FAQs

The spot price of gold is the most common standard used to gauge the going rate for a troy ounce of gold. The price is driven by speculation in the markets, currency values, current events, and many other factors. Gold spot price is used as the basis for most bullion dealers to determine the exact price to charge for a specific coin or bar. These prices are calculated in troy ounces and change every couple of seconds during market hours.

When you see the price of gold posted somewhere, such as on a website or a dealer’s page, it will usually be quoted as the spot gold price per troy ounce in U.S. dollars (USD). One can, however, get the price of gold per gram or kilo, as well.

When you see the price of gold posted somewhere, such as on a website or a dealer’s page, it will usually be quoted as the spot gold price per troy ounce in U.S. dollars (USD). One can, however, get the price of gold per gram or kilo, as well.

The spot price of gold — or any commodity for that matter — represents the price at which the commodity may be exchanged and delivered upon now.This is in contrast to gold or commodity futures contracts, which specify a price for the commodity for a future delivery date.

Gold is a commodity that is traded all over the world, and as such, it trades across many different exchanges, such as Chicago, New York, Zurich, Hong Kong, and London. The COMEX, formerly part of the New York Mercantile Exchange and now part of the CME Group in Chicago, is the key exchange for determining the spot gold price. The spot gold price is calculated using data from the front month futures contract traded on the COMEX. If the front-month contract has little to no volume, then the next delivery month with the most volume will be utilized.

Bid prices represent the current maximum offer to buy in the market, and Ask prices represent the current minimum offer to sell in the market. If you are a buyer, you will pay the Ask price, and if you are a seller, you will receive the Bid price. The difference between the two prices is the bid-ask spread, and the tighter the spread, the more liquid the product.

The gold spot price is the prevailing price for an ounce of .999 fine gold that is deliverable right now. The spot price does not take into account dealer or distributor markups or markups by the minting or manufacturing company. Most of our inventory is purchased directly from the mint; those products are priced at the spot price plus a markup for the mint or maker to turn a profit.

​The dealer then also has to make a profit in order to stay in business. The dealer will take their purchase price, then markup the products further to cover dealer costs and a profit margin. This is why dealers will typically buy from individuals at or below the spot gold price and they will sell above the spot gold price. The spread between their buy and sell prices represents the dealer’s gross profit.

Spot gold prices are quoted as the price of 1 troy ounce of .999 percent fine gold deliverable now. This means you can usually purchase one ounce of gold bullion for right around this price plus the dealer’s premium.

Gold is traded in U.S. dollars (USD) and is therefore quoted in USD. In areas outside of the U.S., the spot gold price is taken in USD and simply converted to local currency.

The price for an ounce of gold is the same all over the globe; otherwise an arbitrage opportunity would exist. The world spot gold price is simply converted into local currencies to give market participants the price for 1 troy ounce of .999 fine gold in their respective local currency.

The price for an ounce of gold is the same all over the globe; otherwise an arbitrage opportunity would exist. The world spot gold price is simply converted into local currencies to give market participants the price for 1 troy ounce of .999 fine gold in their respective local currency.

​Gold is viewed by some as a “safe-haven” asset for it is one of the only assets with virtually no counter-party risks (gold requires no performance by outside entities to retain its value). This is why gold’s value may potentially rise during times of economic instability or geopolitical uncertainty.

Gold is traded all over the globe through all different time zones. In addition, with today’s markets running nearly around the clock, the need for constant price discovery has increased. Gold trades virtually around the clock to allow for banks, financial institutions and retail investors to access the gold market when they choose.

Gold spot prices change every few seconds during market hours and can fluctuate throughout the course of a day based on breaking news, supply and demand, and other macroeconomic factors. The gold spot price is determined by a variety of domestic and foreign exchanges, allowing the gold spot price to consistently update from 6PM EST to 5:15PM EST, Sunday to Friday (markets close from 5:15 PM to 6 PM EST each weekday). The changes in gold prices are due to supply/demand, as well as order flow and other factors.

When people refer to the silver spot price, or the spot price of any metal for that matter, they are referring to the price at which the metal may be exchanged and delivered upon now. In other words, the spot price is the price at which silver is currently trading. Spot prices are often referred to in the silver and gold markets, as well as crude oil and other commodities. Price is in a constant state of discovery and is watched by banks, financial institutions, dealers and retail investors.

​All of the products on our website are priced based on a premium to spot price, and therefore you will notice that prices update every few seconds during market hours. This allows customers to invest based on the most up to date market conditions possible.

When people refer to the silver spot price, or the spot price of any metal for that matter, they are referring to the price at which the metal may be exchanged and delivered upon now. In other words, the spot price is the price at which silver is currently trading. Spot prices are often referred to in the silver and gold markets, as well as crude oil and other commodities. Price is in a constant state of discovery and is watched by banks, financial institutions, dealers and retail investors.

​All of the products on our website are priced based on a premium to spot price, and therefore you will notice that prices update every few seconds during market hours. This allows customers to invest based on the most up to date market conditions possible.

Silver is a commodity that trades virtually 24 hours per day across many exchanges such as New York, Chicago, London, Zurich and Hong Kong. The most important exchange, however, when it comes to determining the spot silver price is COMEX. The spot price of silver is calculated using the near term futures contract price. By near term, that may mean the front month contract or the nearest contract with the most volume.

The price of silver is constantly changing. The spot price of silver changes every few seconds during market hours. Between domestic and foreign exchanges, spot silver prices update Sunday through Friday, from 6PM EST to 5:15PM EST each day. Spot prices remain static during that 45 minutes down period from 5:15PM EST to 6PM EST each weekday, as well as from 5:15PM EST on Friday until 6PM EST on Sunday. Although silver and other markets may have periods in which they are very quiet, they also have periods in which prices change very rapidly.

