Abassi
The abassi was a former silver coin of Persia.

Account Executive
The agent of a commission house who serves customers/traders by entering their commodity  orders, reporting trade executions, advising on trading strategies, etc.

Active Month
In the metals markets, the nearest base contract month that is not the current delivery month. The base months for each metals futures are defined by each individual contract.

Actuals
Physical cash commodities as opposed to futures contracts.

ADP
Alternative Delivery Procedure. A provision of a futures contract that allows buyers and sellers to make and take delivery under terms or conditions that differ from those prescribed in the contract. An ADP may occur at any time during the delivery period, once long and short futures positions have been matched for the purpose of delivery.

Administrative Workstation
A NYMEX ACCESS® workstation through which Exchange clearing members monitor all activity in accounts they carry and set limits on their customers' accounts through the Trade Limit Monitoring System.

Agnel

The agnel, also known as the mouton d'or and the agnel d'or, was an ancient French gold coin first struck in the reign of St Louis, and valued at 12 sols 6 deniers. It was so named because it always bore the figure of an Agnus dei (lamb of God) on one side.

All or None
An order which must be filled in its entirety or not at all.

American Option
An option contract that may be exercised at any time prior to expiration. This differs from a "European option," which may only be exercised on the expiration date. The Exchange options contracts are "American."

Angel

The Angel, or Angel-Noble was a gold coin struck first in France in 1340, and introduced to England in 1465 by Edward IV and ceased in the reign of Charles I.  The value varied from 6s 8d to 10s.  It was so named from the fact that it had on one side a representation of the Archangel Michael in conflict with the Dragon.  The reverse side had a ship with a large cross for the mast, the letter E on the right side, and a rose on the left; whilst against the ship was a shield with the royal arms.

Angelot
The Angelot was a French gold coin struck by Philip VI in 1340. Its weight was from 97.22 to 87.96 grains. Henry VI of England also issued a gold coin with this name, for use in his French dominions. It weighed about 35 grains.

Anna
The anna was an Indian coin, one sixteenth of a rupee.

Annuity
An annuity is a contract in which a person pays a premium to an insurance company, usually in one lump sum, and in return receives periodic payments for an agreed period or for the rest of his life. An annuity has been described as the opposite of a life assurance as the policyholder pays the lump sum and the insurer makes the regular payments. Annuities are often purchased at a time of prosperity to convert capital into an income during old age.

Approved Carriers
Armored carriers approved by the Exchange for the transportation of gold, platinum, and palladium.

Arbitrage
The simultaneous purchase of one commodity against the sale of another in order to profit from fluctuations in the usual price relationships. Variations include the simultaneous purchase and sale of different delivery months of the same commodity; of the same delivery month, but different grades of the same commodity; and of different commodities.

Ask
A motion to sell. The same as offer.

Assignment
The process by which the seller of an option is notified of a buyer's intention to exercise the rights associated with the option.

Assay
To test a metal or an oil for purity or quality.

At-the-Market
An order to buy or sell a futures contract at whatever price is obtainable when the order reaches the trading floor. Also called a market order.

At-the-Money
An option whose exercise, or strike, price is closest to the futures price.

Avoirdupois Unit
Customary U.S. weights. 1 troy ounce = 1.09 ounces avoirdupois.

Auction
An auction is a method of sale in which goods are sold in public to the highest bidder.  Auctions are used for any property for which there are likely to be a number of competing buyers, such as houses, second-hand and antique furniture, works of art, etc., as well as for certain commodities, such as gold, silver, coins, furs, etc., which must be sold as individual lots, rather than on the basis of a standard sample or grading procedure.  In most auctions the goods to be sold are available for viewing before the sale.  The auctioneer acts as agent for the seller in most cases and receives a commission on the sale price.  An auctioneer who declares himself to be an agent of the seller promises that he has authority to sell and that he knows of no defect in the seller's title to the goods.  He does not, however, promise that a buyer will receive good title for a specific object.  An advertisement that an auction will be held does not bind the auctioneer to hold it.  It is illegal for a dealer (a person who buys at auction for subsequent resale) to offer a person a reward not to bid at an auction.

Aureus
The Aureus was the first and standard Roman gold coin, issued tentatively about 217 BC and afterwards permanently by Julius Caesar and the Roman emperors, until Constantine substituted the solidus for it.

Automatic Exercise
Following options expiration, an option which is in-the-money by $100 or more is exercised automatically by the clearinghouse, unless the holder of the option submits specific instructions to the contrary.

Backwardation
Market situation in which futures prices are lower in each succeeding delivery month. Also known as an inverted market. The opposite of contango.  Backwardation is the difference between the spot price of a commodity, including rent, insurance, and interest accrued, and the forward price.

Bajocco
The bajocco or baiocco was a small silver or copper coin used in the Papal States from 1592 to 1867 and valued at about a halfpenny.

Banker's Acceptance
A draft or bill of exchange accepted by a bank; payment is guaranteed by the accepting institution.

Barter
Barter is a method of trading in which goods or services are exchanged without the use of money. It is a cumbersome system, which severely limits the scope for trade. Means of exchange, such as money, enable individuals to trade with each other at much greater distance and through whole chains of intermediaries, which are inconceivable in a barter system.

Base Metal
Copper, aluminum, lead, nickel, and tin.

Basis
The differential that exists at any time between the cash, or spot, price of a given commodity and the price of the nearest futures contract for the same or a related commodity. Basis may reflect different time periods, product forms, qualities, or locations. Cash minus futures equals basis.

Basis Risk
The uncertainty as to whether the cash-futures spread will widen or narrow between the time a hedge position is implemented and liquidated.

Bcf
Billion cubic feet.

Bear
One who anticipates a decline in price or volatility. Opposite of a bull.  A concerted attempt to force prices down by one or more bears by sustained selling is called a bear raid.  In a bear squeeze, sellers force prices up against someone known to have a bear position that he has to cover.

Bear Market
Market in which prices are in a declining trend.

Bear Spread
1) The simultaneous purchase and sale of two futures contracts in the same or related commodities with the intention of profiting from a decline in prices but, at the same time, limiting the potential loss if this expectation is wrong. This can usually be accomplished by selling a nearby delivery and buying a deferred delivery. 2) A delta-negative options position comprised of long and short options of the same type, either calls or puts, designed to be profitable in a declining market. An option with a lower strike price is sold and one with a higher strike price is bought.

Bellybutton Dollar
The Bellybutton Dollar is a variety of 1884 silver dollar that has a defect from the die causing a strategically placed depression on the eagle's lower abdomen.

Bid
A motion to buy a futures or options contract at a specified price. Opposite of offer.

Bill of Sale
A bill of sale is a document by which a person transfers the ownership of goods to another. Commonly the goods are transferred conditionally, as security for a debt, and a conditional bill of sale is thus a mortgage of goods. The mortgagor has a right to redeem the goods on repayment of the debt and usually remains in possession of them; he may thus obtain false credit by appearing to own them. An absolute bill of sale transfers ownership of the goods absolutely.

Black-Scholes Model
An options pricing formula initially derived by Fisher Black and Myron Scholes for securities options and later refined by Mr. Black for options on futures.

Blazer
Blazer is a numismatic slang term for an Uncirculated or Proof coin having above-average luster and visual appeal.

Blue Ikes
Blue Ikes is a term used to describe 1971 to 1978 Eisenhower Uncirculated 40% -silver dollars in original blue envelopes of issue.

Booby Head
A booby head is an American 1839 large cent coin.  The term was used as early as the 1850s because Miss Liberty exhibits an idiot's or booby's expression on her face.
 

Book Transfer
Transfer of title without actually delivering the product.

Box Spread
An options market arbitrage in which both a bull spread and a bear spread are established for a riskless profit. One spread includes put options and the other includes calls.

