In various sources translated into Russian, you can often find mention of an ounce. It is a unit of mass, weight or volume used in most British traditional systems of measurement. A typical ounce of avoirdupois (approximately 28.3 g) is 1/16 of the total weight of a pound.
This is a classic unit of measurement for the USA and Britain. It is mainly used in the United States of America for weighing packaged foods and portions, postal items, as well as for determining the density of fabric and paper, boxing gloves, etc. It can sometimes be found in the English-speaking sphere for other processes.
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Varieties
In addition to the regular one, several other ounces are currently in use. These can be measurements of different quantities. This unit is used not only to clarify weight. It is used in the following cases:
- A troy ounce, weighing about 31.1 grams, is used to determine the mass of precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium, etc.
- Ounce-force is a measure of weight, that is, mass.
- Fluid ounce is a measure of volume.
Historically, it was used in many industries in various fields where it was necessary to measure mass or volume.
Modern use of this unit of measurement
Today, all trading operations with gold and silver in the international precious metals market are carried out on the basis of the troy ounce, as the only accepted measure of weight. In the display of stock quotes, it is indicated in a special way:
- for silver - XAG;
- for gold - XAU;
- for palladium - XPD;
- for platinum - XPT.
When issuing coins made of gold, silver and other precious metals, foreign central banks also measure their weight in fractional parts of an ounce.
This is not accepted in Russia, and the mass of coins issued by the Central Bank is calculated in grams. But it often happens that mass still forms some part of the universal unit of measurement. Thus, St. George the Victorious with a nominal value of 50 rubles contains 7.78 grams of gold, which corresponds to a quarter of a troy ounce. And the same silver coin with a nominal value of 3 rubles is made from 1 troy ounce.
Etymology of the name
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Where does the term "ounce" come from? This name comes from the Latin uncia, a unit that was one twelfth of the Roman pound (a measure of weight).
The name was borrowed twice. Old English was first spoken as "insan" or "indsan" (a corrupted form of Latin). Then the word "ounce" began to be used in late medieval English.
The abbreviation oz came later from the related Italian word onza (now spelled oncia).
From the history of the use of an ounce
The concept of "ounce" comes from the Latin word "uncia", which literally means "a little thing, a little bit, a little bit." This designates several units of measurement of mass, it is also the definition for a couple of measures of liquid volume, is used as a unit of measurement of force, and even as the name of several monetary units (including gold and silver).
This term was used back in ancient Rome. There, 1 ounce meant 1/12 of a libra, an ancient Roman measure of weight equal to 327.45 g (or 0.7996 Russian pounds). Libra was most often used to indicate how much precious metals, particularly gold, weigh. In this case, an ounce, indicated by the sign “I”, a dot (•) or a horizontal line (-), was equal to 28.34 g (0.0666 Russian pounds) and was divided into 2 semuntia (Σ, Є, £), 4 sicilicus ( Ɔ), 6 sextula (Ƨ), 24 scruples (E) and 144 siliqus.
This measurement system was applied not only to metals. The Romans used it for a number of other various purposes. For example, to indicate the size of an inheritance, a measure of capacity, length (where 1 ounce was equal to 0.0246 m) and surface area (where 1 ounce was equal to 209.91 m²).
Later, such a measurement system was borrowed from the Romans by almost all the peoples of medieval Europe and, before the introduction of the metric system of measures, it was one of the main and most widespread.
In Italy, an ounce was equal to 1/12 of a pound, in Portugal and Spain 1/16 of a trade pound. In Sicily (until 1865) this was the name of a coin unit identical to 2½ scudi (a silver and gold coin in Italy, equal to 5 francs) or 3 ducats (the name for silver (since 1140) and then (since 1284) gold coins, first appeared in Italy, and later produced in a number of other European countries).
In Latin America and Spain, the gold coin doubloon was called this way. In China - tael (or liang - a measure of weight and monetary unit in Southeast Asia).
Why is there no single standard
An ounce is a unit that is measured in different ways. The explanation for this is as follows. It has been used historically in many parts of the world, at different points in history, and for different applications. Therefore, unequal mass standards were taken as a basis.
How much does an ounce weigh in different values? The international version of avoirdupois calls 28.349523125 437.5 grams. An international troy ounce is 31.1034768 480 grams, a French ounce is 30.59 grams. There are other numerical values. It is worth learning more about what types of this unit of measurement are used in the modern world.
International avoirdupois system (oz)
An international ounce is 28.349523125 grams, according to the International Yard and Pound Agreement of 1959. It was signed by the United States of America and the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations.
In the avoirdupois system, sixteen ounces equal a pound with the same name. It is defined as follows: 7000 grains. Therefore, one ounce totals 437.5 grains.
It is still the standard unit of weight in the United States. In the UK it ceased to be a legal unit of measurement in 2000, but is still widely used on an informal basis. It is also the traditional measure of portion sizes in British restaurants.
