Precious Metals Glossary A–Z

The 20 Mark gold coin is a circulating gold coin of the German Empire (1871–1915) made of 900 gold with a fine weight of 7.168 grams. It qualifies as investment gold and is exempt from VAT on purchase.

333 gold is a gold alloy with a fineness of 333 parts per thousand (33.3%), corresponding to 8 carats, used mainly in the jewellery industry.

375 gold denotes a gold alloy with a fineness of 375 parts per thousand (37.5%), known in the English-speaking world as 9-carat gold and used mainly in the jewellery sector.

585 gold is a gold alloy with a fineness of 585 parts per thousand (58.5%), corresponding internationally to the 14-carat standard and widely used in the jewellery sector.

750 gold denotes a gold alloy with a fineness of 750 parts per thousand (75.0%), corresponding to 18 carats, and is the most widely used quality in the jewellery and watchmaking industry.

800 silver is a silver alloy with a fineness of 800 parts per thousand (80%), particularly common in German and European table silver and cutlery.

835 silver is a silver alloy with a fineness of 835 parts per thousand (83.5%), particularly typical of German and Central European cutlery and jewellery of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

900 gold denotes a gold alloy with a fineness of 900 parts per thousand (90%), corresponding to 21.6 carats – a historically important standard for European and American circulation coins.

916 gold denotes a gold alloy with a fineness of 916.6 parts per thousand (22 carats), used worldwide mainly for high-value jewellery and investment coins.

The acid test is a chemical procedure for determining the fineness of gold and silver alloys, in which test acids produce a characteristic colour reaction on the metal surface or on a touchstone.

An alloying metal is a base or precious metal blended into a precious metal in a measured amount to deliberately shape its hardness, colour, melting behaviour or other characteristics.

Affinage refers to the industrial purification and processing of raw precious metals to tradeable or investment-grade fineness levels.

AISC is the gold industry's standardised yardstick for the full cost of keeping a mine running at its present output level.

Allocated gold refers to physical gold that is individually assigned to an owner, stored separately and does not enter the balance sheet of the custodian.

Allocation refers to the deliberate distribution of a portfolio across different asset classes – including precious metals – in order to bring risk and return into a desired balance.

An alloy is a mixture of a base metal and one or more additive metals (alloying metals) that has deliberately altered physical or chemical properties.

A historical gold recovery process in which liquid mercury dissolves gold and silver from ore and binds them as an amalgam, which is then separated by heating.

The American Buffalo is the only official gold coin of the USA with a fineness of 999.9/1000 (24 carat), minted since 2006 by the United States Mint.

The American Eagle is the official bullion coin of the United States, minted since 1986 in gold, silver, platinum and palladium and among the most traded investment coins worldwide.

Anti-money laundering law obliges precious metal dealers, above certain thresholds, to identify their customers and to report suspicious transactions.

Aqua regia is a strongly oxidising acid mixture of concentrated hydrochloric acid and nitric acid (3:1) that is the only liquid reagent capable of dissolving the precious metals gold and platinum.

Argor-Heraeus is one of the world's leading refineries and precious-metal processors, based in Mendrisio (Switzerland), known for the highest purity standards and the Kinebar hologram.

The ask price is the price at which a dealer or market maker sells a precious metal — that is, the lowest price at which buyers can immediately purchase in the market.

Issued by an accredited testing body, an assay certificate is an authenticity document that binds together confirmation of a precious-metal bar's fineness, weight and identity.

The atomic number gives the proton count of an element in the periodic table, while the atomic weight (relative atomic mass) describes the average mass of its atoms in atomic mass units.

Münze Österreich AG (the Austrian Mint) is the state coin mint of Austria, based in Vienna and issuer of the world-famous Vienna Philharmonic.

Weighing exactly 28.349523125 grams, the avoirdupois ounce (av. oz) is the everyday mass unit of the Anglo-American world — and it sits noticeably below the 31.1035-gram troy ounce that governs the precious-metals trade.

Backwardation describes a market situation in which the spot price of a commodity is above the futures price — a signal of acute physical scarcity.

