weights and measures

[Guest Peter_I'm_a_Guest]

I have just been having a look at a site that specialises in bullion & am trying to get my head around TROY OUNCES. It would seem that they weigh more than a 'avoirdupois' ( think that this is a standard ) ounce but there are troy ounces 12 to a troy pound making a troy pound weigh less than a normal pound.

It gets even more complicated with grains and pennyweights etc.

So are coins like sovereigns one troy ounce of gold or a standard ounce?

Im sure that someone can help me understand all this!

[Emperor Oli]

1 troy ounce = 480 grains

1 troy ounce = 24 scruples

1 troy ounce = 20 pennyweights (North American jewelery trade)

1 troy ounce = 1.097 ordinary ounce

1 troy ounce = 8 drams

1 troy ounce = 31.1034768 grams.

1 troy ounce = 120 carats

1 troy ounce = 155.52 metric carats (diamonds / precious stones).

3.75 troy ounces = 10 tolas (Indian sub-continent)

6.02 troy ounces = 5 taels (Hong Kong)

12 troy ounce=1 troy pound

14.583 troy ounce =16 avoirdupois ounce (1Pound)

32.15 troy ounces = 1 kilogramme (Kilo)

32,150 troy ounces = 1 metric ton (1,000 kilos)

1000 troy ounces = 31.1 kilograms

This would make 1 troy oz about 1oz so I don't think there's a difference.

Edited January 31, 2005 by Emperor Oli

[Chris Perkins]

I gave up using troy or any othe kind of ounces a while ago. Now I'm in Germany g and kg are just so much simpler.

[Sylvester]

I generally use non-troy ounces. Never could spell aviour... well yeah.

Ordinary ounces to me. Grams can be used also no too fussed.

Coins i tend to go with what's in the book, if it's in grams then so be it, when i'm cooking it's lbs and ozs all the way.

Prefer ounces generally.

[mint_mark]

You have to imagine an old man sitting in the square with his scales on a table measuring out small quantities of precious materials... gold, spices, salt... by balancing it against a carefully counted number of seeds... that's where grains come from, and the whole system after that!

On second thoughts, he'd probably be inside if it was windy :/

With things like sovereigns it's harder because they are not pure gold... just mostly pure gold. So they have two weights... the weight of the coin itself and the (slightly smaller) weight of the pure gold.

[Guest Peter_I'm_a_Guest]

Thanks to all who replied.

Still quite a confusing ( to my ancient brain) / complicated subject