Published Oct 7, 2026
Pennyweight to Grams: How Gold Buyers Use DWT (and How Sellers Lose Money)
You hand your ring to a gold buyer. He puts it on the scale and says “seven and a quarter.” Seven and a quarter what? If you do not know how to convert pennyweight to grams, you have no idea if his offer is fair.
That exact scene was described on a treasure-hunting forum in January 2017. The seller’s ring weighed 11.2 grams at home. The buyer weighed it as 7.25 pennyweights and offered $94 for gold worth about $250. Nothing was wrong with the scale. The seller just did not speak the unit. This guide fixes that.
Quick Answer: Pennyweight to Grams
- 1 pennyweight (dwt) = 1.555 grams. The exact figure is 1.55517384.
- 1 gram = 0.643 pennyweights.
- 20 pennyweights = 1 troy ounce = 31.1035 grams.
- To convert pennyweight to grams, multiply by 1.555. To go from grams to pennyweights, divide by 1.555.
- A price quoted per pennyweight is 55.5% higher than the same price quoted per gram. Do not compare them directly.
Convert any gold weight with our gold weight calculator
What Is a Pennyweight?
A pennyweight is an old unit from the troy system, the same system that gives us the troy ounce. It is written “dwt.” The “d” comes from denarius, the Roman coin that stood for a penny in old English money.
Twenty pennyweights make one troy ounce. One pennyweight is 24 grains. Outside the jewelry trade nobody uses it. Inside the trade, many American jewelers, refiners and dental labs still do, because their price sheets and scales have always worked that way.
That is the reason the pennyweight to grams conversion matters to you. Most sellers think in grams, and many US buyers quote in pennyweights.
Pennyweight to Grams Conversion Chart
| Pennyweights (dwt) | Grams | Troy ounces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1.555 | 0.05 |
| 2 | 3.110 | 0.10 |
| 3 | 4.666 | 0.15 |
| 5 | 7.776 | 0.25 |
| 7.25 | 11.275 | 0.3625 |
| 10 | 15.552 | 0.50 |
| 20 | 31.103 | 1.00 |
| 50 | 77.759 | 2.50 |
| 100 | 155.517 | 5.00 |
Grams to pennyweights
| Grams | Pennyweights (dwt) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 0.643 |
| 5 | 3.215 |
| 10 | 6.430 |
| 11.2 | 7.202 |
| 20 | 12.860 |
| 31.1035 | 20.000 |
| 50 | 32.151 |
| 100 | 64.301 |
Look at the 11.2 gram row. That is the ring from the forum story. It really was about 7.2 pennyweights, so the buyer’s scale was honest. The problem came next, with the price.
Gold Price per Pennyweight vs per Gram
Once you can convert pennyweight to grams, convert the price too. The price per pennyweight is the price per gram times 1.555.
| Karat | Melt value per gram (live) | Melt value per pennyweight (live) | Per pennyweight on Oct 3, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10K | $53.53 | $83.24 | $86.29 |
| 14K | $75.15 | $116.87 | $120.80 |
| 18K | $96.35 | $149.83 | $155.32 |
| 22K | $117.68 | $182.99 | $189.83 |
| 24K | $128.47 | $199.77 | $207.09 |
These are full melt values. A buyer will pay a share of them. What matters is that you compare like with like.
Three Ways the Unit Costs Sellers Money
1. Comparing a pennyweight price with a gram price
Say one shop offers “$90 a pennyweight” for 14K and another offers “$62 a gram.” The first number sounds much bigger. Convert it: $90 divided by 1.555 is $57.88 a gram. The second shop pays about 7% more.
2. A pennyweight reading with a gram price
This one hurts the most. The scale is set to pennyweights, so 11.2 grams shows as 7.2. If the buyer then multiplies 7.2 by a per-gram price, you lose 36% of your weight before the discount even starts. Sometimes it is a trick. Sometimes the clerk is confused too. Either way, ask one question: “Is that grams or pennyweights?”