The bid price is the price a dealer or market maker is willing to pay for a precious metal — that is, the buying price from the seller's point of view.

A bonded warehouse is a state-authorised store in which goods can be held outside the EU's customs territory without import duties or import VAT becoming due.

Bretton Woods refers to the international monetary system established in 1944 that pegged the US dollar to gold and is named after the conference venue in New Hampshire.

The Britannia is a state bullion coin of the Royal Mint (United Kingdom), available in gold and silver with a fineness of 999.9 ‰ and 999 ‰ respectively.

Britannia silver denotes a silver alloy with a fineness of 958 ‰ (95.8%), introduced in England in 1697 as a higher standard alongside sterling silver (925 ‰).

Umbrella name for the Royal Mint's British bullion coin ranges, released as themed editions that pair a solid investment core with strong appeal to collectors.

Broken gold denotes damaged, deformed, or incomplete gold items that no longer serve as jewellery or a functional object and are primarily destined for the melting process.

A coin issued by a state mint chiefly as a precious-metal investment, whose price tracks the live metal quotation (spot) plus a premium.

The buying price is what a dealer or refinery hands over when it buys metal from a private seller — and it always sits under the prevailing spot price.

By-product mining refers to the recovery of a precious metal as a by-product of mining another, primarily targeted raw material.

C. Hafner is a German precious metals refinery and semi-finished products manufacturer founded in Pforzheim in 1850, refining gold, silver, and platinum group metals and producing certified bars and semi-finished products for industry and the jewellery trade.

COMEX (Commodity Exchange) is the world's most significant futures exchange for gold and silver futures and the decisive price-reference market for physical precious metals.

Carat (abbreviation kt or ct) is the traditional unit of measurement for the gold content of an alloy: 24 carat corresponds to pure gold (999 fineness, highest trading purity 999.9).

The metric carat (ct) is the legal unit of weight for diamonds and other gemstones and corresponds exactly to 0.2 grams.

The cash limit on gold purchases sets the amount above which dealers must establish and document the buyer's identity under anti-money-laundering rules.

A cast bar is produced by pouring molten precious metal into a mould, which after cooling leaves a characteristically rough, slightly irregular surface.

A catalytic converter is an exhaust-gas cleaning system in a vehicle that uses platinum group metals (platinum, palladium, rhodium) to convert harmful combustion residues into non-toxic compounds.

Central bank purchases are the buying of gold reserves by national central banks to bolster currency reserves and as a strategic buffer against currency and systemic risks.

A precious metal bar sealed firmly into a tamper-evident plastic holder (blister) that carries a printed certificate of authenticity from the refinery.

The coin dimensions check measures the diameter and thickness of a coin with callipers or a gauge and compares the values against the official minting specifications, exposing forgeries through deviating measurements.

The coin weight check is a simple, non-destructive method of authenticity control for precious-metal coins, in which the actual weight is compared with the manufacturer's official target weight.

A CombiBar (tablet bar) is a pre-scored precious-metal bar that can be broken along stamped break lines into smaller individual gram pieces, without tools and without loss of weight.

Conflict gold refers to gold mined in war or crisis zones whose proceeds are used to finance armed groups or human rights abuses.

Contango describes a market situation in which the futures price of a commodity is above the current spot price.

Copper (Cu, atomic number 29) is a reddish transition metal with outstanding electrical and thermal conductivity, regarded as the oldest metal deliberately used by humans and today an indispensable industrial raw material.

Corrosion resistance is the ability of a material to permanently withstand chemical attack from moisture, oxygen, acids or other environmental influences without significantly changing its surface or structure.

The cost-averaging effect describes the phenomenon whereby regular purchases of an asset with a constant amount automatically lead to a more favourable average price than the arithmetic mean of all individual prices.

A crisis currency refers to assets that are considered particularly stable in value during phases of economic or political instability and are therefore increasingly sought after.

When transporting precious metals across borders, declaration duties apply within the EU from €10,000, together with import VAT and customs rules on entry from third countries.