How much does a troy ounce of silver or gold cost?
In the period from 1919 to 2015, with the exception of the Second World War, the price of gold or silver was determined by the international interbank exchange in London, assigning the so-called “London fixing”. Since 2015, this system has been changed. Now, every day twice, at 10-30 and 15-00 GMT, a new price for precious metals is announced based on the ongoing electronic auctions.
Previously, only 5 main companies producing and selling precious metal bullions took part in determining the value of gold and silver. Currently, there are about 13 banking organizations from countries such as Switzerland, France, Canada, the United States of America, China and the Republic of South Africa. The Russian Federation is not included in this list.
The price of the precious metal fluctuates daily. Therefore, in order to navigate market dynamics and build the right investment strategy, it is necessary to constantly monitor the information available on the Internet.
To summarize what has been written, we can say that now you probably understand why the cost of an ounce of precious metals such as gold or silver is exactly 31.1035 times more than the cost of one gram, and also why the ounce itself is called “troy”.
International troy ounce (ozt)
This unit of measurement is 480 grains. Therefore, a troy unit is equal to 31.1034768 grams. There are 12 troy ounces in the now obsolete pound of the same name.
Today this measure is used only to express the mass of precious metals such as gold, platinum, palladium, rhodium or silver. Bullion coins are the most common product produced and sold in troy ounces. However, precious metal bars also exist in grams and kilograms.
What is the ounce weight of these items? A kilogram bar contains 32.15074657 troy ounces. Throughout history, this measure was actively used to weigh gold. It has the following classification:
- Fine is a troy ounce that measures the pure gold content of a bar. It is calculated as follows: sample multiplied by gross weight.
- The standard is a measure of 22 carat gold with a purity of 91.66% (the proportion of precious metal to alloy is 11: 1).
Brief historical excursion
In ancient times and the Middle Ages, the main unit of mass measurement was the pound. In many countries it corresponded to different weights. So, in Russia it was 0.41, in Britain - 0.35, and in Ancient Rome - 0.32745 kilograms.
One twelfth of every pound was called an ounce. They calculated not only mass, but also area, length, and volume. Many of these units of measurement still exist today. An example is the American and English fluid ounce (“fl oz”), which is approximately 30 milliliters, and the so-called avoirdupois ounce (“oz at”), which is approximately 28 grams.
By the 14th century, the history of the famous fair in the city of Troyes (the historical capital of the French province of Champagne) already spanned more than 9 centuries. It was here that a special Troy pound appeared, named after the city. It was used to measure the weight of goods such as medicines, cosmetics, spices, grains, etc.
Thus, the province of Champagne is famous not only for its medieval architectural monuments, sparkling wines and gastronomic delights, but also for its special pound. In the 20th century, it became the basis for one of the main units of measurement of the mass of precious metals.
This is interesting.
Until now, in literature or historical chronicles, the word “ounce” can be understood as 1 Chinese tael, 3 Sicilian ducats, 1 South American doubloon, 1/16 of a Portuguese or Spanish trade pound, 1/12 of an Italian pound or 1/8 of a German mark.
But only an ounce, equal to 31.1034768 grams, is a universal international unit of measure for the weight of gold, silver and other precious metals, as well as products and coins made from them.
Metric ounces
Some countries have revised these units to the metric system. Therefore, the question of how many grams are in an ounce will have different answers. This depends on the country of application. For example, the German apothecary ounce weighing 30 grams is very close to the previously widespread Nuremberg one. However, its divisions and multiples are expressed in the metric system.
In 1820, the Dutch redefined their ounce (in that country its abbreviation is ons). In the Netherlands it is 100 grams. Such amendments to the metric system were also adopted and used in Indonesia. In particular, they are studied according to the general education curriculum of primary schools. This measure is also mentioned in the Indonesian national dictionary.
Fluid ounce
It is a unit of volume equal to approximately 28.4 ml in the English system. In the US the figure is about 29.6 ml.
A fluid ounce (fl oz) was originally the volume occupied by products such as wine (in England) or water (in Scotland). The meaning of the unit in question varied depending on the system of liquid measurement (such as used for wine or ale).
Various ounces have been used over the centuries, such as Tower and Troy. In international trade, the French one was especially popular. Therefore, the value of ounce in ml has always been different. The situation was aggravated by medieval practice, when a unit of measurement was not necessarily equal to the sum of its parts.
In 1824, the British Parliament defined a gallon as the volume of ten pounds of water at a standard temperature. It was divided into four quarts, a quart into two pints, a pint into four jills, and the last into five ounces. For many, this system seems quite confusing. According to it, there were 160 British fluid ounces per gallon. The result was that the weight of water in this measurement system was approximately 28.4 grams. This relationship is approximately correct even though the definition of the imperial gallon has already been revised to 4.54609 liters, resulting in a fluid ounce volume of 28.4130625 ml.