Brand
Insignia identifying the producer of a specific commodity.

Break
A rapid and sharp price decline.

Breakeven Point
The underlying futures price at which a given options strategy is neither profitable nor unprofitable. For call options, it is the strike price plus the premium. For put options, it is the strike price minus the premium.

Britannia Coins
Britannia coins are a range of four British gold coins in denominations of £ 100, £50, £25, and £10. They were introduced in October 1987 for investment purposes, in competition with the Krugerrand. Although all sales of gold coins attract VAT, Britannia coins are widely dealt in as bullion coins.

Brown Ikes
Brown Ikes is a term used to describe 1971 to 1978 Eisenhower Proof 40%- silver dollars in their brown box of issue.

Broker
1) An individual who is paid a fee or commission for acting as an agent in making contracts, sales, or purchases. 2) A floor broker is a person who actually executes trading orders on the floor of an exchange. 3) An account executive, registered commodity representative, or customers' man who deals with customers and their orders in commission house offices. See also Futures Commission Merchant.

Bulge
A rapid advance in futures prices.

Bull
One who anticipates an increase in price or volatility. Opposite of a bear.

Bullion
Precious metal of prescribed purity, cast into bars or other forms.

Bullion Coin
A precious metal coin whose market value is determined by its inherent precious metal content. They are bought and sold mainly for investment purposes.

Bull Market
Market in which prices are in an upward trend.

Bull Spread
1) The simultaneous purchase and sale of two futures contracts in the same or related commodities with the intention of profiting from a rise in prices but at the same time limiting the potential loss if this expectation is wrong. This can be accomplished by buying the nearby delivery and selling the deferred. 2) A delta-positive options position composed of both long and short options of the same type, either calls or puts, designed to be profitable in a rising market. An option with a lower strike price is bought and one with a higher strike price is sold.

Bundle
A stack of copper cathodes strapped together for shipping.

Buyer's Market
A condition of the market in which there is an abundance of goods available and hence buyers can afford to be selective and may be able to buy at less than the price that previously prevailed. See seller's market.

Buying Hedge
Also called a long hedge. Buying futures contracts to protect against possible increased costs of commodities that will be needed in the future.

Calendar Spread
An options position comprised of the purchase and sale of two options contracts of the same type that have the same strike prices but different expiration dates. Also known as a horizontal, or time spread.

Call Option
An option that gives the buyer (holder) the right, but not the obligation, to buy a futures contract (enter into a long futures position) for a specified price within a specified period of time in exchange for a one-time premium payment. It obligates the seller (writer) of an option to sell the underlying futures contract (enter into a short futures position) at the designated price, should the option be exercised at that price.

Cap
A supply contract between a buyer and a seller, whereby the buyer is assured that he will not have to pay more than a given maximum price. This type of contract is analogous to a call option.

Capital Gain
A capital gain is a gain on an asset not bought and sold in the normal course of trade by the person making the gain. These gains are taxed in many countries by means of a capital gains tax.

Carat
A measure of the purity of gold. Pure gold is 24-carat.

Carolus

The carolus was a gold coin first struck in the reign of Charles I and originally equal to one pound. It was later valued at 23 shillings. The name was also given to other coins of the period bearing 'Carolus' as the name of the monarch, eg a Carolus dollar.

Carrying Charge
The total cost of storing a physical commodity over a period of time. Includes storage charges, insurance, interest, and opportunity costs.

Cash Commodity
The actual physical commodity. Sometimes called a spot commodity or actuals.

Cash Market
The market for a cash commodity where the actual physical product is traded.

Cathode
A flat rectangular piece of metal which has been refined by electrolysis. Copper is commonly traded and delivered in this form.

Caveat Emptor
Caveat emptor (Latin for 'let the buyer beware') is a maxim implying that the purchaser of goods must take care to ensure that they are free from defects of quality, fitness, or title, i.e. that the risk is borne by the purchaser and not by the seller.  If the goods turn out to be defective, the purchaser has no remedy against the seller.  The rule does not apply if the purchaser is unable to examine the goods, if the defects are not evident from a reasonable examination, or if the seller has behaved fraudulently. Some measure of protection for the unwary purchaser is afforded by a number of statutes.

CFTC
See Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Charting
The use of graphs and charts in the analysis of market behavior, so as to plot trends of price movements, average movements of price, volume, and open interest, in the hope that such graphs and charts will help one to anticipate and profit from price trends. Contrasts with fundamental analysis.

Chrematistics
Chrematistics is the science of wealth.

Churning
Churning is the practice by a broker of encouraging an investor to change his investments frequently in order to make him pay excessive commissions. Also the practice by a bank, building society, insurance broker, etc., of encouraging a householder with an endowment mortgage to surrender the policy and to take out a new one when seeking to increase a mortgage or to raise extra funds, instead of topping up the existing mortgage. The purpose is to increase charges and commissions at the expense of the policyholder.

CIF
Cost, Insurance, Freight. Term refers to a sale in which the buyer agrees to pay a unit price that includes the free on board (FOB) value at the port of origin plus all costs of insurance and transportation. This type of transaction differs from a "delivered" agreement in that it is generally ex-duty, and the buyer accepts the quantity and quality at the loading port rather than paying for quality and quantity as determined at the unloading port. Risk and title are transferred from the seller to the buyer at the loading port, although the seller is obliged to provide insurance in a transferable policy at the time of loading.

Class of Options
All call options, or all put options, exercisable for the same underlying futures contract and which expire on the same expiration date.

Clearing Member
Clearing members of the New York Mercantile Exchange accept responsibility for all trades cleared through them, and share secondary responsibility for the liquidity of the Exchange's clearing operation. They earn commissions for clearing their customers' trades, and enjoy special margin privileges. Original margin requirements for clearing members are lower than for non-clearing members and customers, and clearing members may use letters of credit posted with the clearinghouse as original margin for customer accounts as well as for their own trades. Clearing members must meet a minimum capital requirement.

Clearinghouse
An Exchange-associated body charged with the function of insuring the financial integrity of each trade. Orders are "cleared" by means of the clearinghouse acting as the buyer to all sellers and the seller to all buyers.

Closing Range
A range of prices at which transactions took place at the closing of the market; buying and selling orders during the closing period might have been filled at any point within such a range.

Collar
A supply contract between a buyer and seller of a commodity, whereby the buyer is assured that he will not have to pay more than some maximum price, and whereby the seller is assured of receiving some minimum price. This is analogous to an option fence, also known as a range forward.

Collateral
Collateral is a form of security, especially an impersonal form of security, such as life-assurance policies or shares, used to secure a bank loan. In some senses such impersonal securities are referred to as a secondary collateral, rather than a primary security, such as a guarantee.

Commission
The fee charged by a broker for the execution of an order.

Commission House
An organization that trades commodities and/or contracts for customer accounts in return for a fee.

Commission Merchant
One who makes a trade, either for another member of an exchange or for a non-member client, but who makes the trade in his own name and becomes liable as principal to the other.

Commitment or Open Interest
The number of open or outstanding contracts for which an individual or entity is obligated to the Exchange because that individual or entity has not yet made an offsetting sale or purchase, an actual contract delivery, or, in the case of options, exercised the option.

Commodity
In business a commodity is a raw material sometimes known as a soft commodity that is traded on a commodity market.  In some contexts these raw materials are referred to as produce.  In economics, a commodity is a good regarded as the basis of production and exchange.  A commodity in this sense is characterized by its physical attributes and where and when it is available.

Contango Market
A market situation in which prices are higher in the succeeding delivery months than in the nearest delivery month. Opposite of backwardation.

Contingency Order
An order which becomes effective only upon the fulfillment of some condition in the marketplace.