Cutlery silver refers to solid silver cutlery with a fineness of at least 800 per mille (80%), which was especially widespread in middle-class and aristocratic households during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

A hydrometallurgical process for gold recovery in which crushed ore is treated with a dilute sodium cyanide solution to selectively dissolve the gold.

Density expresses how much mass a substance packs into a given volume, and for precious metals it serves as a central marker of authenticity.

A non-destructive method for the authenticity testing of precious metals by measuring the specific density according to the Archimedean principle.

Dental gold is the gold alloy found in dental restorations such as crowns and bridges — usually with a fineness between 750 and 900, often with valuable additions of platinum and palladium.

Dental gold refers to precious-metal-bearing dental alloys used in dentistry for crowns, bridges and inlays, which upon recycling yield valuable precious metals such as gold, platinum and palladium.

Diamagnetism is the faint pushing-away of a material by an external magnetic field; because gold is diamagnetic, magnets do not attract it.

Diversification is the practice of allocating capital across several asset classes, geographic regions or currencies so that the total risk carried by a portfolio is lowered.

Dore bars are pre-refined crude bars of gold and silver, cast directly at mines or smelters and subsequently processed to fine-metal quality at a refinery.

Gold doublet is a base-metal core (usually brass or copper) mechanically bonded to a thick layer of gold by hot rolling — in contrast to electrolytic gold plating.

A historical European gold coin with a fineness of 986/1000 (23.6 carat), minted since the 13th century as Europe's most important trade coinage.

Ductility denotes the property of a material to deform plastically under tensile load without breaking.

Electrical conductivity describes how well a material conducts electric current and is an important quality characteristic of precious metals for industrial applications.

The enthalpy of fusion is the amount of energy a substance must absorb in order to change from the solid to the liquid state at its melting point, without changing its temperature.

Euwax Gold II is a physically backed gold ETC of the Stuttgart Stock Exchange that securitises a direct claim to delivery of genuine gold and, after a holding period of one year, can be sold tax-free in Germany.

The FIFO principle (First In, First Out) determines that, when precious metals are sold, the units acquired first are treated as sold first for record-keeping and cost-basis purposes.

The Fear and Greed Index is a composite sentiment indicator that measures, on a scale from 0 (extreme fear) to 100 (extreme greed), how strongly fear or buying euphoria is driving current market behaviour.

Fine gold refers to gold with a fineness of at least 999 parts per thousand (999), i.e. a purity of 99.9 percent or higher.

The fine gold content states what proportion of a gold alloy consists of pure gold, expressed in thousandths (per mille) or carats.

The fine weight states the amount of pure precious metal actually contained in a bar, coin or piece of jewellery - independent of the object's total weight.

Fineness indicates how much pure precious metal is contained in an alloy – expressed in thousandths (e.g. 999) or in carats (e.g. 585 = 14 carat).

The fineness hallmark is an officially or manufacturer-applied marking on precious metal articles that indicates the proportion of pure metal in thousandths (‰) or in carats.

The spot price is the continuously traded market price for immediate delivery, while the fixing is a reference price determined only once per day.

Flat-rate withholding taxes tax investment income at a fixed rate, but they do not apply to private disposals of physical precious metals in Malta – Malta levies no capital gains tax on such movable assets.

A future is a standardised forward contract that obliges buyer and seller to deliver or take delivery of a set quantity of a precious metal at a price agreed today on a future date.

Gold (chemical symbol Au, atomic number 79) is a yellow, corrosion-resistant precious metal that has been used for thousands of years as a store of value, a currency metal and a material.

A 1933 US legal order that forced private individuals to surrender gold to the Federal Reserve and banned private gold ownership for around 40 years.

A gold bar is a standardised piece of fine gold with a defined weight and fineness that serves as a physical investment form and an internationally recognised store of value.

The denomination of a gold bar describes its standardised weight and largely determines the premium, liquidity and suitability for various investment strategies.

A gold ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the gold price and allows investors to participate in its performance without physically owning gold.

Gold hammered or rolled into wafer-thin sheets, used in gilding, arts and crafts and food processing.

Gold coins of the German Empire (1871–1915), struck in 900 gold (crown gold), today recognised as VAT-exempt investment gold under EU rules.

