IN PLAIN ENGLISH
What the metal in your coins, bars and jewellery is worth at today's price — before any dealer's margin.
FULL DEFINITION
The value of the pure metal in the gold, silver, platinum and palladium you have added, at the latest price per troy ounce.
EXAMPLE
Ten gold sovereigns hold 2.3543 troy oz of pure gold. At $4,321.20 an ounce and a USD→GBP rate of 0.75: 2.3543 × 4,321.20 × 0.75 = £7,630.
HOW IT'S CALCULATED
Precious Metal Value = Σ (fine troy ounces × that metal's price per troy ounce in USD) × the latest stored daily USD→currency rate. Fine troy ounces = how many × what one weighs × purity ÷ 1000, in troy ounces (see Fine Metal Weight). The price is the front-month futures price from Yahoo Finance — COMEX for gold and silver, NYMEX for platinum and palladium — reused for up to five minutes. A futures price sits a little above the spot price, usually by under 1%, because it includes the cost of holding the metal until the contract ends. It is not what a dealer would pay you: dealers buy below the market price, and a coin's rarity or a piece of jewellery's workmanship is not counted. A holding is left out and flagged when its metal has no price; with no exchange rate for your currency, all your metals are left out of your totals and prices show in USD only.
Educational content only. It is not personal financial advice.