Contract
1) A term of reference describing a unit of trading for a product,  future or option. 2) An agreement to buy or sell a specified commodity, detailing the amount and grade of the product and the date on which the contract will mature and become deliverable.

Contract Grade
That grade of product established in the rules of a commodity futures exchange as being suitable for delivery against a futures contract.

Contract Months
See delivery month.

Contract Trading Volume
Daily trading volume.

Conversion
A delta-neutral arbitrage transaction involving a long futures contract, a long put option, and a short call option. The put and call options have the same strike price and same expiration date.

Cost-Benefit Analysis
Cost-benefit analysis is a method of deciding whether or not a particular project should be undertaken, by comparing the relevant economic costs and the potential benefits. It can be used for private investment projects, calculating outlays and returns, and estimating the net present value of the project: if this is positive the project would be profitable.

Cover
To offset a short futures or options position.

Covered Writing
The sale of an option against an existing position in the underlying futures contract. For example, short call and long futures.

Cross Trade
Offsetting match by a broker of the buy order of one customer against the sell order of another, or a match of a trade made by a broker with his customer, a practice that is permissible only when executed in accordance with the Commodity Exchange Act, Commodity Futures Trading Commission regulations, and rules of the contract market. Neither NYMEX Division nor COMEX Division members are permitted to take the opposite side of a customer's order, except, under certain circumstances, for trades involving long-dated (nine months or more forward) COMEX Division copper futures.

Current Delivery Month
The futures contract which matures and becomes deliverable during the present month or the month closest to delivery. Also called the spot month.

Day Trade
The purchase and sale of a futures or an options contract on the same day.

Debenture
A debenture is a common form of long-term loan taken by a company.  It is usually a loan repayable at a fixed date, although some debentures are irredeemable securities; these are sometimes called perpetual debentures.  Most debentures also pay a fixed rate of interest, and this interest must be paid before a dividend is paid to shareholders.  Most debentures are also secured on the borrower's assets, although some, known as naked debentures or unsecured debentures, are not.  In the United States, debentures are usually unsecured, relying only on the reputation of the borrower.  In a secured debenture, the bond may have a fixed charge (i.e. a charge over a particular asset) or a floating charge.  If debentures are issued to a large number of people, (for example, in the form of debenture stock or loan stock), trustees may be appointed to act on behalf of the debenture holders.  There may be a premium on redemption and some debentures are convertible, i.e. they can be converted into ordinary shares on a specified date, usually at a specified price.  The advantage of debentures to companies is that they carry lower interest rates than, say, overdrafts and are usually repayable a long time into the future.  For an investor, they are usually saleable on a stock exchange and involve less risk than equities.

Delivery
Delivery generally refers to the changing of ownership or control of a commodity under specific terms and procedures.  These terms often stipulate that the commodity must be placed in an approved warehouse, precious metal depository, or other storage facility, and be inspected by approved personnel, after which the facility issues a warehouse receipt, shipping certificate, demand certificate, or due bill, which becomes a transferable delivery instrument.  Delivery of the instrument usually is preceded by a notice of intention to deliver.  After receipt of the delivery instrument, the new owner typically can take possession of the physical commodity.

Delivery Month
The month specified in a given futures contract for delivery of the actual physical spot or cash commodity.

Delivery Notice
A notice presented through an exchange's clearinghouse by a clearing member announcing the intention to deliver the actual commodity in satisfaction of a contract obligation.

Delivery Point(s)
Location(s) designated by an exchange at which delivery may be made in fulfillment of contract terms.

Delta
The sensitivity of an option's value to a change in the price of the underlying futures contract, also referred to as an option's futures-equivalent position. Deltas are positive for calls, and negative for puts. Deltas of deep in-the-money options are approximately equal to one; deltas of at-the-money options are 0.5; and deltas of deep out-of-the-money options approach zero.

Delta Neutral Spread
A spread where the total delta position on the long side and the total delta on the short side add up to approximately zero.

Denarius

The denarius was the chief Roman silver coin.  It was first minted in 269 B.C. and was equal in value to ten of the copper coins called as.

Depository or Warehouse Receipt
A document issued by a bank or warehouse indicating ownership of a commodity stored in a bank depository or warehouse. In the case of many commodities deliverable against futures contracts, transfer of ownership of an appropriate depository receipt may effect contract delivery.

Dime
A dime is small silver coin valued at 10 cents and used in the USA. Dime means a tenth part, and ten cents is one tenth of a dollar.

Dinar
The dinar is the currency of Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Yugolsavia and South Yemen.

Dirham
The Dirham is the currency of Morocco and United Arab Emirates.

Discount
1) A downward adjustment in price allowed for delivery of stocks of a commodity of lesser than contract grade against a futures contract. 2) Sometimes used to refer to the price differences between futures of different delivery months.

Discretionary Account
An arrangement by which the holder of an account gives written power of attorney to someone else, often a broker, to buy and sell without prior approval of the account holder. Often referred to as a "managed account."

Doit
The doit was an ancient Scottish silver penny, twelve equal to the English penny.

Dollar
The dollar is the currency of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Ethiopia, Fiji, Jamaica, USA. Dollars, from the German thaler, were first issued in Spain in 1797.

Dong
The dong is the currency of Vietnam.

Double Bottoms
A chart pattern of the price movement of a commodity that shows resistance to a falling market; the inverse of double tops. The price patterns are used by technical analysts to recognize a reversal of a price trend.

Double Tops
A chart pattern of commodity price movements that depict a rising market which hits resistance at a certain level, retreats, rises again, but still cannot breach the previous resistance point, and falls back again. The price patterns are used by technical analysts to recognize a reversal of a price trend.

Doubloon

A doubloon was a Spanish and Spanish American gold coin in use until the late 19th century. It was originaly valued at double the value of the pistole, from whence its name derived, by the end of the 19th century it was equivalent to twenty-one shillings sterling. The doubloon was divided into 100 reals.

Doydekyn
The doydekyn was a small Dutch coin used around 1400.

Drachma
The drachma is the currency of Greece.

Dragon
The Dragon was a Chinese silver dollar.

Ducat

The ducat was a coin, usually of gold, used at various times in different European countries. The first ducat was struck in silver by Roger II of Sicily in 1140. In 1252 Florence issued a gold ducat and in 1283 Venice also struck gold ducats (later known as sequins). The gold ducats passed in circulation into Hungary early in the 14h century, and then to Germany, where the Augsbirg Convention of 1559 adopted it.

Dutch Auction
A Dutch auction is an auction sale in which the auctioneer starts by calling a very high price and reduces it until he receives a bid.

Eagle
The eagle was an ancient Irish coin made from base metal, used around 1270 and so named from an impression of an eagle stamped on it. The American eagle was a gold coin of 10 dollars issued from 1792.

Earnest
An earnest is a small sum of money or token given to bind a bargain between two parties.

Electronic Trader
A person who is authorized to enter orders for his own account and/or for customers' accounts on an electronic trading system.

Escudo
The escudo is the currency of Portugal and Angola. Until 1975 the escudo was the currency in Chile.

Euro

The Euro is the Single European Currency introduced in January 2002.  The Euro is divided into 100 cents, and it replaced local currencies completely in March 2002.

European Option
An option that may be exercised only on its expiration date.

Exchange Certified Stocks
Stocks of commodities held in depositories or warehouses certified by an Exchange-approved inspection authority as constituting good delivery against a futures contract position. Current total certified stocks are reported in the press for many important commodities such as platinum.

Exchange of Futures for Cash
A transaction in which the buyer of a cash commodity transfers to the seller a corresponding amount of long futures contracts, or receives from the seller a corresponding amount of short futures, at a price difference mutually agreed upon. In this way, the opposite hedges in futures of both parties are closed out simultaneously.

