Do you use the troy ounce measurement for your Gold and Silver?

9Fine Mint Gold and Silver bars and rounds.

Investing or collecting Precious Metals is a hobby that comes with new verbiage, concepts, and terms. One such important term is the troy ounce. Precious Metals are weighed using the traditional troy weight system instead of the more familiar “avoirdupois” units, otherwise known as the kitchen ounce, used to measure goods such as sugar or coffee. 

If you were to take a 1 oz coin from your collection, though, and place it on a standard grocery-store scale, you would find that your coin is 10% heavier than an ounce of sugar or coffee. As a worldwide standard, all Precious Metals (including those sold by APMEX) will be weighted and referred to in troy ounces.    

It’s important to note that bullion products are only listed by the weight of the metal, excluding any other add-ons. For example, a one ounce gold bar in TEP refers only to the weight of the gold bar itself, as if the TEP packaging were not included. Storage solutions like these can be convenient, but make at-home measurements more difficult.

Quick Guides to Investing

Step 1:

Why Buy Physical Gold and Silver?

If you are concerned about the volatility of the stock market, you’re not alone. The extreme highs and lows of the stock market often lead investors towards safe-haven assets, like bullion. Historically, the Precious Metals market has an inverse relationship with the stock market, meaning that when stocks are up, bullion is down and vice versa.

Step 2:

How Much Gold and Silver Should You Have?

This question is one of the most important for investors to answer. After all, experts suggest limits on how much of any types of investments should go into a portfolio. After deciding to purchase and own Precious Metals and considering how much money to allocate, one can then think about how much and what to buy at any point in time.

Step 3:

Which Precious Metals Should I Buy?

With the frequent changes in the market and countless Precious Metal products available, choosing investments can be difficult. Some want Gold or Silver coins, rounds or bars while others want products that are valuable because of their design, mintage or other collectible qualities. Also, collectors may shop for unique sets and individual pieces for their collections.

Step 4:

When to Buy Gold & Silver

After considering why, how much, and what Precious Metals products to buy, an investor’s next step is when to buy them. This decision requires an understanding of market trends and the impact of economic factors on precious metal prices.

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