Scrap Gold - A term for any form of gold, usually gold jewelry, which is sent to a refiner for recycling.

Sheldon Scale - Is the grading system used for coins. Named after William Sheldon who standardized coin grading in 1948. The Sheldon scale helps dealers, collectors and investors determine a coins' value. There are 70 grades on the Sheldon Scale from poor 0 to mint state 70, a perfect coin.

Short Account - Securities/commodities, which have been sold short, with the anticipation of the stock declining in value.

Short Sale - Any transaction that creates a debt in terms of promised goods or value.

Silver - Its Latin name is Argentum. Silver is a white, ductile metallic element, used for making mirrors, coins, bullion, table utensils, photographic chemicals, conductors, etc. Periodic symbol is Ag; atomic weight: 107.870; atomic number: 47; specific gravity: 10.5 at 20C. Its melting point is 1763 degrees Fahrenheit (962 degrees Celsius).

Silver Certificate - Paper money that was once redeemable for its face value in silver, usually silver dollars.

Slab - A sealed hard plastic holder used by third party professional grading services such as NGC & PCGS to protect and authenticate coins and currency. The slab will have all the pertinent information about what is within that specific holder.

Smelting - A process of melting precious metals to separate impurities from the actual precious metal.

South African Krugerrand - Were first launched in 1967 by the South African Mint to provide private individuals an opportunity to own gold. It is the first modern gold bullion coin launched in the world. It was originally intended to circulate as currency, which is why the coins are minted in a more durable gold alloy (22 karat) or crown gold. The success of the gold Krugerrand spawned the development of other popular coins like the American Gold Eagle and Canadian Maple Leaf. Exports of the gold Krugerrand was crippled due to economic sanctions over South Africas policy of apartheid. These sanctions were lifted after apartheid ended in 1994. The Krugerrand comes in four sizes; one ounce, half ounce, quarter ounce and one-tenth ounce.

Spot Price - Is the current market value of a commodity. It is the price that is quoted for immediate delivery in cash or some other form of payment.

Spread - Stands for bid-ask spread which is the difference between the bid price and the ask price. If you would like to sell gold, a broker will offer to buy it for the bid price. And if you would like to buy gold, the broker will offer to sell it to you for the ask price. The spread is the broker's profit. The ask price is always higher than the bid price for obvious reasons.

Sterling Silver - Sterling silver is a composition of .925 pure silver with .075 part generally copper.

Strike - The process of stamping a design onto a planchet or blank by forcing two dies to create a coin.