Editing Fineness (section)

==Millesimal fineness==
Millesimal fineness is a system of denoting the purity of [[platinum]], [[gold]] and [[silver]] [[alloy]]s by [[Per mille|parts per thousand]] of pure metal by mass in the alloy. For example, an alloy containing 75% gold is denoted as "750". Many European countries use decimal hallmark stamps (i.e., "585", "750", etc.) rather than "14 k", "18 k", etc., which is used in the United Kingdom and United States.

It is an extension of the older karat system of denoting the purity of gold by fractions of 24, such as "18 karat" for an alloy with 75% (18 parts per 24) pure gold by mass.

The millesimal fineness is usually rounded to a three figure number, particularly where used as a [[hallmark]], and the fineness may vary slightly from the traditional versions of purity.

Here are the most common millesimal finenesses used for [[precious metal]]s and the most common terms associated with them.

===Platinum===
* 999.95: what most dealers would buy as if 100% pure; the most common purity for platinum bullion coins and bars
* 999—''three [[nine (purity)|nines]] fine''
* 950: the most common purity for platinum jewelry
* 900—''one nine fine''
* 850
* 750

===Gold===
[[Image:Four nines fine gold.jpeg|thumb|upright|1 [[troy ounce]] of four nines fine gold (999.9)]]
* 999.999—''six [[nine (purity)|nines]] fine'': The purest gold ever produced. Refined by the [[Perth Mint]] in 1957.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.perthmint.com.au/visit_the_mint_the_perth_mint_history.aspx |title=The Perth Mint :: History |publisher=Gold Corporation |access-date=2011-05-08 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514024331/http://www.perthmint.com.au/visit_the_mint_the_perth_mint_history.aspx |archive-date=2011-05-14 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Athol |title=90 Golden Years, The story of the Perth Mint |publisher=Gold Corporation |page=58}}</ref>
* 999.99—''five nines fine'': The purest type of gold currently produced; the [[Royal Canadian Mint]] regularly produces commemorative coins in this fineness, including the world's largest, at 100&nbsp;kg.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mint.ca/store/mint/about-the-mint/million-dollar-coin-1600006|title=The Million Dollar Coin – a true milestone in minting|author=Royal Canadian Mint|access-date=13 July 2017|quote=In October 2007, the Million Dollar Coin was certified by Guinness World Records to be the world's largest gold coin.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309153548/http://www.mint.ca/store/mint/about-the-mint/million-dollar-coin-1600006|archive-date=9 March 2015}}</ref>
* 999.9—''four nines fine'': Most popular. E.g. ordinary [[Canadian Gold Maple Leaf]] and [[American Buffalo (coin)|American Buffalo]] coins.
* 999—''24 karat'', also occasionally known as ''three nines fine'': e.g., [[Chinese Gold Panda]] coins.
* 995: The minimum allowed in [[Good Delivery]] gold bars.
* 990—''two nines fine''
* 986—''[[Ducat]] fineness'': Formerly used by Venetian and Holy Roman Empire mints; still in use in Austria and Hungary.
* 958.3—''23 karat''
* 916—''22 karat'': [[Crown gold]]. Historically the most widely used fineness for gold bullion coins, such as the oldest American [[Eagle (United States coin)|Eagle]] denominations from 1795 to 1833.  Currently used for [[Sovereign (British coin)|British Sovereigns]], [[Krugerrand|South African Krugerrands]], and the modern (1986—present) [[American Gold Eagle]]s.
* 900—''one nine fine'': American Eagle denominations for 1837–1933; currently used in [[Latin Monetary Union]] mintage (e.g. French and Swiss "[[Napoleon (coin)|Napoleon coin]]" 20 francs).
* 899—American Eagles briefly for 1834–1836.
* 834—''20 karat''
* 750—''18 karat'': In Spain ''oro de primera ley''  (first law gold).
* 625—''15 karat''
* 585—''14 karat''
* 583.3—''14 karat'': In Spain ''oro de segunda ley'' (second law gold).
* 500—''12 karat''
* 417—''10 karat'': Lowest legal solid gold karat made in the US prior to the August 2018 revision of the FTC Guides (Now 1 karat is legal). 
* 375—''9 karat'': Minimum standard for gold in some of the Commonwealth realms: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK, etc. It is also the minimum in Austria, Ireland, Portugal and France.
* 333—''8 karat'': Minimum standard for gold in Germany after 1884.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://goldratefortoday.org/fineness-of-gold/ |title=Fineness of Gold |publisher=Gold Rate for Today |access-date=2013-08-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130807053413/http://goldratefortoday.org/fineness-of-gold/ |archive-date=August 7, 2013 }}</ref> It is also the minimum for Denmark, Greece and Mexico.
* ''1 karat'': Legal minimum for gold in the US since the revision of the FTC Guides of August 2018.

