Scrap Gold Price

Did you know? Gold was among the first metals to be dug out from earth. This was because gold is a noble metal that exists freely and is beautiful. Gold has historic as well as precious value attached to it. Its history dates back to 5000 years ago when it was used to make jewelry, gold figurines, cups, masks and diadems plus many other decorated items. All the gold that has been mined till today accounts for about 166,600 tonnes and 50% of it is used in jewelry, 40% in investments and the rest in industry. As it is virtually indestructible much of it is still in use in one form or the other. Gold is recycled even from scrap and put to further use. Only if it is invested in irretrievable industrial applications it can’t be recovered on a whole. According to an estimate 85% of all that has been excavated is still in use with only 15% of it being destroyed.

 

Not until recently people were truly aware of scrap gold and the profit that one could make out of selling it. Scrap gold, if not present with many impurities can be melted down to nearly pure gold and put to fresh use once again. It can be anything among the following:

• Bent/broken jewelry
• Casting gold and grains
• Gold bracelets and chains
• Entangled gold chains
• Gold bullion/ingots
• Gold flakes, bench filings and sweeps
• Unused or obsolete gold jewelry
• Gold sheets/wires
• Gold figures
• Dental fillings, gold crowns/bridges
• Gold nuggets and anything that has no specific use

It is not always beneficial to repair such articles since repairing may lead to undue expenses and that too with an uncertainty that your piece will be restored but you can earn a wholesome profit if you decide to sell it off. Some scrap gold that you can’t account for is also used in electronic boards, computer mother boards, cell phones, and high grade scrap gold in gold plated ICs, fingers, pins and gold plated connectors. Gold is sometimes used in alloys with metals like mercury, silver, platinum and copper. Alloyed gold is used to make wires, IC chips, jewelry and colored glass. This kind of gold can’t be recovered entirely but again it depends upon the percentage of other metal present. This all comes under scrap gold after their uses have exhausted.

Cent percent pure gold is 24 karat and if alloyed with any other substance its karats reduce accordingly. So karats of your scrap gold also determine it’s after sale value. It starts from 8 karat to 24 karat. It is probable that gold is present with other precious metals and you should make sure that you are paid right for that metal constituent also. For instance if it is platinum, your scrap gold price will automatically increase. Platinum being more precious than gold, is costlier.

There are many reasons as above why you should think twice before selling your scrap gold to anyone, many considerations can bring its price up. If it is beautifully crafted, or skillfully manned it is possible to sell it for a price that is near to retail price and higher than scrap value. In case you have a stone studded jewelry piece and you know that those stones are only adding to the waste, get them removed and try selling those to a precious stone dealer.

Gold pieces can be 8 karat (too low purity), 9 karat (found in UK), 10 karat (minimum purity standard in America), 12 karat (very rare found in old watches), 14 karat (common in US, made in Asia and Russia), 15 karat (not made since 1930 thus of antique value), 18 karat (very common in items), 22 karat (mostly made in Asia and Middle-East) and 24 karat (purest, used mostly in bullion making and jewelry).

Scrap gold price also depends upon the spot gold price and dealers generally pay 10-20% less than the market price. You need to be aware of daily gold fixings if you are planning to sell gold scrap. Also your gold’s weight (in troy ounces) makes for another factor that is considered while you accomplish a deal. So to determine your scrap’s price you need to first know the karats and then the weight. Then find out what’s spot gold price for that day and divide it by percentage gold purity. This can give you an approximate value of scrap.

How to sell scrap gold?

1. Separate your scrap according to karats. This can be done by reading out the inscriptions through a magnifying glass or taking your piece to a dealer. Be careful to exclude gold plated items.
2. If you have gold bullion too in the stock, it should be sold differently. Gold coins can have a numismatic value above their intrinsic value. This comes under bullion selling.
3. Now find out the value of scrap by dividing the today’s gold price (USD) by 31 to obtain the price per gram. Multiply it by fineness (karats divided by 24) of your scrap.
4. After you know what is your scrap worth look for a goldsmith, or a dealer. As they will tell you what is the market trend. You can always count on reputable buyers. They can give you 80% rate of gold. They will send you an insured envelope and a form for merchandise. All you have to do is pack your gold in the envelope and fill the form accordingly. If you are not provided with any of these the company can be a fraud.
5. You can also put up the gold on internet and auction it for individual buyers. Placing an ad on gold sites can help more people see what you have and you may come across an enthusiast who loves collecting old items.
6. After you know who to sell just pack in your stuff and wait for money.

If you are into buying scrap gold, you should know how many karats gold pieces are available in the market and what is most popular with the buyers. 24 karat scrap is difficult to find but bullions are generally 99.9% pure. You should look for hallmarks and other official seals or imprinting on the scrap. It ensures authenticity of the chunk and will benefit you when you are trying to sell it further. Whereas 18 karat gold is popular with jewelry, 14 karat is used in industrial applications.

So, whether you are buying gold or selling scrap it is the gold content that matters. Gold is trading hot, so if you have planned to give up the scrap, have you thought about replacing it with a fresh stock in bullion? Happy hunting.

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