3. A big “credit” instead of a price
In November 2014, a customer took a 3.5 pennyweight 14K ring to a jeweler and was given a $300 credit toward a custom ring. Online, he had seen prices of only $15 to $20 a pennyweight and was confused. Forum members ran the numbers: 3.5 pennyweights is 5.44 grams, and the gold was worth about $120 that day. The “credit” was a discount on a job that still cost him close to $700. Convert the weight, find the gold value, and judge the total price.
Even professionals slip. A popular Quora answer about dental gold says a pennyweight is 0.643 grams. It is the reverse: one gram is 0.643 pennyweights. If someone gives you a conversion, check it.
How to Check an Offer in 30 Seconds
Here is the January 2017 ring again, with the pennyweight to grams math done properly.
- Weight: 7.25 dwt × 1.555 = 11.27 grams.
- Offer: $94 ÷ 7.25 = $12.97 per pennyweight, or $8.34 per gram.
- Melt value of 14K that month: about $22.50 per gram.
- Share of melt: about 37%.
A fair local buyer pays 70% to 90%. Forum members told the seller exactly that. On the same thread, another seller took one lot of gold to four buyers and got offers from $680 to $1,331. Units and percentages are how you tell those buyers apart. Our guide on how gold buyers calculate gold price walks through the full formula.
Other Gold Weight Units You Will See
| Unit | In grams | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| Gram (g) | 1 | Most scales and calculators |
| Pennyweight (dwt) | 1.555 | US jewelers, refiners, dental labs |
| Troy ounce (ozt) | 31.1035 | Gold spot price, coins and bars |
| Regular ounce (oz) | 28.35 | Kitchen and postal scales |
| Grain (gr) | 0.0648 | Old bullion and very small weights |
| Tola | 11.664 | South Asian gold jewelry |
Watch the two kinds of ounce. A kitchen scale set to “oz” is using the 28.35 gram ounce, not the 31.1 gram troy ounce that gold is priced in. If your scale has a gram setting, use it. We explain the difference in grams vs troy ounce of gold and how many grams are in an ounce of gold.
Tips for Selling Gold When the Buyer Uses Pennyweights
- Weigh everything at home in grams and write it down.
- Convert your own numbers from pennyweight to grams before you compare offers.
- Ask the buyer to show the scale display and tell you the unit.
- Ask for the price per gram. A straight buyer can quote either way.
- Check the day’s gold price yourself. The LBMA publishes the benchmark.
- Use our scrap gold calculator to get the melt value, then turn each offer into a percentage.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many grams are in a pennyweight?
One pennyweight is 1.555 grams. The exact value is 1.55517384 grams.
How do I convert pennyweight to grams?
Multiply the pennyweights by 1.555. For example, 7.25 dwt times 1.555 is 11.27 grams.
How many pennyweights are in a gram?
One gram is 0.643 pennyweights. To convert grams to pennyweights, divide by 1.555.
How many pennyweights are in a troy ounce?
There are 20 pennyweights in one troy ounce, and one troy ounce is 31.1035 grams.
What does dwt mean on a gold scale?
Dwt is the abbreviation for pennyweight. The “d” comes from denarius, the old symbol for a penny.
Why do gold buyers use pennyweights?
It is a tradition in the US jewelry and refining trade. It is not a scam by itself, but it confuses sellers who think in grams, so always convert.
How much is a pennyweight of 14K gold worth?
On October 3, 2026, a pennyweight of 14K gold had a melt value of about $120.80. That is the per-gram value of $77.67 times 1.555.
Is a price per pennyweight better than a price per gram?
Neither is better. A per-pennyweight price is always 55.5% higher than the same price per gram, so convert both to one unit before you compare.
Conclusion
The pennyweight to grams conversion is one number: 1.555. Multiply pennyweights by it to get grams. Divide a per-pennyweight price by it to get a per-gram price.
With that one step, the buyer’s scale stops being a mystery. You can check the weight, check the price and turn any offer into a percentage of melt value. That is all it takes to avoid a $94 offer on $250 of gold.
