarily in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and on the gold markets of the Arabian Peninsula – particularly in Dubai and Bahrain.
Origin and Historical Significance
The word "tola" comes from Sanskrit (tula = scales). In the British-Indian system of measures, the tola was defined as the legal unit for precious metals and corresponded to the weight of a silver rupee. This link between currency and weight is typical of pre-modern coinage systems and explains why the unit remains alive in the bullion and jewellery trade to this day.
Conversion to Common Units
1 tola = 11.6638 g = 180 grains = 0.375 troy ounces
1 troy ounce = 2.6667 tolas
10 tolas = 116.638 g ≈ 3.75 troy ounces
The Unit Converter automatically calculates the current gold price per tola.
Tola Bars on the World Market
Tola bars are traded in denominations of 1, 5, 10, and 100 tola. The 10-tola bar (approx. 116.6 g) is the most important format in Gulf wholesale trade and is regarded there as a regionally established market standard – however, it is not an LBMA Good Delivery bar (which would require a minimum weight of around 350 troy ounces). The bars normally bear a fineness of 999 or 995 (24 karat / fine gold).
| Denomination | Grams | Troy ounces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 tola | 11.66 g | 0.375 ozt |
| 5 tola | 58.32 g | 1.875 ozt |
| 10 tola | 116.64 g | 3.750 ozt |
| 100 tola | 1,166.38 g | 37.50 ozt |
Distinction from Other Units
The tola should not be confused with the East Asian tael, which varies by region from approximately 37.4 g (Hong Kong) to 50 g (China). The troy ounce (31.1035 g) and the grain (0.0648 g) belong to the same troy system but are different reference quantities. The melt value calculator supports all common units of weight including the tola.
In Brief
The tola, at 11.6638 g, is a firmly defined unit rooted in history that remains an integral part of the gold trade on the Indian subcontinent and in the Gulf states. Anyone buying or valuing bars or jewellery from these regions should be comfortable converting between the tola and grams or troy ounces.