Gold mining hedging describes the practice of gold producers selling future production via forward contracts at a fixed price in order to protect themselves against falling gold prices.

A gold nugget is a naturally formed piece of native gold that comes directly from rock or river sediment and has not undergone any industrial melting process.

Gold plating refers to the application of a thin layer of gold onto a substrate of base or precious metal, glass or ceramic in order to improve appearance, corrosion protection or electrical properties.

A gold savings plan is a regular investment model in which a fixed sum of money is invested in physical gold or gold-based securities at set intervals.

A monetary system in which the value of a currency is fixed to a defined quantity of gold.

The gold-silver ratio indicates how many ounces of silver are needed for one ounce of gold — a popular indicator for the relative valuation of the two metals.

A trading strategy in which investors swap gold for silver (or vice versa) when the price ratio of the two metals reaches historically extreme values.

The grain (abbreviation: gr) is the smallest unit of the troy weight system and equals exactly 0.06479891 grams.

The gram (unit symbol g) is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) and the world's most commonly used weight unit in precious metals trading.

Granules are small, irregular grains or beads of precious metal produced by pouring melt into water, used mainly as an industrial and processing material.

Green gold is a gold alloy with a high silver content that gives the metal a characteristic greenish-yellow hue.

The gross weight is the total weight of a precious metal object including all alloying components, before any deduction for impurities or additives.

A magnifier, typically with 10x to 30x magnification, used to inspect fineness stamps, hallmarks and striking features on precious-metal coins and bars.

Heraeus is a German precious metals company headquartered in Hanau that ranks among the world's leading refineries and bar manufacturers and is an accredited LBMA Good Delivery supplier.

The holding period is the time between the acquisition and the disposal of an asset. In Malta, private gains on the disposal of movable property such as precious metals are, as a rule, tax-free regardless of the holding period.

Home storage refers to the physical safekeeping of precious metals by the owner themselves – in a safe at home, in a bank deposit box or at another self-chosen location.

The ice melt test uses the exceptionally high thermal conductivity of silver to distinguish genuine silver from fakes: an ice cube melts noticeably faster on a genuine silver coin or silver bar than on any other metal.

Identity verification is the legally required establishment of a customer's identity when buying or selling precious metals above certain cash thresholds, under Malta's anti-money-laundering framework (PMLFTR).

Industrial gold refers to gold used in technical applications - particularly in the electronics industry - and not for investment or jewellery.

Industrial silver refers to silver used as a raw material in technical and industrial applications, as opposed to investment or jewellery silver.

Inflation protection refers to the ability of an asset to preserve or increase, in real terms, the purchasing power of the capital invested even when the price level rises.

The intrinsic value (also material or melt value) of a precious-metal item is the pure market value of the fine metal it contains, calculated from fine weight times the current spot price.

Investment gold is a fiscally privileged category of gold (bars and certain coins) whose purchase is exempt from VAT across the EU.

Iridium (Ir) is a silver-white platinum group precious metal with one of the highest densities of all elements (22.56 g/cm3, just behind osmium) and exceptional corrosion resistance.

Jewellery gold refers to gold alloys used to manufacture jewellery, whose fineness is stated in carats or thousandths depending on the gold content.

The Kangaroo (officially: Australian Gold Nugget) is an Australian gold coin with 999.9/1000 fineness that has been minted by the Perth Mint since 1986 and ranks among the most traded bullion coins in the world.

A kilo bar is a standardised precious metal bar weighing exactly 1,000 grams (1 kg), produced for gold, silver and other precious metals in cast or minted form.

The Krugerrand from South Africa is the best-selling gold bullion coin in the world - 22 carat, with exactly one troy ounce of fine gold in the one-ounce variant.

The South African Krugerrand is minted in four official weight denominations: 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz and 1/10 oz - all with an identical fineness of 916.7/1000 (22 carat).

The LBMA Fixing is a reference price for gold and silver determined twice daily in London and used worldwide as a binding benchmark for trading transactions, mining contracts and financial products.

The LBMA Good Delivery standard is the globally recognised quality norm for tradable gold and silver bars in the institutional wholesale market, setting minimum requirements for fineness, weight, shape and refinery origin.

