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The troy weight units are the grain, the pennyweight (24 grains), the troy ounce (20 pennyweights), and the troy pound (12 troy ounces). The troy grain is equal to the grain unit of the avoirdupois system, but the troy ounce is heavier than the avoirdupois ounce, and the troy pound is lighter than the avoirdupois pound. Legally, one troy ounce ...
Another difference arose when Britain abolished the troy pound (373.241 7216 g) on 1 January 1879, leaving only the troy ounce (31.103 4768 g) and its decimal subdivisions, whereas the troy pound (of 12 troy ounces) and pennyweight are still legal in the United States, although they are no longer widely used.
The apothecaries and troy pounds are divided into 12 ounces (of 480 grains) while the avoirdupois pound has 16 ounces (of 437.5 grains). The unit of volume, the gallon , has different values in the United States and in the United Kingdom – the US fluid gallon being about 0.83 imperial gallons and the US dry gallon being about 0.97 imperial ...
A troy ounce (abbreviated oz t) is equal to 480 grains. Consequently, the international troy ounce is equal to exactly 31.1034768 grams. There are 12 troy ounces in the now obsolete troy pound. Today, the troy ounce is used only to express the mass of precious metals such as gold, platinum, palladium, rhodium or silver.
Troy weight, avoirdupois weight, and apothecaries' weight are all built from the same basic unit, the grain, which is the same in all three systems. However, while each system has some overlap in the names of their units of measure (all have ounces and pounds), the relationship between the grain and these other units within each system varies.
A pennyweight (dwt) is a unit of mass equal to 24 grains, 1 ⁄ 20 of a troy ounce, 1 ⁄ 240 of a troy pound, approximately 0.054857 avoirdupois ounce [1] and exactly 1.55517384 grams. [2] It is abbreviated dwt , d standing for denarius – (an ancient Roman coin), and later used as the symbol of an old British penny (see £sd ).
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In the early 14th century several other specialized weight systems were used, including the weight system of the Hanseatic League with a 16-ounce pound of 7200 grains and an 8-ounce mark. [citation needed] However, the main weight system, used for coinage and for everyday use, was based on the 12-ounce tower pound of 5400 grains.