Lot (fineness)

{{Short description|Unit of measurement}}

{{italic title}}

{{About|the historical unit of fineness|the historical weight|Lot (weight)}}

{{Infobox unit

| name = Lot

| symbol = $\backslash mathrm\{\; Lot\; \}$

| standard = German imperial

| quantity = number (quotient or fraction)

| definition = $\backslash mathrm\{\; 1\backslash \; Lot\; =\; \backslash frac\; \{1\}\{16\}\; \}$

| seealso = carat

}}

File:Lotový punc.png

A Lot (formerly Loth) was an old unit of measurement for the relative fineness_ (1896), The Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 4, p. 190. to gross weight in metallurgy and especially in coinage until the 19th century. A Lot was thus a proportion of the precious metal content in a piece of metal.Geissler, Ewald and Josef Moeller (1886). Real-Encyclopädie der Gesammten Pharmacie, Volume 9, p. 264. It was used in the four main monetary systems of Germany: Austrian, South German, North German and Hamburg.

The lot was defined as the sixteenth part of a Mark.Bringucci, Vannoccio (1990), Pirotechnia. New York: Dover. p. 209. For example, in silver, the total weight was divided into 16 (proportional) Lots until about 1857, according to which a "12-Lot" silver alloy (750 silver) contained 12/16 = {{fraction|3|4}} or 75% by weight of silver and 25% of another metal (usually copper). A 14-Lot silver alloy ({{fraction|14|16}}), on the other hand, corresponded to 875 silver. For refinement, a Lot was further divided into 18 grains.Kelly, Patrick (1821), The Universal Cambist and Commercial Instructor. Vol 1. 2nd edn. London. p. 169. Thus 14 Lots, 4 grains fine then correspond to a fineness of 888.89 ‰ = (14 + 4 / 18) / 16 = (252 + 4)/288, i.e. 256/288 grains.

The German proportional measure, the Lot, was finally replaced on 1 January 1888 in the German Empire by the proportional measure, permille (thousandths).