The Libertad is a Mexican state bullion coin in gold or silver, minted by the Casa de Moneda de México and recognised worldwide as a bullion coin.

The London Fix is a reference price set twice daily for gold, silver, platinum and palladium, coordinated by the LBMA and used worldwide as a settlement basis for physical precious metal transactions.

The Lunar Series is a run of gold and silver bullion coins that the Perth Mint (Australia) issues each year, its motif rotating through the animals of the Chinese zodiac.

The magnet test checks whether a precious metal reacts to a strong magnet – genuine gold, silver and platinum are not magnetic and are not attracted.

The magnetic scale uses the Lenz effect of the precious-metal-specific diamagnetism values to distinguish genuine gold and silver bars or coins from magnetic counterfeits.

The Maple Leaf is a bullion coin minted by the Royal Canadian Mint in gold, silver, platinum and palladium with a fineness of 999.9/1000 (gold and silver), holding legal tender status in Canada.

The margin scheme is a special VAT arrangement under which dealers charge tax only on the trading margin (the difference between purchase and selling price), not on the full selling price.

Medals are struck or cast metal discs with no legal tender status, made from precious metals as commemorative, award or collector pieces.

The melting point is the temperature at which a substance changes from the solid to the liquid state under normal pressure, without the temperature changing during melting.

Mine production describes the total quantity of precious metal extracted from ore through mining, whereby the ore grade and the economic minimum content (cut-off) determine which material is mined at all.

Shares in companies that mine precious metals or other raw materials, offering a leveraged exposure to the price performance of the respective metals.

A mint is a state-authorised or state-operated facility that strikes or casts coins and bars from precious metals to fixed weight and fineness standards.

A mint mark is a small symbol or letter on a coin that uniquely identifies the issuing mint.

A minted bar is a precious metal bar produced by mechanical stamping, with a smooth, dimensionally accurate surface and imprinted information such as fineness, weight and manufacturer logo.

Mohs hardness is a dimensionless index on a scale from 1 to 10 that describes the resistance of a mineral to being scratched by a harder material.

Japanese unit of weight from the traditional Shakkan system, today used mainly in the pearl trade and equal to exactly 3.75 grams.

Nickel silver is a silver-coloured copper-nickel-zinc alloy containing no silver at all, historically used as a silver substitute because of its appearance.

Nickel white gold is a gold alloy in which nickel is used as the primary bleaching metal to give yellow gold a silvery-white colour.

Numismatics is the study and collecting of coins, medals and related means of payment, whereby collector coins derive their value not solely from metal content but substantially from historical significance, rarity and minting quality.

The opportunity cost of gold is the forgone return that would arise if the capital tied up in gold were instead invested in interest-bearing or higher-yielding assets.

The ore grade indicates how many grams of a precious metal (e.g. gold or silver) are contained per tonne of raw ore, and is the most important metric for assessing the economic viability of a mine.

Osmium (Os, atomic number 76) is the densest naturally occurring element on Earth and belongs to the platinum group of metals.

An over-the-counter transaction is the anonymous purchase or sale of precious metals, securities or other assets for cash "across the counter", without disclosing the buyer's identity.

PAMP Suisse is a Swiss precious-metal refinery founded in 1977 and based in Castel San Pietro, ranking among the most renowned and most widely distributed bar manufacturers worldwide.

Palladium (Pd, atomic number 46) is a silvery-white platinum group precious metal used above all as a catalyst in vehicle exhaust systems and in the electronics industry.

A palladium coin is a minted coin made of palladium with a defined fineness, acquired as an investment vehicle or a collector's item.

Palladium white gold is a gold alloy in which palladium, as the most important alloying metal, gives the gold its characteristic silvery-white colour.

The Gold Panda and Silver Panda are official investment coins of the People's Republic of China, issued annually by the China Gold Coin Corporation since 1982 (gold) and 1983 (silver), and distinguished from other bullion coins by their changing panda-bear motif.