Exchange of Futures for Physicals
A futures contract provision involving an agreement for delivery of physical product that does not necessarily conform to contract specifications in all terms from one market participant to another and a concomitant assumption of equal and opposite futures positions by the same participants at the time of the agreement.

Exercise
The process of converting an options contract into a futures position.

Exercise Price
The price at which the underlying futures contract will be bought or sold in the event an option is exercised. Also called the strike price.

Expiration Date
The date and time after which trading in an options contracts terminates, and after which all contract rights or obligations become null and void.

Extrinsic Value
The amount by which the premium exceeds its intrinsic value. Also known as time value.

Farthing
The farthing was an English coin. It was one quarter of a penny. It was a silver coin from the reign of Edward I to that of Mary, no farthings being issued during the reign of Elizabeth I. The copper farthing was introduced by James I in 1613, and the bronze farthing in 1860. Between 1842 and 1869 half-fathings were also coined.

Fast Market
Transactions in the ring that take place in such volume and with such rapidity that price reporters are behind with price quotations, so they insert "Fast" and show a range of prices.

Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System is the banking system in the USA that performs the functions of a central bank.  The system consists of twelve Federal Reserve Districts, in each of which a Federal Reserve Bank acts as lender of last resort.  The activities of the twelve Reserve Banks are controlled from Washington by the Federal Reserve Board.  The Federal Reserve System is used to implement the USA's monetary policy.

Fence
A long (short) underlying position together with a long (short) out-of-the-money put and a short (long) out-of-the-money call. All options must expire at the same time.

FIA
Futures Industry Association. A national not-for-profit futures industry trade association that represents the brokerage community on industry, regulatory, political, and educational issues.

Fill
The price at which an order is executed.

Fill or Kill
An order which must be filled immediately, and in its entirety. Failing this, the order will be canceled.

Fineness
The purity of precious metal measured in parts per thousand.

Fine Weight
The weight of precious metal contained in a coin or bullion as determined by multiplying the gross weight by the fineness.

First Notice Day
The first day on which the clearinghouse notifies clearing members of delivery allocations.  Metals contracts have notice days just prior to the beginning and end of the delivery period.

Florin
The florin was an English gold coin first minted by the statute of Edward III, containing one-fiftieth of a pound of gold and valued at six shillings. Half and quarter-florins were also minted, in proportion - a half-florin containing one hundredth of a pound of gold.  The gold florins have long since been extinct.  The florin was an English two shilling coin first issued in 1849.  It went out of production with the adoption of decimal currency.  The florin was also used in Austria and in Holland, where it was also called a Guilder.

Floor
1) The main trading area of an exchange. 2) A supply contract between a buyer and seller of a commodity, whereby the seller is assured that he will receive at least some minimum price. This type of contract is analogous to a put option.

Floor Broker
An exchange member who executes orders to buy or sell futures and options in the trading ring on the floor of a commodities exchange.

Floor Trader or Local
An exchange member who buys or sells futures and/or options for his own account.

Force Majeure
A standard clause which indemnifies either or both parties to a transaction whenever events which the Exchange declares to be reasonably beyond the contract.

FORINT
The forint is the currency of hungary.

Forward Contract
A supply contract between a buyer and seller, whereby the buyer is obligated to take delivery and the seller is obligated to provide delivery of a fixed amount of a commodity at a predetermined price on a specified future date. Payment in full is due at the time of, or following, delivery. This differs from a futures contract where settlement is made daily, resulting in partial payment over the life of the contract.

Fractional Currency
Fractional currency was a term used to describe the bank notes of the USA which were of denominations of less than one dollar, some were even as low as 3 cents.

Franc

The franc was the principle monetary unit of France and Belgium and is the principle monetary unit of Switzerland, Burundi, Cameroon, Rwanda and some other countries. The first French franc was struck, in gold, in 1360 and bore an impression of John II on horseback.

Free on Board (FOB)
A transaction in which the seller provides a commodity at an agreed unit price, at a specified loading point within a specified period; it is the responsibility of the buyer to arrange for transportation and insurance.

Fundamental Analysis
The study of pertinent supply and demand factors which influence the specific price behavior of commodities. See also Technical Analysis.

Fungible
Interchangeable. Products which can be substituted or sold.

Futures Contract
A supply contract between a buyer and seller, whereby the buyer is obligated to take delivery and the seller is obligated to provide delivery of a fixed amount of a commodity at a predetermined price at a specified location. Futures contracts are traded exclusively on regulated exchanges and are settled daily based on their current value in the marketplace.

Futures Commission Merchant
An FCM is the only industry participant who receives, handles, and manages customer funds, margin payments, and commission charges. He is also responsible for confirmation of trade slips, customer statements, and guarantees.

Futures-Equivalent
A term frequently used with reference to speculative position limits for options on futures contracts. The futures-equivalent of an options position is the number of options multiplied by the previous day's risk factor or delta for the options series. For example, 10 deep out-of-the money options with a risk factor of 0.20 would be considered two futures-equivalent contracts. The delta or risk factors used for this purpose is the same as that used in delta-based margining and risk analysis systems.

Gamma
The sensitivity of an option's delta to changes in the price of the underlying futures contract.

George-Noble
The George-noble was a British gold coin minted during the reign of Henry VIII and valued at six shillings and eight pence. It was called the George-noble because on the reverse was a picture of St George slaying a dragon.

Gerah
The gerah was an ancient Jewish monetary unit. It was one twentieth of a shekel.

Godless Florin
A Godless florin is a British florin minted in 1849 which, due to an error, omits the letters F and D from the legend.

Gold Pool
The gold pool was an organization of eight countries (Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, UK, USA, and West Germany) that between 1961 and 1968 joined together in an attempt to stabilize the price of gold.

Gold Standard
The gold standard was a former monetary system in which a country's currency unit was fixed in terms of gold. In this system currency was freely convertible into gold and free import and export of gold was permitted. The UK was on the gold standard from the early 19th century until it finally withdrew in 1931.  Most other countries withdrew soon after.

Good Delivery
Approved metals brands acceptable for delivery against the metals contracts.

Good till Canceled
An order to be held by a broker until it can be filled or until canceled.

Gourde
The gourde is the currency of Haiti.

Greenback
Greenback was a name applied to the notes first issued in the USA in 1862 in denominations of one dollar and upwards, on account of the color of the ink used to print them.

Grade 1 Copper
Copper which is good for delivery against the COMEX Division high grade copper futures contract and meets the ASTM specification B115-91.

Gresham's Law
Gresham's Law is the law of economics, usually attributed to the Elizabethan financier Thomas Gresham, that bad money will drive out good.  For example, if there are gold coins in circulation and the government tries to save money by lowering the gold content of a new coinage, the old coins will fall out of circulation, as no one will exchange the good (old) for the bad (new) . Instead the good coins will be melted down and sold for their gold value.

Groat
A groat was an English 4 pence coin. The last was struck in 1888.

Groschen
Groschen was the currency of Germany until 1872. The first groschen were struck in Treves in 1104. In 1525 the groschen was divided into twelve pfennige.

Guarani
The guarani is the currency of Paraguay.

Guilder
The guilder is the currency of the Netherlands.

Guinea

The Guinea was the first English gold coin, and was worth 20 shillings.  Guineas were first minted in 1663 and so named from the gold which came from the coast of Guinea.  The value varied between 20 and 30 shillings until it was fixed at 21 shillings in 1717.  It was withdrawn from circulation in 1817 after the issue of sovereigns, but the term continued to be used for 21 shillings.

Gulden
The Gulden was a silver coin of Austria, Hungary and Holland.

Half-Eagle
The half-eagle was an American gold coin issued from 1792 and valued at 5 dollars.