===Silver===
{{see also|Silver standards}}
[[File:2019 American Silver Eagle and 1943 Walking Liberty Half dollar side by side.jpg|thumb|A 2019 [[American Silver Eagle]] [[bullion coin]] with a fineness of 999 (three nines fine), together with a [[Walking Liberty half dollar]] with a fineness of 900 (one nine fine); this latter alloy is also often referred to as ''90% silver'' or ''coin silver''.]]
* 999.99—''five nines fine'': The purest silver ever produced. This was achieved by the Royal Silver Company of Bolivia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.royalsilver.com/about_us/about_us.html|title=..:: Royal Silver Company ::..|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316133926/http://www.royalsilver.com/about_us/about_us.html|archive-date=2013-03-16}}</ref>
* 999.9—''four [[nine (purity)|nines]] fine'': ultra-fine silver used by the Royal Canadian Mint for their [[Canadian Silver Maple Leaf|Silver Maple Leaf]] and other silver coins
* 999—''fine silver'' or ''three nines fine'': used in [[Good Delivery]] bullion bars and most current [[Bullion coin#Silver|silver bullion coins]].  Used in U.S. silver [[commemorative coin]]s and silver [[proof coin]]s starting in 2019.<ref>[https://www.coinworld.com/news/precious-metals/us-mint-drops-90-percent-silver-composition.html U.S. Mint abandons 90 percent silver composition]</ref>
* 980: common standard used in Mexico ca. 1930–1945
* 958: ({{frac|23|24}}) ''[[Britannia silver]]''<ref name="Silver standards">{{cite web | url=https://www.antiquesinoxford.co.uk/silver-standards | title=Silver standards | publisher=Antiques in Oxford | access-date=2020-10-05}}</ref>
* 950: ''French 1st Standard''
* 947.9: 91 [[zolotnik]] Russian silver
* 935: Swiss standard for watchcases after 1887, to meet the British [[Merchandise Marks Act 1887|Merchandise Marks Act]] and to be of equal grade to 925 sterling. Sometimes claimed to have arisen as a Swiss misunderstanding of the standard required for British sterling. Usually marked with three Swiss bears.
* 935: used in the Art Deco period in Austria and Germany. Scandinavian silver jewellers used 935 silver after the 2nd World War
* 925: ({{frac|37|40}}) ''[[Sterling silver]]''. The UK has used this alloy from the early 12th century. Equivalent to ''plata de primera ley'' in Spain (first law silver)
* 917: a standard used for the minting of Indian silver ([[rupees]]), during the British raj and for some coins during the first Brazilian Republic.
* 916: 88 zolotnik Russian silver
* 900: ''one [[nine (purity)|nine]] fine'', ''coin silver'', or ''90% silver'': e.g. [[Flowing Hair]] and 1837–1964 U.S. silver coins.  Also used in U.S. silver [[commemorative coin]]s and silver [[proof coin]]s 1982–2018.
* 892.4:  US coinage {{frac|1485|1664}} fine "standard silver" as defined by the [[Coinage Act of 1792]]: e.g. [[Draped Bust]] and [[Capped Bust]] U.S. silver coins (1795–1836)
* 875: 84 zolotnik is the most common fineness for Russian silver. Swiss standard, commonly used for export watchcases (also 800 and later 935).
* 868: 83 {{frac|1|3}} zolotnik. Imperial Russian coinage between 1797<ref>{{Cite web|title=1 Rouble, Paul I, Russian Empire|url=https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces26955.html|access-date=2024-03-22|website=en.numista.com|language=en}}</ref> and 1885.<ref>{{Cite web|title=1 Rouble, Alexander II-III, Russian Empire|url=https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces16511.html|access-date=2024-03-22|website=en.numista.com|language=en}}</ref>
* 835: A standard predominantly used in Germany after 1884, and for some Dutch silver; and for the minting of coins in countries of the [[Latin Monetary Union]]
* 833: ({{frac|5|6}}) a common standard for continental silver especially among the Dutch, Swedish, and Germans
* 830: A common standard used in older Scandinavian silver
* 800: The minimum standard for silver in Germany after 1884; the French 2nd standard for silver; "plata de segunda ley" in Spain (second law silver); Egyptian silver; Canadian silver circulating coinage from 1920 to 1966/7<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.coinflation.com/canada/|title=Canadian Coin Melt Values - Coinflation|website=www.coinflation.com|access-date=2017-11-12|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170617215506/http://www.coinflation.com/canada/|archive-date=2017-06-17}}</ref> Used for the outer cladding of US [[Half dollar (United States coin)|half dollar]]s between 1965 and 1970, and commemorative issue [[Eisenhower dollar]]s between 1971 and 1978 (cores are 20.9% silver)
* 750: An uncommon silver standard found in older German, Swiss and [[Austro-Hungarian]] silver
* 720: Decoplata:<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://coinweek.com/world-coins/decoplata-the-history-of-720-silver-in-world-coinage/ | title=Decoplata: The History of .720 Silver in World Coinage | date=18 January 2022 }}</ref> many Mexican and Dutch silver coins use this standard, as well as some coins from Portugal's former colonies,<ref>{{Cite web|title=10 Escudos, Angola|url=https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces6538.html|access-date=2021-11-04|website=en.numista.com|language=en}}</ref> Japan,<ref>{{Cite web|title=10 Sen - Taishō, Japan|url=https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces14003.html|access-date=2021-11-13|website=en.numista.com|language=en}}</ref> Uruguay,<ref>{{Cite web|title=1 Peso, Uruguay|url=https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces10344.html|access-date=2021-11-04|website=en.numista.com|language=en}}</ref> Ecuador, Egypt, and Morocco.
* 600: Used in some examples of postwar [[Japan]]ese [[Japanese yen#Coins|coins]], such as the 1957-1966 [[100 yen coin]]
* 500: Standard used for making British coinage 1920–1946 as well as Canadian coins from 1967 to 1968, and some coins from Colombia and Brazil.
* 350: Standard used for US [[Jefferson nickel|Jefferson "war nickels"]] minted between 1942 and 1945.