Paper gold refers to gold financial products such as ETFs, ETCs, futures or certificates that track a gold price without the holder acquiring direct ownership of the physical metal – even though some products (e.g. Xetra-Gold) securitise a delivery claim.

The pennyweight (dwt) is a unit of weight in the troy system equal to 1/20 of a troy ounce, used above all in the Anglo-American jewellery and goldsmithing trade.

Per mille (‰) expresses the fineness of a precious metal as a thousandths share of the total mass and is the legally binding marking on bars and coins.

The Perth Mint is Australia's state-owned mint, founded in 1899, and is regarded as one of the world's most renowned refineries and minting facilities for investment gold, investment silver and platinum.

Silver used as a conductive paste in solar cells to conduct current away, today the single largest industrial consumption item for the metal.

The ping test is a non-destructive authenticity check that uses the characteristic ringing sound of a coin when lightly struck to distinguish genuine precious metal coins from counterfeits.

Platinum is a rare, silvery-white precious metal of the platinum group metals with atomic number 78, regarded as one of the most valuable metals on Earth because of its exceptional corrosion resistance, catalytic properties and industrial versatility.

Struck from platinum at a fineness of no less than 999.5/1000 (Pt 999.5) and issued by state mints across the globe, a platinum coin is an investment or collector coin.

Platinum group metals (PGM) are six chemically related transition metals – platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium, osmium and ruthenium – distinguished by exceptional corrosion resistance, high melting points and catalytic properties.

Precious metals form a group of chemical elements marked by strong resistance to corrosion and oxidation, which in nature turn up mostly in native form – that is, as pure metal.

Precious metals are metals with a standard electrode potential significantly more positive than that of the hydrogen electrode, so that under normal conditions they do not react with water, oxygen or most acids.

With a precious metal savings plan you regularly buy gold or silver for a fixed amount – the cost-averaging effect smooths out price fluctuations.

The premium is the mark-up over the spot price that buyers pay when acquiring physical precious-metal products such as coins or bars, on top of the pure metal value.

The premium (agio) is how much the sale price of a precious-metal coin or bar sits above its current metal value (spot price).

Primary mining refers to the extraction of precious metals directly from the ground through mining, as opposed to secondary recovery from recycled material.

A private sale transaction is the disposal by a private individual of an asset - including physical precious metals - and, depending on the jurisdiction, may or may not give rise to a taxable gain.

Proof denotes the highest quality grade for coin minting, recognisable by mirror-smooth fields and frosted, matte motifs.

A hallmark is an official or company test mark that permanently and tamper-proof certifies the fineness and origin of a precious-metal object.

Rand Refinery is the largest integrated gold refinery in the world and the maker of the Krugerrand, the best-known gold investment coin on earth.

The real interest rate is the nominal interest rate adjusted for the inflation rate, showing the actual change in purchasing power that an investment produces.

The recycling of precious metals refers to the recovery of gold, silver and platinum-group metals from scrap material such as jewellery, electronic waste and industrial residues through chemical or thermal processing methods.

Red gold is a gold alloy with a high copper content that gives the metal its characteristic reddish to warm bronze-coloured hue.

A refinery separates precious metals from scrap gold, industrial scrap and ores and processes them into high-purity fine metal.

The reflectivity of a metal indicates what proportion of the incident light its surface reflects back, and is responsible for the characteristic metallic lustre of gold, silver and other metals.

Responsible gold refers to gold that has been mined and traded along the entire supply chain in accordance with ethical, social and environmental minimum standards.

Rhodium (Rh) is a silvery-white platinum-group precious metal used above all as a catalyst in vehicle exhaust systems and for surface finishing, and it ranks among the rarest and most expensive metals on Earth.

An electroplated rhodium layer applied to jewellery or coins that improves lustre, scratch resistance and protection against tarnishing.

Rose gold is a gold alloy with a characteristic pink to reddish colour tone, created by a deliberate copper content.

The Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) is Canada's state mint and one of the most renowned precious-metal institutions in the world, known for the Maple Leaf and for the highest purity standards.

The Royal Mint is the state mint of the United Kingdom and one of the oldest active mints in the world, known for bullion coins such as the Britannia and the Sovereign.

