----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Potts" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "U.S. Metric Association" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, 2001-05-02 18:13
Subject: [USMA:12594] Re: WSJ letters
> Greg Peterson wrote:
> > Has there ever been, in history, a move to replace the Troy
> > Ounce with the gram, decagram, hectogram, or kilogram?
>
> In 1987, I bought a 24-carat (i.e., pure) gold chain in Hong Kong. The
> invoice showed its mass in both taels and grams.
>
> It was subsequently stolen, sold to a gold dealer in Vancouver, then
> recovered by the Vancouver Police Department. The records showed only
grams.
>
> I don't know if this fully answers your question, but it does show that
the
> Troy ounce is not universally used.
>
> Bill Potts, CMS
> Roseville, CA
> http://metric1.org [SI Navigator]
The reason it might not be universally used is because there might not be
any balances calibrated in troy ounces. I'm sure most dealers in precious
metals don't buy special balances calibrated in troy ounces, but use common,
readily available and serviceable laboratory scales calibrated in grams.
If they need to know the value of gold for that day, I'm sure traders will
get a quote in troy ounces ( most likely from someone who has never measured
the mass of gold in any unit) and converts the price to a per gram basis and
uses that throughout the day.
Which shows the foolishness of quoting in troy ounces that nobody real uses
anyways. And, like Chris, I've seen photo's of kilogram bars, never any
thing in ounces, except for coins.
John
Keiner ist hoffnungsloser versklavt als derjenige, der irrt�mlich glaubt
frei zu sein.
There are none more hopelessly enslaved then those who falsely believe they
are free!
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