The silver spot price is usually quoted in U.S. dollars (USD). However, markets all over the world can take the spot silver price in USD and simply convert it to local currency.

The spot silver price is quoting the price for 1 troy ounce of .999 fine silver.

Yes, the price of silver is the same all over the world. Exchanges and markets all over the world can take the current spot silver price in USD and convert the price in USD to local currency.

Silver is sold by dealers with a premium to the current spot price. When one is looking to sell metals to a dealer, the dealer may offer spot or slightly below the spot price for one’s metals. The dealer premium as it is often called represents the price at which a dealer will buy silver and the price at which a dealer will sell silver. The difference between the spread represents the dealer’s gross profit. This is how dealers make profits and stay in business.

The bid price is the maximum offer available for a particular commodity at the present time. The ask price is the minimum asking price available for a particular commodity at the present time. More simply, if you want to buy, you will pay the ask price. If you want to sell, you will receive the bid price.

​The difference between the two is referred to as the “bid-ask spread”, and often is a reliable indicator of an investment’s liquidity. The smaller the bid-ask spread is, the more liquid a commodity and the less “transaction fees” an investor will incur when getting into and out of investment positions.

The price of silver is always in flux never sitting stagnant for very long. There are many different factors that can potentially affect silver price fluctuations. These factors may include, but are certainly not limited to: supply and demand, currency fluctuations, inflation fears, geopolitical risks, and asset allocations.

The price of silver is determined by the laws of supply and demand. That being said, if the price of silver drops too low, then mining companies may elect to slow down operations and simply mine less silver. The fact is, if the price of silver gets too low then these companies may mine silver but operate at a loss due to mining costs. Should silver fall to very low price, then these mining companies may scale back operations in an attempt to wait for higher prices or slow the supply of their silver reserves to the market thus helping to bring the forces of supply and demand back into balance.

The demand for silver is constantly changing. World markets are in a constant state of price discovery. Many other commodities and investment products also trade around the clock.

While silver prices can be volatile at times, there are also times when prices are relatively quiet. In addition, many customers buying physical silver are buying it as a long-term investment and understand that short-term price fluctuations may be volatile.

The gold/silver ratio is simply a formula for determining how many ounces of silver it takes to buy one ounce of gold. Simply take the price of gold and divide by the price of silver — that is the ratio. Investors may use the ratio to try and determine the relative value of silver or gold and see if a potential buying opportunity may exist.

Silver has certainly seen some ups and downs in its price over the years. Since 2011 silver prices trended lower for years after nearly reaching the $50 per ounce mark. Lately the silver price has been going sideways for some time.

Silver is measured in troy ounces. Each troy ounce contains about 31.1034768 grams of silver, which is slightly higher than a standard ounce which has only 28 grams.

There are 32.151 troy ounces in one kilogram of silver.

The spot price of silver may be only one factor to determine the value of a silver coin. Silver coins can have value not only for their silver content but also for any collectability or scarcity that they may have. While regular silver bullion coins will usually be not too far from the current spot price, a collector’s numismatic silver coin may sell for the spot price many times over. This is once again the laws of supply and demand at work.

Silver coins generally carry a small face value making them legal tender in their respective country of origin. That said, legal tender silver coins are generally priced based on their silver content. Although silver coins may be legal tender, they are not typically used in day to day transactions as typically their precious metal content value is far greater than their legal tender face value.

Within the hierarchy of precious metals, there is only one metal that could arguably stand above gold, and that is platinum.

​This is due in large part to the metal’s rarity throughout history. Its earliest known use was on the Casket of Thebes in Ancient Egypt. South American Indigenous populations also used platinum for jewelry.

​But platinum’s value goes beyond being a precious metal—its specific properties have made it indispensable to the modern economy, improving both the health and the wealth of the world.

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1. Manufacturing
Platinum’s versatility in manufacturing has quadrupled its demand since 1980. Its catalytic properties are critical to the production of fertilizers, and more specifically, platinum’s efficiency in converting ammonia to nitric acid paved the way for large-scale fertilizer production.

Around 90% of the nitrogen produced using platinum catalysts is used to make 190 million tonnes of fertilizers each year.
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2. Healthcare
Platinum is a biologically compatible metal because it is both non-toxic and stable. It does not react negatively with or affect body tissues, which makes it an ideal material for medical tools. Platinum’s use in medicine dates back to 1874 for its use in arthroscopic tools. Its stability also makes it ideal for pacemakers and hearing assist devices today.

​While non-threatening to healthy cells, platinum compounds known as cisplatin can damage cancer cells and treat testicular, ovarian, lung, bladder, and other cancers. Given these crucial applications, the World Health Organization has put cisplatin on its List of Essential Medicines.

​3. Environmental
Platinum is a critical material in the fight for cleaner air and in the construction of energy-efficient fiberglass. It is used in catalytic converters in exhaust systems of gas-powered vehicles, reducing the emission of harmful pollutants. In addition, platinum is used in the manufacturing process of high-end glass that improves the heating and cooling efficiency of homes and offices.

​4. Renewable Power
Platinum’s catalytic properties make it critical to cleaning up air pollution, producing renewable hydrogen, and unleashing its power in fuel cells. Electrolysis, which can turn water into hydrogen and oxygen, works best when passing an electric current through platinum electrodes.
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Fuel cells are set to power a new generation of emission-free vehicles, and platinum membranes are used inside of them as well.
More than precious metal, platinum has many applications that make it a critical material for the modern economy in years to come.