# Measuring weight of precious metals **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 3, 2000, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-weight-of-precious-metals/8129 "2000-03-03T22:56:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Miss\_Gretchen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Miss\_Gretchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Gretchen)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-weight-of-precious-metals/8129/1 "2000-03-03T22:56:00Z")
So, if I’m not mistaken, gold, etc. is measured in troy ounces? How do these differ from regular ol’ ounces? Am I using the right term? Is there any kind of metric equivalent? Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-weight-of-precious-metals/8129/2 "2000-03-03T23:01:00Z")
One troy ounce is equal to 1.09714 regular (avoirdupois) ounces. Not really a big difference and I’m not sure why it’s different than a standard ounce. ---
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2000, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-weight-of-precious-metals/8129/3 "2000-03-03T23:08:00Z")
A co-worker just told me that it has something to do with the number of grains in a troy ounce and that it is the system apothacaries used to use. I’ve also been told that there are 12 troy ounces to a troy pound. ---
**Author:** ![BigRoryG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f07891/32.png) [@BigRoryG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigRoryG)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-weight-of-precious-metals/8129/4 "2000-03-04T01:33:00Z")
Haven’t you people heard of grams? Sorry… don’t mean to sound imperious, but really… Imperial simply doesn’t make sense. * * * "Elmo knows where you live! – Elmo, after Homer stiffed PBS for $10,000 If you need a graphic solution, [http:\ alk.to\Piglet](http://talk.to%5CPiglet) ---
**Author:** ![SavageNarce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@SavageNarce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SavageNarce)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2000, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-weight-of-precious-metals/8129/5 "2000-03-05T06:17:00Z")
BigRory didn’t say half of it. Just to complicate matters, the US and the British Empire (as it then was) just _had_ to differ on fluid measures! (Maybe this was Tea Party related?) So the US gallon (3.7854 liters) is smaller than the Imperial gallon (4.546 liters), the US quart is smaller than the Imperial quart, but the US ounce is (for some perverse reason) larger than the Imperial ounce (1.04085 of an Imperial ounce)! But to get back to the OP: a Troy or Apothecary ounce = 8 drams, 480 grains, 1/12 troy pound, 1.097 avoirdupois ounces or 24 scruples. Or 31.1035 grams. The “metric equivalent” Miss Gretchen asked about is, of course, grams. Yeah, maybe the Metric system is a little easier. But then again, when was the last time we really had an opportunity to measure Scruples? * * * Artificial Intelligence is no match for Natural Stupidity! ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2000, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-weight-of-precious-metals/8129/6 "2000-03-04T20:52:00Z")
How do you measure this when you get to tons? Graanted, most people don’t have access to that much precious metal…but would a troy ton be the same as an avoirdupois ton? ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2000, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/measuring-weight-of-precious-metals/8129/7 "2000-03-05T15:33:00Z")
What few people know is that “scruples” (in the moral sense) is actually a negative term. It’s what priests call pathologically going over every little detail of what you do, going “Oh gosh, I bet that’s a sin. Oh no, I just said ‘Gosh,’ I bet that’s a sin, too…” It drives confessors _nuts!_ Somehow, when it escaped into the public vocabulary, the real meaning was lost. (Gee! Like _that’s_ never happened to technical language before!) * * * John W. Kennedy “Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.” – Charles Williams