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999.9 fine vs. .9999 fine

CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 32,127 ✭✭✭✭✭
in Precious Metals
Am working on this gold bar collection we are brokering for the owner, and a question arose in my head.
The two 10 ounce poured Englehards are marked 999.9 fine gold, while the 10 oz. RCM struck bar is marked .9999 fine gold.
Everybody knows that they mean the same thing, but why are two different conventions used in marking gold?
Anybody know?
TD
Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.

Comments

  • guitarwesguitarwes Posts: 9,266 ✭✭✭
    same thing, just multiplied different by parts per thousand/ten thousand.

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  • derrybderryb Posts: 36,795 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Like Wes said, four 9's is four 9's.
    Two different ways of saying the same thing.

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  • AboutAgAboutAg Posts: 201 ✭✭


    << <i>Everybody knows that they mean the same thing, but why are two different conventions used in marking gold?
    Anybody know? >>



    LBMA specifies "parts per thousand" in their specs for London Good Delivery bars (for both silver and gold), which would mean it would have to be the "999.9" format.

    At least one part of U.S. law refers to 'four one-thousandth parts' (which would imply using the .9999 format). This is the same format that is used in statistics (with numbers ranging from 0 through 1, never higher or lower).
  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,122 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Like Wes said, four 9's is four 9's.
    Two different ways of saying the same thing. >>



    Sort of like flammable and inflammable.

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  • FistFullOfDollarsFistFullOfDollars Posts: 359 ✭✭✭
    you could also say the bars are 99.99% pure gold
    by multpilying .9999 by 100 or
    dividing 999.9 by 10


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