Financing companies that provide mines with capital upfront and in return receive the right to obtain future precious metal production at a pre-fixed price or against a revenue-based fee.

Ruthenium (Ru) is a scarce platinum group metal prized for outstanding hardness and corrosion resistance, deployed mainly in electronics and as an alloying additive.

A safe haven is an investment asset that retains or gains value during phases of economic or political uncertainty, while other asset classes fall.

Scrap gold refers to used or damaged gold objects – jewellery, dental gold, coins and industrial residues – that are melted down and refined to recover the fine gold content they contain.

Scrap silver refers to used silver from jewellery, cutlery, coins or industrial products that is melted down or further processed as a raw material.

Seasonality in the gold market refers to recurring, calendar-driven patterns in the course of the gold price that arise from cyclical demand fluctuations in key regions.

Urban mining refers to the targeted recovery of precious metals and other valuable materials from electronic waste, end-of-life devices and industrial waste streams as a complement to primary mining production.

The dealer price is the price at which a precious metals dealer sells a product to the buyer - it is always above the spot price and includes minting or refining costs, the dealer margin and, where applicable, VAT.

Semi-precious metals are metals that show a certain resistance to corrosion but do not possess the full chemical resistance of the precious metals.

A unique identification number engraved or stamped by the manufacturer on precious-metal bars, enabling traceability, authenticity checks and certificate matching.

Sigma Metalytics is a range of handheld instruments that gauge the resistivity of precious metals through electromagnetic induction, dependably flagging fakes.

Silver (Ag) is a white-lustrous precious metal with the highest electrical conductivity of all elements and is used both as an investment metal and in industry, photography and medicine.

A silver bar is a standardised semi-finished product made of fine silver (at least 999/1000) that serves as a physical form of investment for private and institutional investors.

Silver coins as circulation money were state-minted means of payment made from silver alloys that dominated everyday money circulation for centuries, until rising silver prices forced their withdrawal and replacement with coins made from base metals.

Solid silver cutlery is made entirely of a silver alloy, whereas silver-plated cutlery carries only a thin layer of silver on a base-metal core.

A silver ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the price development of silver without investors having to buy or store physical metal themselves.

The silver ounce is the international standard unit for silver trading and refers to a troy ounce of silver weighing 31.1035 grams.

The tax-related surcharge on silver purchases refers to the portion of the price that buyers pay over and above the pure metal value because VAT is levied on investment silver – unlike on investment gold.

The Somalia Elephant is an annually redesigned silver bullion coin that, despite its name, has been officially issued by the Republic of Rwanda since 2016.

The Sovereign is a British gold coin with a fineness of 916.7‰ (22 carat) and a fine weight of 7.3224 grams, minted since 1817 and distributed worldwide as a classic bullion coin.

Specific gravity (also: relative density) indicates how much heavier a substance is compared with water (density 1.0 g/cm³) and is one of the most reliable metrics for the authenticity testing of precious metals.

The speculation period is a holding period, known from some jurisdictions, after which private gains from the sale of precious metals become tax-free – a concept that does not exist under Maltese law, where private disposals of precious metals are not subject to capital gains tax at all.

The spot market is the market for the immediate delivery of precious metals at the currently prevailing spot rate.

The spot price is the current market price for the immediate delivery of one troy ounce of precious metal – the basis of almost all buying and selling prices.

The spot rate is the currently valid market price of a precious metal for immediate delivery and payment, also known as the spot price.

The spread is the difference between the buying price (bid) and the selling price (ask) of a precious metal and represents the dealer's implicit trading margin.

Sterling silver is a silver alloy with 92.5% fine silver (925/1000) – the standard for cutlery, jewellery and many collector's items.

The streak test is a classic chemical procedure for determining the fineness of gold alloys, in which a metal streak on a touchstone is compared with acid solutions of known concentration.

The strike price is the standardised reference price of a precious metal on which premiums, dealer margins and option contracts are built.

The interplay of supply (mine production, recycling, central bank sales) and demand (jewellery, industry, investment) is a decisive factor in the price of precious metals.

