Bullion

A negotiable precious metal with a trading weight and shape, for example an ingot or bar and, in certain cases, coin.
 

Bullion Coin 

A precious metal coin that is legal tender and whose market value is only dependant upon its content and not its face value or collectible value

Assay

A test to establish the amount of the precious metal in bullion or coin.
 

Carat (English) or Karat (US)

A measurement of purity in gold on a scale of 1-24 and also as a measurement of weight for gems. 18 K gold means the item contains 18 parts of pure gold and 6 parts of usually another metal.
 

Troy Ounce

A unit of weight used in the precious metals market. One Troy Ounce is equivalent to approximately 1.1 standard ounces. When the weight of gold is given only in ounces it always means troy ounces.
 

Spot Price

The term used in commodity trading to indicate the price of a commodity for immediate settlement and is available for immediate delivery.
 

Futures 

The term used in commodity trading for contracts to buy or sell a commodity at a current price for delivery at a specified time in the future. In practice delivery rarely takes place as futures contracts are usually liquidated for a profit or loss before expiration.
 

Premium 

The cost of a bullion coin, ingot or other precious metal tradable over and above the value of its metal content.

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