Troy weight A grain is 20 mites, a mite is 24 droits, a droit is 20 perits, a perit is 24 blanks. In Scotland, the Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh used a system in multiples of sixteen. ("See Assay-Master's Accounts, 1681–1702, on loan from the Incorporation to the National Archives of Scotland".) Thus, there were 16 drops to the troy ounce, 16 ounces to the troy pound, and 16 pounds to the troy stone. The Scots had several other ways of measuring precious metals and gems, but this was the common usage for gold and silver. The Pound was
Troy weight on the continent. The troy ounce and grain were also part of the apothecaries' system. This was long used in medicine, but has now been largely replaced by the metric system (milligrams). The only troy weight in widespread use today is the British Imperial troy ounce and its American counterpart. Both are currently based on a grain of 0.06479891 gram (exact, by definition), with 480 grains to a troy ounce (compared with grains for an ounce avoirdupois). The British Empire abolished the 12-ounce troy pound in the 19th century, though it has been retained (although rarely used) in the American