Two fundamental mining methods in which ores are extracted either in open-pit surface mining (near the surface) or in underground mining (in deep tunnels and shafts).

Fairtrade gold is certified gold from artisanal and small-scale mining that meets social minimum standards, environmental requirements and a binding Fairtrade premium on the market price.

A time-honoured East Asian weight unit for precious metals, the tael carries no single value: depending on the region it falls somewhere between roughly 37.4 g and 37.8 g.

Tarnishing is the surface discolouration of metals caused by a chemical reaction with sulphur compounds or oxygen from the surrounding air.

In many jurisdictions a de minimis threshold exempts small private gains from tax. In Malta, private disposals of bullion are not subject to capital gains tax at all, so no such threshold needs to be observed for precious metals.

Thermal conductivity describes how well a material transports heat energy through itself and is expressed in watts per metre and kelvin (W/(m·K)).

The tola is a long-standing South Asian weight unit for gold and silver, fixed at exactly 11.6638 grams and common above all in India, Pakistan and the Gulf trade.

Tombac is a copper-zinc alloy with a copper content of 67-90%, known as a decorative material and historical coin metal due to its gold-like colour.

The globally standard unit of weight in precious metals trading: one troy ounce equals exactly 31.1034768 grams of pure precious metal.

The troy weight system is the internationally binding system of measures for precious metals, whose base unit is the troy ounce at exactly 31.1034768 grams.

A tungsten counterfeit is a fake gold or platinum bar or coin in which a tungsten core is coated with a thin layer of precious metal, exploiting the almost identical density of tungsten (19.25 g/cm³) and gold (19.32 g/cm³).

A non-destructive testing method that uses sound waves in the ultrasonic range to determine the density, internal structure and material composition of precious metal bars and coins.

Umicore is a Belgian technology group and one of the world's leading precious metal refiners, whose bars and coin blanks are accredited to LBMA Good Delivery.

Unallocated gold denotes a gold claim against a bank or provider that is not backed by an individually assigned, physically segregated bar or coin.

The United States Mint is the official coinage authority of the United States and, since 1792, has issued legal tender as well as bullion coins in gold, silver and platinum.

In the EU, investment gold is exempt from VAT under Directive 2006/112/EC, provided it meets certain minimum requirements as to fineness and form.

The purchase of silver (bars, coins, industrial silver) is subject to VAT in Malta – in contrast to investment gold, which is VAT-exempt.

Valcambi is one of the world's largest and most renowned gold refineries, based in Balerna in the Swiss canton of Ticino, known for the highest purity standards and the patented CombiBar system.

Vermeil refers to gold-plated sterling silver with a minimum gold coating of 2.5 micrometres, positioned as a distinct jewellery category between solid gold and simple gold plating.

The Vienna Philharmonic is Austria's best-known bullion coin and one of the most widely traded precious metal bullion coins in the world, available in gold, silver and platinum.

Volatility measures the intensity of price fluctuations over a defined period and is regarded as a central gauge of the market risk of an asset.

The Vreneli is a Swiss gold coin with a fineness of 900/1000 (21.6 carat), minted between 1897 and 1949 and traded today as a classic bullion coin.

Wristwatches and pocket watches whose case, bracelet or dial is made wholly or partly of gold, silver, platinum or palladium.

Wealth protection refers to strategies and instruments aimed at preserving the real value of assets against inflation, currency devaluation, crises and political risks.

The troy ounce is the international standard unit for precious metal prices and corresponds exactly to 31.1034768 grams.

White gold is a gold alloy blended with white metals such as palladium, nickel or silver to give it its distinctive silvery-white tone.

White gold metals are those precious and base metals that give gold a silvery-white colour when used as alloying partners — above all palladium, platinum and nickel.

A non-destructive analytical method that uses X-ray radiation to precisely determine the elemental composition of precious metals and alloys.

Xetra-Gold is an exchange-traded debt security (ETC) issued by Deutsche Börse Commodities GmbH, physically backed by gold and granting investors a securitised claim to delivery of real gold.

Yellow gold is the classic gold alloy of gold, silver and copper, whose warm yellowish hue comes closest to the pure metal.