Millesimal fineness

Millesimal fineness

Contents

Millesimal fineness is a system of denoting the purity of platinum, gold and silver alloys by parts per thousand of pure metal by mass in the alloy. For example, an alloy containing 75% gold is denoted as "750". Many European countries use decimal hallmark stamps (i.e. '585', '750', etc.) rather than '14K', '18K', etc., which is used in the United Kingdom and United States.

It is an extension of the older carat (karat in North American spelling) system of denoting the purity of gold by fractions of 24, such as "18 carat" for an alloy with 75% (18 parts per 24) pure gold by mass.

The millesimal fineness is usually rounded to a three figure number, particularly where used as a hallmark, and the fineness may vary slightly from the traditional versions of purity.

The most common millesimal finenesses used for precious metals:

Platinum

  • 999 (also known as three nines fine)
  • 995 (what most dealers would buy as if 100% pure; the most common purity for platinum bullion coins and bars)
  • 950 (the most common purity for platinum jewellery)
  • 900 (also known as one nine fine)
  • 850

Gold

  • 999.999 (The purest gold ever produced. Refined by the Perth Mint in 1958.)[1][2]
  • 999.99 (The purest type of gold in the market)
  • 999.9
  • 999 (Fineness equivalent to 24 carat, also known as three nines fine)
  • 995 the minimum allowed in Good Delivery gold bars
  • 990 also known as two nines fine
  • 958.3 (equivalent to 23 carat)
  • 916 (equivalent to 22 carat)
  • 833 (equivalent to 20 carat)
  • 750 (equivalent to 18 carat)
  • 625 (equivalent to 15 carat)
  • 585 (equivalent to 14 carat)
  • 417 (equivalent to 10 carat)
  • 375 (equivalent to 9 carat)
  • 333 (equivalent to 8 carat; minimum standard for gold in Germany after 1884)

Silver

  • 999.9 (Ultra-fine silver used by Royal Canadian Mint in the Canadian Silver Maple Leaf)
  • 999 (Fine silver used in Good Delivery bullion bars, also known as three nines fine)
  • 980 (common standard used in Mexico ca.1930 - 1945)
  • 958 (equivalent to Britannia silver)
  • 950 (equivalent to French 1st Standard)
  • 925 (equivalent to Sterling silver)
  • 900 (equivalent to Coin silver in the USA, also known as one nine fine)
  • 833 (common standard used in continental silver especially among the Dutch, Swedish, and Germans)
  • 830 (common standard used in older Scandinavian silver)
  • 835 (a standard predominantly used in Germany after 1884)
  • 800 (minimum standard for silver in Germany after 1884; Egyptian silver; Canadian silver circulating coinage)
  • 750 (uncommon silver standard found in older German, Swiss and Austro-Hungarian silver)

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Perth Mint :: History". Gold Corporation. http://www.perthmint.com.au/visit_the_mint_the_perth_mint_history.aspx. Retrieved 2011-05-08. 
  2. ^ Thomas, Athol. 90 Golden Years, The story of the Perth Mint. Gold Corporation. p. 58. 
v · d · eJewellery
Forms
Making
People
Bench jeweler · Goldsmith · Jewellery designer · Lapidary · Watchmaker
Processes
Tools
Materials
Precious metal alloys
Britannia silver · Colored gold · Crown gold · Electrum · Platinum sterling · Shakudo · Shibuichi · Sterling silver · Tumbaga
Mineral gemstones
Organic gemstones
Amber · Copal · Coral · Jet · Pearl · Abalone
Terms
Carat (mass) · Carat (purity) · Finding · Millesimal fineness
Related topics: Body piercing · Fashion · Gemology · Metalworking · Wearable art

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Fineness — The fineness of a precious metal refers to the ratio of the primary metal to any additives or impurities. Most precious metal is used in the form of an alloy. Other metals are added to increase hardness, to make the metal more practical for use… …   Wikipedia

  • Silver standards — refer to the standards of millesimal fineness for the silver alloy used in the manufacture or crafting of silver objects. This list is organized from highest to lowest millesimal fineness, or purity of the silver.* Fine silver has a millesimal… …   Wikipedia

  • Silver hallmarks — A sterling silver object that is to be sold commercially is, in most countries, stamped with one or more silver hallmarks indicating the purity of the silver, the mark of the manufacturer or silversmith, and other (optional) markings to indicate… …   Wikipedia

  • Currency of Spanish America — This article provides an outline of the currency of Spanish America (las Indias, the Indies) from Spanish colonization in the 15th century until Spanish American independencies in the 19th. This great realm was divided into the Viceroyalty of New …   Wikipedia

  • Currency of Colombia — Contents 1 Spanish colonial coinage 1.1 1622–1756 Cob coinage (macuquina) 1.2 1756–1822 Milled coinage 1.3 1813–1820 Necessity coinage …   Wikipedia

  • Gold — This article is about the metal. For the color, see Gold (color). For other uses, see Gold (disambiguation). platinum ← gold → mercury …   Wikipedia

  • Coins of the pound sterling — The Royal Shield reverse designs, introduced in 2008 (£2 coin is not shown) …   Wikipedia

  • 900 (number) — For the year 900, see 900 BC or 900 AD. 900 (nine hundred) is the natural number following 899 and preceding 901. It is the square of 30 and the sum of Euler s totient function for the first 54 integers. In base 10 it is a Harshad number. List of …   Wikipedia

  • Britannia (coin) — The Britannia is a British bullion gold coin issued since 1987, which contains one troy ounce of gold and with a face value of £100. There are also fractional Britannia coins, weighing a half, quarter, and one tenth of an ounce, with face values… …   Wikipedia

  • Peso — For the most traded currency in the world going by the name of peso, see Mexican peso. The word peso (meaning weight in Spanish) was the name of a coin that originated in Spain and became of immense importance internationally. Peso is now the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”