Meridian Intelligence · Reference desk
The physical-gold glossary.
The language behind gold value, verification, buying, selling and refining—defined without sales theatre.
Price and market
- Benchmark
- A stated market reference used for comparison or calculation. It must include a currency, unit and timestamp to be meaningful.
- Bid
- The price at which a market participant indicates it may buy under stated conditions.
- Ask
- The price at which a market participant indicates it may sell under stated conditions.
- Premium
- The amount above underlying metal value charged for a physical product, fabrication, availability, distribution and service.
- Spread
- The difference between a quoted buy price and sell price. It is not automatically realized profit.
Weight and purity
- Troy ounce
- The precious-metals weight unit equal to approximately 31.1035 grams.
- Karat
- A purity scale expressed in 24 parts. Eighteen-karat gold is 18 parts gold out of 24, or 75%.
- Fineness
- Purity expressed in parts per thousand, such as 750 for 18K gold or 9999 for 99.99% gold.
- Eligible weight
- The portion of gross weight treated as the tested gold-bearing material after stones and known non-gold components are addressed.
- Contained gold
- The estimated fine-gold quantity: eligible weight multiplied by the verified purity fraction.
Products and verification
- Bullion
- Physical precious metal whose value is primarily tied to its metal content, commonly issued as bars, wafers or coins.
- Assay
- A test or analytical process used to determine the composition or purity of a material.
- Assay card
- Manufacturer packaging or documentation stating a product's identity, weight and purity. It is evidence, not a substitute for authentication.
- Chain of custody
- The documented sequence of possession, transfer and control over an item or lot.
- Good Delivery
- The LBMA wholesale framework governing listed refiners and bars acceptable for settlement in the Loco London market.
Refining and desk operations
- Recovery
- The payable precious metal obtained from processing a lot, after assay and applicable process adjustments.
- Outturn
- The refiner's reconciliation of the processed lot, including assay, payable metal, charges and settlement output.
- Settlement
- Completion of the transaction through agreed payment, metal transfer or another contracted form of value.
- Cost basis
- The total recorded acquisition cost allocated to a position, including the price and defined direct costs.
- Inventory turn
- How quickly inventory is sold or otherwise disposed of and the invested capital is recovered.