SELLING YOUR GOLD JEWELRY & BULLION

Gold has recently gone up to over $1200 per troy ounce. A lot of people have decided it is a good time to cash in their unwanted jewelry and gold bullion.

GOLD BULLION

Gold Bullion is traded much like a commodity. It is traded in the form or coins or bars and denominated in troy ounces. The coins and bars are produced and sold by refining companies and various government and private mints. They are 90-100% pure gold and are usually traded in a range of plus or minus 7% of the spot price depending upon quantity and the brand of bullion gold.

The “spot price” of gold is similar to a stock price and refers to the price set by world markets where gold is purchased and sold in very large quantities, mainly on paper in the futures market. Some widely traded forms of bullion gold are American Eagles, American Buffalos, South African Krugerrands, Canadian Maple Leaves, Chinese Pandas, Pamp Credit Suisse bars, etc. Different brands of gold trade at slightly different prices. For example it is often asked why 1 oz American gold eagles generally sell for $10-30 more than Krugerrands. The answer is supply and demand. Generally people prefer the American gold eagles because of the classic design and people like that Eagles are made by the U.S. mint. The market dictates that generally people will only buy Krugerrands if they are priced favorably compared to the Eagles, even though they both contain one ounce of gold!

GOLD JEWELRY AND SCRAP GOLD

Scrap gold jewelry is priced differently because it has a lower purity and needs to go through the processes of being melted and assayed, and then reformed into tradable gold. When discussing gold jewelry the term “karat” is often used. Karat, abbreviated “kt” refers to the purity of the gold. U.S. Gold jewelry and scrap gold is usually 10kt, 14kt, or 18kt. Jewelry from Asian countries is usually between 18kt to 24kt. 24kt is 100% pure gold, 14kt is 14/24 or 58% pure gold and so on. Jewelry will almost always be marked with a small hallmark “10kt”, “14kt” etc, indicating the karat of the gold. Sometimes the item will be marked with a number indicating the purity of gold, such as .415 or .585, etc. If the item is marked .925 it indicates that the item is gold plated sterling silver.  We also buy sterling jewelry and silver is worth much less than gold. Items marked 1/20th 10kt GF or 10kt GF or any kt “GF” or GP are just gold plated and do not contain enough gold to be of value. If an item is not marked, the item is probably just gold plated. If an item is gold, the maker usually wants to advertise it with a mark!

Typical honest dealer purchase prices of scrap jewelry are generally 60-80% of the melt value, depending upon quantity and purity of the items. That would include the dealer’s profit margin, carrying costs, and refining costs. The dealer also incurs risk in that the kt stamp on gold jewelry is not always accurate.

BUY/SELL LOCALLY

When selling scrap gold jewelry it is highly recommended to do business with a reputable firm in the community who is accountable for their business practices, rather than dealing with companies and individuals who are here today and gone tomorrow, or sending gold through the mail to a company advertising on TV. A minimal amount of research on the Internet reveals that almost all such companies pay very little for the gold and have questionable business practices.

SHOP AROUND

To get the best price, it is a good idea to shop around. When shopping around, dealers often quote prices in different weights such as ounce, troy ounce, grams (gr), and pennyweights (dwt). World commodity markets that set the spot price measure gold in troy oz. For example when you hear a “spot price” of $1000, that indicates $1000 per troy oz. Gold bullion coins and bars also typically weigh 1 troy ounce, or a measure of troy ounces, such as “10 troy ounces.” A troy ounce is different than a regular ounce. 1 troy ounce = 1.1 regular ounce. There are 31.1 grams in a troy ounce. There are 20 penny weights in a troy ounce. Scrap gold purchase prices are generally quoted in pennyweights. If prices are quoted in other weights, simply do the calculation so that comparisons can be made in like-weights.

JIM’S COINS BUYS SCRAP GOLD JEWELRY

Jim’s Coins is a direct agent for one of the largest most technologically advanced, greenest, business-to-business industrial refineries in the country, and that puts us in a position to be very competitive buyers of scrap gold jewelry.  We will pay you for any quantity of jewelry with cash or check on the spot.  People usually come back after shopping around.  Our award-winning, nationally recognized staff has a combined 81 years of experience to provide friendly and professional service. Please include Jim’s Coins in your list of dealers that you check. We also buy diamonds.