As the importance of Europe's economy grew in the decade from the 10th-century, merchants flocked from all across the globe to purchase and sell their goods. Therefore, it was important to devise a standardized monetary weight system to facilitate business transactions. Many believe that the merchants from Troyes created this new system of monetary exchange with the same weights as their Roman grandparents. Troy Ounce is only the one measurement part of the troy system still in use today. It is utilized to determine the price of metals such as platinum, gold, and silver. JM Bullion states that before introducing the metric measurement system in Europe, the French-born Henry II of England was the king.
Henry II adjusted the British coinage system to make it more in line with what was known as the French troy system. The system was regularly adjusted; however, troy weights, in the form we have been first utilized in England during the 15th century. Before introducing troy weights, the British employed an Anglo-Norman French system called the audupois system, which is "goods of weight" and was used to weigh precious metals and non-precious metal objects. In 1527, Britain's troy ounce was the standard measure for silver and gold, and the US adopted the same system in 1828.
Importance
If you purchase a single 1-ounce coin gold and put that on a typical grocery scale, you'll see that it's around 10 percent heavier than an ounce of beef. These two measurements aren't the same. Most people don't know this, which is why they frequently fall prey to sellers who want to increase the value of their goods by listing their items in the ounces. For instance, a vendor may claim that a certain metal weighs 100 pounds, but it would lose approximately 10% of the value as it weighs just 90 troy pounds. It might appear like a complex system; however, there are legitimate reasons for precious metals to have their measurement standard. The troy was used as the standard measurement unit over the audupois ounce to ensure those purity standards and other common measures in line with the time.
The Troy Ounce Today
Henry II of England adjusted the British coinage system to make it more akin to the French troy system. The system was regularly adjusted; however, troy weights in the form they are now were first utilized in England during the early 1500s. In 1527, the troy ounce was the standard measurement used for silver and gold in Britain; it was adopted by the U.S. and finally followed suit in 1828. The troy ounce remains the sole measurement used in troy-weights systems we employ. Similar to the traders who traded in Troyes in France, buyers and sellers of today require an accurate, standardized measurement method of precious metals.
Buying Gold and Silver in Troy Ounces
Thankfully that all silver prices and gold prices are measured in troy ounces. A universal measure for working with precious metals is a part of the reason why silver and gold are so liquid. Investors worldwide buy and sell silver and gold using the troy ounce system, which means there is no need for an alternative measurement system or standard for conversion. Understanding the use of silver and gold troy ounce systems is among the initial steps to understanding the investment in silver and gold.
What Are The Reasons We Need Them?
A popular belief and one that is entirely logical is the idea that troy-weights were invented in the famous market for the trade of Troyes in France due to the necessity of a standard measurement system for traders from far and across. Its particular use for measuring precious metals is because the amount of currency had to be determined by a specific number of pounds of silver. One pound of silver was the monetary unit contained one troy one pound of silver. It's logical, therefore, that this measurement unit is tied to the value of the precious metals. While it is not possible to have the price of money determined by precious metals. The troy ounce is still in use due to the LBM Association's use for beam balances to measure gold because of technical issues with the use of electronic scales in metrics.