Hallmark
A stamped impression on the surface of a precious metal bar that indicates the producer, serial number, weight, and purity of metal content.

Hapawalu
A Hapawalu is an 1883 Hawaiian pattern 12-cent coin. In Hawaiian, Hapa = half; Walu = eight. Half of eight, or the fraction one-eighth. Only 20 of these were coined.

Hard Currency
A hard currency is a currency that is commonly accepted throughout the world.  They are usually those of the western industrialized countries, although other currencies have achieved this status, especially within regional trading blocs.  Holdings of hard currency are valued because of their universal purchasing power.  Countries with soft currencies go to great lengths to obtain and maintain stocks of hard currencies, often imposing strict restrictions on their use by the private citizen.

Hedge
The initiation of a position that is intended to offset another position. The sale of futures contracts in anticipation of future sales of cash commodities as a protection against possible price declines, or the purchase of futures contracts in anticipation of future purchases of cash commodities as a protection against the possibility of increasing costs.

Hedger
A trader who enters the market with the specific intent of protecting an existing or anticipated physical market exposure from unexpected or adverse price fluctuations.

Hedge Ratio
1) Ratio of the value of futures contracts purchased or sold to the value of the cash commodity being hedged, a computation necessary to minimize basis risk. 2) The ratio, determined by an option's delta, of futures to options required to establish a riskless position. For example, if a $1/barrel change in the underlying futures price leads to a $0.25/barrel change in the options premium, the hedge ratio is four (four options for each futures contract).

Historical Volatility
The annualized standard deviation of percent changes in futures prices over a specific period. It is an indication of past volatility in the marketplace.

Horizontal Spread
Calendar or time spread.

Hot Lips
The Hot Lips is a variety of the American 1888-O silver dollar struck from doubled obverse die (a manufacturing mistake) that leaves Liberty with two sets of lips.

Hot Money
Hot money is money that moves at short notice from one financial centre to another in search of the highest short-term interest rates, for the purposes of arbitrage, or because its owners are apprehensive of some political intervention in the money market, such as a devaluation. Hot money can influence a country's balance of payments.

Immediate or Cancel
An order which must be filled immediately or be canceled. IOC orders need not be filled in their entirety.

Implied Volatility
A measurement of the market's expected price range of the underlying commodity futures based on market-traded options premiums.

In-the-Money
An option that can be exercised and immediately closed out against the underlying market for a cash credit. The option is in-the-money if the underlying futures price is above a call option's strike price, or below a put option's strike price.

Inti
The inti was the currency of Peru from 1987 to 1991.

Intrinsic Value
The amount by which an option is in-the-money. An option which is not in-the-money has no intrinsic value. For calls, intrinsic value equals the difference between the underlying futures price and the option's strike price. For puts, intrinsic value equals the option's strike price minus the underlying futures price. Intrinsic value is never less than zero.

Introducing Broker
A firm engaged in soliciting or in accepting orders for the purchase or sale of any commodity for future delivery.

Inverted Market
A futures market is said to be inverted when distant contract months are selling at a discount to nearby contract months; also known as backwardation.

Invisible Supply
Uncounted stocks of a commodity in the hands of wholesalers, manufacturers and producers which cannot be identified accurately; stocks outside commercial channels but theoretically available to the market.

Johannes

Johannes (often shortened to Joe or Jo) was the name once given to the old Portugese gold coin the peca on account of its representation of King John.

Karat
A measure of the purity of gold. Pure gold is 24-karat.

Kina
The Kina is the currency of Papua New Guinea.  One Kina equals 100 toea.

Koruna
The Koruna is the currency of Czechoslovakia.

Krona
The krona is the currency of Iceland and Sweden.

Krone
The krone is the currency of Denmark and Norway.

Kwacha
The kwacha is the currency of Zambia and Malawi. In Malawi the kwacha (dawn) is the unit of currency in Malawi. So named because 100 tambala (cockerel) equal one Kwacha - 100 cockerels herald the dawn.

Kyat
The kyat is the currency of Burma.

Last Notice Day
The final day on which notices of intent to deliver on futures contracts may be issued.

Last Trading Day
The final trading day for a particular delivery month futures contract or options contract. Any futures contracts left open following this session must be settled by delivery.

Lat
The Lat is the currency of Latvia. One Lat equals 100 santims.

Laurel

The laurel was a gold coin struck during the reign of James I in 1619. It was so called on account of the king's head being represented crowned with laurel.

Lease
Financial instrument based upon the contango in the gold or silver market to finance precious metal inventory.

Legal Tender
Coins that have been authorized by Congress. This includes circulating coins and all commemorative coins legislated by Congress.

Lek
The lek is the currency of Albania.

Leu
The leu is the currency of Romania.

Lev
The lev is the currency of Bulgaria.

Licensed warehouses
Warehouses which have been approved for the storage of copper deliverable against the COMEX Division copper futures contract.

Licensed Weighmaster
An organization approved by the Exchange to witness and verify the weighing of copper delivered against the COMEX Division copper futures contract.

Limit
The maximum daily allowable amount a futures price may advance or decline in any one day's trading session. Limits are also placed on the number of positions a participant may hold in the market.

Limit Order
A contingent order for an options or futures trade specifying a certain maximum (or minimum) price, beyond which the order (buy or sell) is not to be executed.

Liquidation
The closing out of investment positions.

Liquidity
Liquidity refers to a market's level of trading activity and open interest.

Liquid Market
A market characterized by the ability to buy and sell with relative ease.

Lira
The lira is the currency of Italy and Turkey.

Livre Tournois
The livre tournois was the currency used in France before the franc, which replaced it in 1795.

Local
An exchange member who buys or sells futures and/or options for his own account.

Locked Market
A market where prices have reached their daily trading limit and trading can only be conducted at that price or prices which are closer to the previous settlement price.

Long
1) The market position of a futures contract buyer whose purchase obligates him to accept delivery unless he liquidates his contract with an offsetting sale. 2) One who has bought a futures contract to establish a market position. 3) In the options market, position of the buyer of a call or put options contract. Opposite of short.

Long Hedge
Purchase of futures against the future market price purchase or fixed price forward sale of a cash commodity to protect against price increases.

Long the Basis
A person or firm that has bought the spot commodity and hedged with a sale of futures is said to be long the basis.

Lot
Any definite quantity of a futures commodity of uniform grade; the standard unit of trading.

Maasha
The maasha was an East Indian coin, of about one tenth of the weight of a rupee.

Maille-Noble

The maille-noble was a gold coin, a half-noble, of the reign of Edward III valued at 3 shillings and 4 pence sterling.

Manat
The Manat is the currency of Azerbaijan. One Manat is equal to 100 gapik.

Maravedi
The maravedi was a Spanish coin of the 11th and 12th centuries, first struck at Cordova as a gold coin by the Almoravides. After 1474 it was the smallest Spanish bronze coin. It ceased circulation in 1848.

Margin
The amount of money or collateral deposited by a customer with his broker, or deposited by a broker with a clearing member, or by a clearing member with the clearinghouse, for the purpose of insuring the broker or clearinghouse against adverse price movement on open futures contracts. The margin is not partial payment on a purchase. 1) Initial margin is the minimum deposit per contract required by the broker when a futures position is opened. 2) Maintenance margin is a sum which must be maintained on deposit at all times. If the equity in a customers' account drops to, or under, that level because of an adverse price movement, the broker must issue a margin call to restore the customers' equity. Margins are set by the Exchange based on its analysis of price risk volatility in the market at that time. See variation margin.

Margin Call
A demand for additional margin funds when futures prices move adverse to a trader's position, or if margin requirements are increased. Buyers of options are not subject to margin calls.

