Gold & Silver

As fine gold coins and bars are extremely soft, they can very easily be damaged. Product’s value is decreased when gold is scratched, bent or the original package has been opened.

Here are some suggestions on how to properly handle gold coins to avoid damage and loss of value.

• Do not remove coins or bars from their package (plastic capsule, vacuum pack) unless it is absolutely necessary.
• Always pick up coins and bars only by their edges
• Never touch gold anywhere on its surface as fingerprints may reduce the value. Fingerprints cannot be removed from the mirror surface. Be aware that even the finest cloth makes small tiny scratches on the surface of a coin.
• If you need to touch gold products, it advisable to wear white, clean cloth gloves.
• Never try to bite gold to test its softness.
• Try not to let one coin touch another as nicks and scratches can result.
• Do not drag coins across any surface.
• When removing coins from a holder is necessary, place them on a clean, soft surface. A velvet pad is an ideal surface. A clean soft cloth or clean piece of blank paper may be sufficient for harder coins (coins with gold proof 900-917).

PS! The above applies mainly to new gold coins and bars. Many historical gold coins have been in circulation and are therefore scratched and nicked. Gold market value has preserved in spite of that.

Tavex is a serious market player and therefore we consider it very important not to sell products we do not currently have in stock.

The spot is the current market-clearing price of gold or silver that is set by factors of supply and demand in the global financial markets. The spot price refers to 1 troy ounce of .999 fine gold or silver.

The bid (or buy as a layman’s term) is the price at which market participants, such as Tavex, are ready to buy gold or silver at any given time.

The ask (or sell as a layman’s term) is the price at which market participants, such as Tavex, are ready to sell gold or silver at any given time.

The spread is the difference between the ask and the bid price. For example, if the bid for a 1 ounce Gold Philharmonic is €1000 and the ask price is €1040 then the “bid-ask spread” is €40. A low bid-ask spread is often a good indicator of high liquidity. Products with high liquidity, such as the Gold Philharmonic coin, will have a lower bid-ask spread compared to other less well-known gold coins, which means that you, as an investor, will save money when trading in and out of your investment.

Every product that Tavex sells comes with a premium. A premium is added to cover the cost of the fabrication and distribution of the item. The premium is calculated by taking the price of a product minus the spot price of the metal. For example, if the current spot price of gold is €1020, and if Tavex sells a 1 ounce Gold Philharmonic for €1070 then the premium is €50.

Although the weight of gold and silver is sometimes quoted in kilograms or grams, the official weight measurement to gauge the mass of precious metals is the troy ounce. One troy ounce (oz) equals 31.1034768 grams. Note that a troy ounce is not the same as an avoirdupois ounce (more commonly known as the kitchen ounce) which equals approximately 28.34 grams.

The purity of gold and silver is measured in millesimal fineness, which denotes the purity of the metal in parts per thousand. For example, the PAMP 100 gram gold bar contains a gold fineness of 999.9, which means that the bar is 99.99% pure gold. Another example, the $20 Double Eagle with a gross weight of 33.43624 grams contains a gold fineness of 900, which denotes a gold purity of 90% or 33.43 x 0.9 = 30.092 grams of pure gold.

In addition to fineness, the traditional purity measurement of gold is the karat (K). The highest karat rating is 24 and this equals or is greater than 99.9% pure gold. Gold jewellery in Europe most often contains a gold purity of 14 and 18 karats, which equals 14/24 = 58.3% and 18/24 = 75% pure gold respectively.

Although we can arrange large sums of foreign currency at short notice, we recommend that you contact us on +371 6720 5533 or at tavex@tavex.lv in order to reserve the currency.