Pennyweight (dwt) to Grams Converter — US Jeweller Gold Calculator
A pennyweight (dwt, from "denarius weight") is the US/UK jeweller weight unit: 1 dwt = 1.55517 g = 1/20 troy ounce = 24 grains. It is the standard scale-up unit at US gold-buying counters, pawn shops, scrap dealers, and dental gold refiners — quoted prices like "$60/dwt for 14K" translate directly to a per-gram pure-gold price.
This converter takes a pennyweight input and returns gram, troy ounce, tola, masha, ratti and grain equivalents, plus the money value at the live international XAU/USD spot rate. It is the calculation US scrap-gold sellers run before walking into a buyer's shop.
When to use this calculator
- US scrap-gold selling — get the per-dwt buyer quote, multiply by your weight, check against the calculator output.
- Dental gold refining — old crowns and bridges weighed in dwt; karat varies 14K-18K typically.
- US estate jewellery — antique pieces often weighed and recorded in dwt on insurance schedules.
- Jeweller bench work — most US bench scales display dwt by default; international stones often weighed in dwt.
The Pennyweight in US Jewellery and Scrap Gold Trade
The pennyweight (abbreviated dwt, from the Latin denarius) is the traditional Anglo-American jewellery-trade unit: 1 dwt = 1/20 troy ounce = 1.55517 g = 24 grains. Its name reflects the fact that in medieval England a silver penny weighed exactly one pennyweight on the jeweller's balance — connecting monetary and precious-metal weight in a single unit that persisted long after the penny itself changed.
In the modern United States, pennyweight remains the dominant scale unit at pawn shops, estate jewellery buyers, dental gold refiners and coin dealers, even though grams have largely replaced it in manufacturing and assay contexts. A typical pawn shop counter display reads "$XX per dwt for 14K" — to evaluate such a quote, the seller must convert the per-dwt price into a per-gram equivalent and compare it to the international XAU/USD spot price at the current karat purity.
Dental gold is a particularly common pennyweight context. Old crowns and bridges vary from 14K to 22K and are often pre-weighed at the dental office in pennyweight. For those working entirely in troy ounces — the international standard — the exact equivalence is 20 dwt = 1 troy oz, making the grain to grams calculator the natural companion for finer denominations.
How the conversion works
Grams = pennyweight × 1.55517. Troy ounces = pennyweight ÷ 20. Money value = pure-gold grams × (live XAU/USD ÷ 31.1035) × FX rate. For 50 dwt of 14K scrap: gross = 77.76 g; pure (14/24) = 45.36 g; at $4,541/oz that is ~$6,623.
Step-by-step calculation
Example: 20 dwt of 22K gold
- 1
Convert dwt to grams
grams = dwt × 1.5552
20 × 1.5552 = 31.104 g
- 2
Convert dwt to troy oz
troy oz = dwt ÷ 20
20 ÷ 20 = 1.000 troy oz (exact)
- 3
Convert grams to tola
tola = grams ÷ 11.664
31.104 ÷ 11.664 = 2.667 tola
- 4
Pure gold at 22K
pure (g) = grams × (22 ÷ 24)
31.104 × 0.9167 = 28.512 g pure
Sample conversions
| Input | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 dwt | 1.5552 g = 0.05 troy oz = 24 grains |
| 20 dwt | 31.1035 g = 1 troy oz |
| 50 dwt | 77.76 g = 2.5 troy oz |
| 100 dwt | 155.517 g = 5 troy oz |
| 1 dwt | 0.1333 tola (1/7.5 tola) |
Quick Reference — Pennyweight to Grams
| Pennyweight (dwt) | Grams |
|---|---|
| 1 dwt | 1.555 g |
| 5 dwt | 7.776 g |
| 10 dwt | 15.552 g |
| 20 dwt | 31.103 g |
| 50 dwt | 77.759 g |
| 100 dwt | 155.517 g |
| 1 troy oz | 31.103 g |
| 1 gram | 0.643 dwt |
1 dwt = 1.55517 g = 24 grains = 1/20 troy oz. Standard at US pawn shops and dental-gold refiners.
Frequently asked questions
Why do US pawn shops use pennyweight instead of grams?
Pennyweight is the traditional US/UK jewellery-trade unit that predates metric adoption. Most US bench scales still default to dwt, and per-dwt pricing is the industry standard at pawn shops, dental gold refiners and bullion-buyer counters. International refiners pay per gram, but the intake quote is often still given per dwt for US sellers.
How many pennyweight in a troy ounce?
20 dwt = 1 troy ounce exactly. At a $4,500/oz spot price, 1 dwt of pure gold has a theoretical value of $225. Scrap dealers typically offer 70–85% of this spot value to cover their refining costs and margin.
How do I evaluate a per-dwt offer at a pawn shop?
Multiply the offered $/dwt rate by 20 to get the implied $/troy oz rate, then compare to the live XAU/USD spot. A fair offer for 14K scrap should be 70–85% of the spot melt value (i.e., 58.33% purity × spot price × offer percentage). Use the karat purity calculator to compute the theoretical melt value first.
What karat is dental gold typically?
Dental gold alloys typically run 14K to 18K (58–75% pure gold). Some older restorations are as high as 20K. Newer "high-noble" alloys may contain significant palladium or platinum alongside gold — an XRF assay is recommended for precise valuation of dental scrap.
Is pennyweight used outside the United States?
It is primarily a US/UK trade unit. The UK jewellery trade has largely switched to grams since metrication. Australia and Canada also use grams. In practice, pennyweight appears mainly at US pawn shops, US estate jewellery dealers and US dental gold refiners — international and online buyers almost always quote per gram.
How do I convert a per-gram gold price to per-pennyweight?
Multiply by 1.55517: per-dwt price = per-gram price × 1.55517. Example: $145/gram = $145 × 1.55517 = $225.50/dwt. Or divide the per-troy-oz price by 20 to get per-dwt directly.
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