Mark
The mark was the currency of Germany from 1871 to the start of 2002.

Marked-to-Market
Daily cash flow system used by U.S. futures exchanges to maintain a minimum level of margin equity for a given futures or options contract position by calculating the gain or loss in each contract position resulting from changes in the price of the futures or options contracts at the end of each trading day.

Market Correction
In technical analysis, a small reversal in prices following a significant trending period.

Market-if-Touched Order
An order that becomes a market order when a particular price is reached. A sell MIT is placed above the market; a buy MIT is placed below the market.

Market Maker
An independent trader or trading firm which is prepared to buy and sell futures or options contracts in a designated market. Market makers provide a two-sided (bid and ask) market and greater liquidity.

Market-on-Close
An order to buy or sell at the end of the trading session at a price within the closing range of prices.

Market Order
An order to be filled immediately at the current market price.

Markka
The markka is the currency of Finland.

Maundy
Royal maundy was silver coins struck and distributed to the value of and to as many old persons as the monarch' s age in Britain.

Maximum Price Fluctuation
A commodity exchange's established maximum limits for fluctuations in futures prices during any one trading session.

Milreis
The milreis (milrea) was the currency of Portugal until 1911, and of Brazil until 1942. A Portugese milrei was comprised of 1000 reis and was struck in silver and later in gold.

Mina
The mina was an ancient Jewish monetary unit comprised of 50 shekels.

Minimum Price Fluctuation
Minimum unit by which a futures price or an options premium can fluctuate per trade, also known as tick size.

Mohur
The mohur was an Indian gold coin valued at 15 rupees.

Moidore

The moidore was a Portugese gold coin equal to 4800 reis, used from 1690 until 1722.

Naira
The naira is the currency of Nigeria.

Naked
A long or short market position taken without having an offsetting short or long position. A trader who executes one side of a spread is said to be naked until he executes the other side.

Napoleon

The Napoleon was a former French gold coin of twenty francs weighing 6.45 grams.

National Futures Association
Futures industry trade association which promulgates rules of conduct and mediates disputes between customers and brokers.

Net Position
The difference between an individual or firm's open long contracts and open short contracts in any one commodity.

Neutral Spread
Another name for a delta neutral spread.  Spreads may also be lot neutral, where the total number of long contracts and the total number of short contracts of the same type are approximately equal.

Nominal Price
The declared price for a futures month sometimes used in place of a closing price when no recent trading has taken place in that particular delivery month; usually an average of the bid and asked prices.

Notional Settlement
A reference price based on trading activity during a certain range close to the end of the day that is used to calculate the maximum daily price fluctuation for trading on the NYMEX ACCESS® after-hours electronic trading system when the regular settlement price has not been established in time for the start of the NYMEX ACCESS® session. The system is then updated with final settlement prices later in the session.

Nuevo Sol
Nuevo sol is the currency of Peru, introduced in 1991 to replace the Inti.

NYMEX ACCESS®
NYMEX ACCESS® is an international after-hours trading system offered by the New York Mercantile Exchange. The Exchange provides the user with the equipment, software, and services. ACCESS stands for American Computerized Commodity Exchange System and Services.

Obolus 

The obolus was an ancient Greek coin made of an alloy of silver and copper, and equal in value to one sixth of a drachma.

Obverse
In numismatics, the obverse is the side of a coin bearing the head or principal figure.

Offer
A motion to sell at a specified price. Opposite of bid.

Offset
A transaction which liquidates or closes out another position. In spread positions, one side offsets the other without liquidating the entire position. Risk is reduced when one side offsets the other.

One Cancels the Other
Two orders submitted simultaneously, either of which may be filled. If one order is filled, the other is considered to be canceled.

Open Interest or Commitment
The number of open or outstanding contracts for which an individual or entity is obligated to the Exchange because that individual or entity has not yet made an offsetting sale or purchase, an actual contract delivery, or, in the case of options, exercised the option.

Open Order
A resting order that is good until canceled.

Open Outcry
A method of public auction for making verbal bids and offers for contracts in the trading pits or rings of commodity exchanges.

Opening Price
The price for a given futures commodity that is generated by trading through open outcry during the opening range of trading on a commodity exchange.

Option
A contract which gives the holder the right, but not the obligation, to purchase or to sell the underlying futures contract at a specified price within a specified period of time in exchange for a one-time premium payment. The contract also obligates the writer, who receives the premium, to meet these obligations.

Ora
The Ora was a Danish unit of currency, introduced into England with the Danish invasion.

Original Margin
The initial deposit of funds, as good faith monies, when a position is initiated in order to guarantee fulfillment of its obligations. Also known as initial margin.

Out-of-the-Money
An option which has no intrinsic value. For calls, an option whose exercise price is above the market price of the underlying future. For puts, an option whose exercise price is below the futures price.

Overbought
A technical opinion that the market price has risen too steeply and too fast in relation to underlying fundamental factors.

Oversold
A technical opinion that the market price has declined too steeply and too fast in relation to underlying fundamental factors.

Overwrite
The writing of more options than one expects to have exercised. Call options are overwritten because the writer considers the underlying overvalued. Put options are overwritten because the underlying is considered undervalued.

The Pagoda was a gold or silver coin current in Hindustan around the end of the 19th century, varying in value between localities.

Paisas
The Paisas is the currency of Bangladesh. There are 100 Paisas to 1 Taka.
 

Peseta
The peseta is the currency of Spain and Equatorial Guinea. In Spain 1 peseta = 100 centimos.

Peso
The peso is the currency of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Philippines and Uruguay.

Piastre
The piastre is a former silver coin used in Spain, and populary called by the English a 'piece of eight' from its being divided into eight silver reals. The piastre is a former silver coin used in Egypt and Turkey

Picayune
The picayune was a small American coin of six and a quarter cents value, current in the USA until 1857. The name was also applied to the Spanish half- real in Florida and Louisiana.

Pin Risk
The risk to a trader who has sold an option that, at expiration, has a strike price identical to, or pinned to, the underlying futures price. In this case, the trader will not know whether he will be required to assume his options obligations.

Pine-tree Money

Pine-tree money was coinage minted in Massachusetts, USA during the 17th century, and derives its name from a figure resembling a pine tree stamped on one side.

Pistole

The pistole was a gold coin formerly used during the 17th and 18th centuries in Spain (where it was a two-escudo piece), France and the neighbouring countries.

Pit or Ring
The place on the floor of an exchange where a commodity futures or options contract is traded by open outcry.

Platinum Group Metals (PGM) Platinum and related metals, including palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, and iridium.

Point or Tick
The smallest monetary unit of change in a futures price or an options premium.

Position
The net total of a trader's open contracts, either long or short, in a particular underlying commodity.

Position Limit
For a single trader or firm, the maximum number of allowable open contracts in the same underlying commodity.

Pound
The pound is the currency of Egypt, Lebanon and the United Kingdom. The British pound sterling was originally an actual pound weight of silver of 5760 grains of a certain standard of fineness (925 in 1000). The name pound was used as early as 1158 and the pound sterling was originally coined into 240 pence. The silver currency was abolished in 1816 and a gold currency on a monometallic basis established in its place.

Premium
1) The price or cost of an option determined competitively by buyers and sellers in open outcry trading on the exchange trading floor. 2) An upward adjustment in price allowed for delivery of a commodity of higher grade against a futures contract.

Price Discovery
The manner of making prices visible and readily available to the public.

Price Gaps
A chart pattern of the price movement of a commodity when the low price of one bar on a chart is higher than the high of the preceding bar (or inversely, the high is lower than the low of the preceding bar); depicting a price or price range where no trades take place. The price patterns are used by technical analysts to try to recognize changes in a price trend.

Pula
The Pula is the currency of Botswana.  One Pula is equal to 100 thebes.

