How many centigrams are in one scruple?

One scruple equals approximately 129.6 centigrams. This comes from the scruple's mass of 1.296 grams multiplied by 100 centigrams per gram.

When was this conversion historically important?

During the 19th century, as European countries transitioned from apothecary to metric weights, pharmacists needed to convert between scruples and centigrams to maintain dosage consistency. This period lasted several decades in most countries.

How do I convert scruples to centigrams?

Multiply scruples by 129.6. For example, 2 scruples equals about 259.2 centigrams. For reverse conversion, divide centigrams by 129.6.

Scruples to Centigrams (s ap to cg) Converter

1 s ap = 129.5978 cg

1 Scruple equals 129.5978 Centigrams (1 s ap = 129.5978 cg). Convert Scruples to Centigrams with formula, table, and examples.

One scruple equals approximately 129.6 centigrams. Both units share a heritage in pharmaceutical measurement: the scruple from the apothecary tradition and the centigram from the early metric system. This conversion was historically relevant during the transition period when European pharmacy shifted from apothecary weights to metric notation.

How to Convert Scruples to Centigrams

cg = s ap × 129.59782

Multiply the value in Scruples by 129.59782

Take your value in Scruples
Multiply by 129.59782
Read the result in Centigrams

Common Scruples to Centigrams Conversions

Scruples (s ap)	Centigrams (cg)	Status
0.1 s ap	12.96 cg
0.5 s ap	64.799 cg
1 s ap	129.598 cg
3 s ap	388.793 cg
5 s ap	647.989 cg
10 s ap	1,295.978 cg
20 s ap	2,591.956 cg
24 s ap	3,110.348 cg
50 s ap	6,479.891 cg
100 s ap	12,959.782 cg
200 s ap	25,919.564 cg
288 s ap	37,324.172 cg
500 s ap	64,798.91 cg
1,000 s ap	129,597.82 cg

Good to Know About Scruples to Centigrams Conversion

The scruple-to-centigram transition marked one of pharmacy's great generational divides. Older pharmacists trained in the apothecary system resisted the change, while younger ones educated in metric units embraced it. The period of dual notation, where both systems appeared on prescription labels simultaneously, lasted from roughly 1850 to 1920 in most Western countries, creating the bilingual pharmaceutical records that historians study today.

Scruples to Centigrams: What You Need to Know

French and German pharmacopeias from the 19th century provide parallel measurements in both apothecary and metric units, requiring conversions between scruples and centigrams. Pharmaceutical historians transcribing these transitional-era formularies encounter both units on the same page. The conversion allows modern researchers to verify that historical dosage records are consistent across the two notation systems.

What is a Scruple? s ap

An apothecary scruple equals 20 grains or 1/3 of a dram apothecary (1.2959782 grams). A historical pharmaceutical unit largely replaced by metric measurements.

Apothecaries historical pharmacy historical medicine

Learn more about Scruple →

What is a Centigram? cg

A centigram is one hundredth of a gram. It is a metric unit rarely used in everyday life but appears in some scientific and educational contexts.

Metric scientific measurement education

Learn more about Centigram →

Going the other way? Use our Centigrams to Scruples converter.

Scruples to Centigrams FAQ

One scruple equals approximately 129.6 centigrams. This comes from the scruple's mass of 1.296 grams multiplied by 100 centigrams per gram.
During the 19th century, as European countries transitioned from apothecary to metric weights, pharmacists needed to convert between scruples and centigrams to maintain dosage consistency. This period lasted several decades in most countries.
Multiply scruples by 129.6. For example, 2 scruples equals about 259.2 centigrams. For reverse conversion, divide centigrams by 129.6.

Non-Frequently Asked Questions About Scruples to Centigrams

Questions nobody should ask - but someone did.

Historical evidence suggests mostly annoyance. Pharmacists had invested years mastering the apothecary system and owned expensive sets of scruple weights. Being told to switch to centigrams meant retraining, purchasing new equipment, and repricing every formulation in stock. Progress is not always popular with the people required to implement it.
It is a serious contender. Two obsolete pharmaceutical units meeting across a systems boundary produces a conversion used by approximately zero people daily in the modern world. Its audience consists entirely of pharmaceutical historians and very thorough unit-conversion website designers.
Because historical records do not become irrelevant just because the units they use fall out of fashion. Thousands of 19th-century pharmacy records, poison case studies, and medical journals contain dosages in scruples that modern researchers need to interpret. The centigram provides one bridge to modern understanding, even if milligrams are the more common destination.