Put Option
An option which gives the buyer, or holder, the right, but not the obligation, to sell a futures contract at a specific price within a specific period of time in exchange for a one-time premium payment. It obligates the seller, or writer, of the option to buy the underlying futures contract at the designated price, should an option be exercised at that price. See call option.

Quarter- Eagle
The quarter-eagle was an American gold coin worth 2.5 dollars, issued from 1792.

Quetzal
The quetzal is the currency of Guatemala (it is divided into 100 centavos).
 

Rally
An advancing price movement following a decline in a market.

Rand
The rand is the currency of South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana.

Range
The difference between the highest and lowest prices recorded during a given trading period.

RAP
The rap was a counterfeit Irish coin passing as a halfpenny in the reign of George I.

Ratio Spread
Any spread where the number of long market contracts and the number of short market contracts are unequal.

Renminbi
The renminbi is the currency of China.

Reportable Position
The number of futures contracts, as determined by the Exchange or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, above which a customer must be identified daily to the Exchange and to the Commission with regard to the size of his position by commodity, by delivery month, and by purpose of the trading.

Resistance
Opposite of support.

Resting Order
An order away from the market, waiting to be executed.

Reverse
In numismatics, the reverse is the side of a coin opposite to that on which the head or principle figure is impressed.

Rial
The rial was an old English gold coin of varying value. In the reign of Henry VI the rial was worth 10s; at the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth I rials were current at 15s and in the reign of James I the rose-rial was current at 30s and the spur-rial at 15s. The rial is the currency of Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Riel
The Riel is the currency of Cambodia. One Riel is equal to 100 sen.

Rigsdaler

The rigsdaler was a coin formerly current in Denmark valued at about 2s.

Ring Money
Ring money is a primitive form of currency, believed to have been introduced into Europe from Egypt, where it was largely employed as the medium of exchange, circulating by weight, not by tale. Caesar found ring money in use in Gaul and in Britain, and it was still used by some African tribes (being manufactured in bronze at Birmingham for them) at the start of the 20th century.

Ringgit
The ringgit is the currency of Malaysia.

Riyal
The Riyal is the currency of Qatar. One Riyal equals 100 dirhams.

Rollover
A special futures straddle trading procedure involving the shift of one month of a straddle into another future month while maintaining the other contract month of the original spread position. The shift can take place in either the long or short straddle month.

Rose Noble

The rose-noble was an old English gold coin, stamped with the impression of a rose. They were first coined in the reign of Edward III, and were current at 6s 8d. They were also coined by Edward IV of the value 8s 4d.

Rouble
The rouble is the currency of Russia.

Round Lot
A quantity of a commodity equal in size to the corresponding futures contract for the commodity, as distinguished from a job lot, which may be larger or smaller than the contract.

Roundturn
The completion of both a purchase and sale of a commodity futures contract.

Rupee
The rupee is the currency of India and Pakistan. The name derives from the Sanskrit word for silver, rupya.

Rupiah
The rupiah is the currency of Indonesia.

 

Salute

The salute was a gold coin, of the value 25s, struck by Henry V, after his conquest in France.

Scalper
A speculator on the trading floor of an exchange who buys and sells rapidly, with small profits or losses, holding his positions for only a short time during a trading session. Typically a scalper will stand ready to buy at a fraction below the last transaction price and to sell at a fraction above, thus creating market liquidity.

Schilling
The schilling is the currency of Austria.

Scudo
The Scudo was an old Italian silver coin varying locally in value from 5 to 8 francs and subdivided into 10 paoli and 100 bajocchi. The Scudo was a gold coin struck at Rome by the French and valued at 17.25 francs. The Scudo was a silver coin minted around the start of the 20th century and equivalent to the American dollar or English crown, valued at 5 francs.

Seller's Market
A condition of the market in which there is a scarcity of goods available and hence sellers can obtain better conditions of sale or higher prices. Opposite of buyer's market.

Selling Hedge (or Short Hedge)
Selling futures contracts to protect against possible decreased prices of commodities. Also see hedging.

Sequin

The sequin was a gold coin first struck at Venice at the end of the 13th century.

Shekel
The shekel is the currency of Israel which derived from the Hebrew standard of weight for valuing metal. The original shekels were uncoined ingots of 210 (light shekel) and 420 (heavy shekel) grains of silver. They were firsted coined by Simon the Hasmonean around 139 BC.

Shilling
The shilling is the currency of Kenya. English Shillings were first struck in 1504 of 925 silver. In 1919 the English shilling was reduced to silver of a 500 fineness and during the 1930s they ceased to be made of silver at all.

Serial Expiration
Options on the same underlying futures contract which expire in more than one month. NYMEX Division precious metal options have serial expiration.

Series
All options of the same class which share a common strike price.

Settlement or Settling Price
The price established by the Exchange settlement committee at the close of each trading session as the official price to be used by the clearinghouse in determining net gains or losses, margin requirements, and the next day's price limits. The term "settlement price" is often used as an approximate equivalent to the term "closing price." The close in futures trading refers to a brief period at the end of the day, during which transactions frequently take place quickly and at a range of prices immediately before the bell. Therefore, there frequently is no one closing price, but a range of prices. The settlement price is derived by calculating the weighted average of prices during that period.

Short
1) The market position of a futures contract seller whose sale obligates him to deliver the commodity unless he liquidates his contract by an offsetting purchase. 2) A trader whose net position in the futures market shows an excess of open sales over open purchases. 3) The holder of a short position. 4) In the options market, the position of the seller of a call or a put option. The short in the options market is obliged to take a futures position if he is assigned for exercise. Opposite of long.

Short Selling
Selling a contract with the idea of delivering or of buying to offset it at a later date.

Short the Basis
The purchase of futures as a hedge against a commitment to sell in the cash or spot markets. See hedging.

Solidus
The solidus was a gold coin struck by Constantine in place of the aureus, and known later as the bezant or byzant.  Adopted by the Franks, it was in use until the time of Pepin.  The silver solidus was reckoned to equal twelve denarii, or silver pennies, and was thus equal to a shilling.  The abbreviation S for solidus was adopted in the LSD in British pre-decimal coinage.

Specific Gravity
The ratio of the density of a substance at 60 degrees Farenheit to the density of water at the same temperature.

Speculative Position Limit
The maximum position, either net long or net short, in one commodity futures or options, or in all futures or options of one commodity combined, which may be held or controlled by an entity without a hedge exemption as prescribed by an exchange or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Speculator
A trader who hopes to profit from the specific directional price move of a futures or options contract, or commodity.

Spot
Term which describes one-time open market case (CHANGE TO CASH) transaction, where a commodity is purchased "on the spot" at current market rates. Spot transactions are in contrast to term sales, which specify a steady supply of product over a period of time.

Spot Month
The futures contract closest to maturity. The nearby delivery month.

Spread (Futures)
The simultaneous purchase and sale of futures contracts for different months, different commodities, or different grades of the same commodity.

Spread (Options)
The purchase and sale of options which vary in terms of type (call or put), strike prices, expiration dates, or both. May also refer to an options contract purchase (sale) and the simultaneous sale (purchase) of a futures contract for the same underlying commodity.

Spur-rial

The spur-rial was a gold coin first struck in the reign of Edward IV, and so named on account of having on its reverse a sun with four cardinal rays issuing from it. In the reign of James I its value was 15s.

Stater

A stater is one of several gold and silver coins minted in ancient Greece and Macedonia.

Sterling
Sterling is the currency of Britain. The name is derived from Easterlings, the Hanse merchants.

Stiver
Stivers were two small coins at one time current in Holland and the Dutch colonies. The Dutch stiver was a silver coin equal to one twentieth of a gulden, another stiver was a small copper coin only current in the colonies.

Stotinki
The stotinki is a unit of cuurency used in Bulgaria. 100 stotinki comprise 1 lev.

Stop Limit Order
An order that goes into force as soon as there is a trade at the specified stop price. The order, however, can only be filled at the limit price or better. The stop price and the limit price can be the same or different. The stop price is the price level specified in the order.

Stop-Loss
A resting order designed to close out a losing position when the price reaches a level specified in the order. It becomes an at-the-market order when the "stop" price is reached. Individuals also use stops to enter the market when the prices reach a specified level.

Straddle (Futures)
Also known as a spread, the purchase of one futures month against the sale of another futures month of the same commodity. A straddle trade is based on a price relationship between the two months.

Straddle (Options)
The purchase or sale of both a put and a call having the same strike price and expiration date. The buyer of a straddle benefits from increased volatility, and the seller benefits from decreased volatility.

Strangle
An options position consisting of the purchase or sale of put and call options having the same expiration but different strike prices.

Strike Price
The price at which the underlying futures contract is bought or sold in the event an option is exercised. Also called an exercise price.

Strip
The simultaneous purchase (or sale) of futures positions in consecutive months. The average of the prices for the futures contracts bought (or sold) is the price level of the hedge. A six-month strip, for example, consists of an equal number of futures contracts for each of six consecutive contract months. Also known as a calendar strip.

Sucre
The sucre is the currency of Ecuador.

Support
In technical analysis, a price area where new buying is likely to come in and stem any decline.

Sycee
Sycee (sycee silver) were silver ingots used during the 18th century as a medium of exchange in China.

Synthetic Futures
A position created by combining call and put options. A synthetic long futures position is created by combining a long call option and a short put option for the same expiration date and the same strike price. A synthetic short futures position is created by combining a long put and a short call with the same expiration date and the same strike price.

Swap
A custom-tailored, individually negotiated transaction designed to manage financial risk, usually over a period of one to 12 years. Swaps can be conducted directly by two counterparties, or through a third party such as a bank or brokerage house. The writer of the swap, such as a bank or brokerage house, may elect to assume the risk itself, or manage its own market exposure on an exchange.  Swap transactions include interest rate swaps, currency swaps, and price swaps for commodities, including energy and metals. In a typical commodity or price swap, parties exchange payments based on changes in the price of a commodity or a market index, while fixing the price they effectively pay for the physical commodity.  The transaction enables each party to manage exposure to commodity prices or index values. Settlements are usually made in cash.

Tael
The tael was a Chinese weight unit of account. A tael of silver was made the standard monetary unit, nominally equivalent to 10 mace of ten candareens each, or 1000 copper cash. The tael was never used as an actual coin, but rather to weigh silver ingots.

Tail-Bar
A tail-bar is a variety of 1890-CC silver dollar that has a raised die line or bar from the eagle's tail to the wreath.

Taka
The Taka is a unit of currency used in Bangladesh. There are 100 Paisas in one 1 Taka.

Talent
A talent was an ancient Jewish monetary unit comprised of 3000 shekels. In ancient Greece, the talent was a unit of currency equivalent to 600 drachma.

Tambala
The Tambala (cockerel) is a unit of currency in Malawi. 100 tambala equal one Kwacha.

Technical Analysis
An approach to forecasting commodity prices which examines patterns of price change, rates of change, and changes in trading volume and open interest, without regard to underlying fundamental market conditions.

Tenge
The Tenge is the currency of Kazakhstan.

Tetradrachmon
The tetradrachmon was an ancient Greek coin equal to 4 drachma.

Thaler

The thaler was a silver coin worth about 3s sterling, and until 1871, when it was superseded by the mark, the currency of Germany. From the name thaler derives the word dollar.

Thatcher
Thatcher is the nick-name given to the British one pound coin, because 'it's thick brassy and thinks its a sovereign'.

Theoretical Value
An option's value generated by a mathematical model given certain prior assumptions about the term of the option, the characteristics of the underlying futures contract, and prevailing interest rates.

Theta
The sensitivity of an option's value to a change in the amount of time to expiration.

Thistle-Crown

The thistle-crown was a Scottish gold coin minted during the reign of James VI (James I of England), of the value 4s. It bore on the obverse a rose, and on its reverse a thistle, both crowned.

Three-Legger
The three-legger is a variety of 1937-D Buffalo Nickel. After one set of dies clashed together damaging themselves, the mint technician accidentally ground off the buffalo's foreleg when he tried to repair it. While easy to counterfeit, the three-legged Buffalo when genuine displays a moth-eaten appearance on the hindquarters of the beast, and a thin dappled line resembling urine descending in an arc from the belly.

Threes
Threes is slang for a three-dollar gold piece.

Thrip
The thrip is an American three-cent piece, employed as early as the late 1800s. The term was possibly first used to describe the silver three-cent pieces, for when the nickel three-cent pieces arrived in 1865, these latter were called nickels.

Tick
A minimum change in price, up or down.

Time Spread
The selling of a nearby option and buying of a more deferred option with the same strike price.

Time Value
Part of the options premium which reflects the excess over the intrinsic value, or the entire premium if there is no intrinsic value. At given price levels, the option's time value will decline until expiration. It is this decrease in time value that makes options a wasting asset.

Tombstone Note
Tombstone notes are $10 Silver Certificates issued from 1886-1908, so called because the portrait has a tombstone-shaped frame.

Trade House
A firm which deals in the physical commodity.

Trading
Buying and selling.  Trading is the general name given to the process of exchanging commodities either for other commodities, which is called barter, or for money which serves as a medium of exchange.

Trading Volume
The number of contracts that change hands during a specified period of time.

Trend
The general direction of price movement.

Triangular Flags
Chart patterns of the price movement of a commodity when the market consolidates sideways. The price patterns are used by technical analysts to try to recognize changes in a price trend.

Troy Ounce
A unit weight, equal to about 1.1 avoirdupois ounce. The troy ounce is the traditional unit weight for precious metal, believed to be named after a weight used as the annual fair at Troyes in France in the Middle Ages.
1 ounce troy = 480 grains = 31.04 grams
1,000 grams = 1 kilogram = 32.15 ounces troy
1,000 kilograms = 1 metric ton = 32,150 ounces troy

Underlying
The stock, commodity, futures contract, or cash index against which the futures or options contract is valued.

Unit
The unit was a British gold coin valued at 20 shillings issued by James I in 1604.
 

Variation Margin
Payment made on a daily or intraday basis by a clearing member to the clearinghouse to cover losses created by adverse price movement in positions carried by the clearing member, calculated separately for customer and proprietary positions.

Vega
The sensitivity of an option's value to a change in volatility.

Volatility
The market's price range and movement within that range. The direction of the price move, whether up or down, is not relevant. Historic volatility indicates how much prices have changed in the past and is derived by using daily settlement prices for futures. Implied volatility measures how much the market thinks prices will change in the future, and is obtained from daily settlement prices for options.

Wampum
Wampum were shell beads used by some North American Indians as currency.

Wealth Effect
In economics the wealth effect (Pigou effect) is a change in the value of the assets held by an individual as a result of a change in the price level (inflation or deflation). J M Keynes argued that falling prices would reduce the level of aggregate demand and therefore create unemployment. However, if there is a wealth effect, falling prices will raise the value of money held and enhance aggregate demand, implying that the effect of money on the economy is neutral.

Won
The won is the currency unit of South Korea.

Writer
The seller of an option. Also known as the grantor of the option.

Yen
The yen is the currency of Japan.

Yuan
The Yuan is the basic monetary unit in China.

Yield
1) A measure of the annual return on an investment expressed as a percentage. 2) The proportion of products which can be derived from a given depository.