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Ardent Listener
Administrator
USA
4841 Posts |
 Posted - 07/29/2008 : 17:25:56
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How to Calculate the Value of Scrap Gold
If you have any scrap gold, you can sell it, but for how much? Gold prices tend to rise along with worries of war or inflation[1] but before you bring gold jewelry, dental fillings, teeth, nuggets, and bars to a scrap gold dealer's counter (or send it off by mail) you should know exactly what it's worth. Most scrap gold dealers keep the calculation a secret. Here is their formula.
[edit] StepsSeparate your scrap gold into their various karat fineness (i.e. 10k, 14k or 18k). You may need a magnifying glass to see the number inscribed on the piece. If not, you may need to have the gold tested by a reputable dealer. There's also the possibility that some of the gold is actually just gold-plated, which a dealer would determine with certainty by using a chemical test.[2] If you're uncertain, read up on How to Tell if Gold Is Real.
If you have any gold coins, they may have a numismatic (coin) value above their metal value, based on age, rarity, and condition. Take it to a coin dealer; you may be able to get more money that way.
Determine the gram weight of each group by using a gram scale. If you can only weigh by the ounce, convert to grams by multiplying by 28.35 (e.g. 2 oz. = 2 x 28.35 = 56.7 grams).
Determine today's price of gold. You can find this on the Internet[3] or in your local newspaper. Fine gold as of this writing is about $900.00 per troy ounce. (A troy ounce equals 31.1 grams. This never changes.) The price of gold fluctuates according to supply and demand.
Divide today's gold price by 31.1 to get today's gold price per gram.
Multiply by the fineness of the gold. For each group of gold, divide the karat by 24, then multiply that number by today's gold price per gram. For example, if you have 10KT gold and the current price of gold is $28.94 per gram ($900.00 / 31.1), then the price of your scrap gold is $28.94 x .4167 = $12.06 per gram.
10KT = 10/24 = .4167
14KT = 14/24 = .5833
18KT = 18/24 = .750
Multiply the price per gram by the weight in grams. If you have 10 grams of 10KT gold and you calculated the price at $12.06 per gram, then your scrap gold is worth 10 x $12.06 = $120.59.
Examples
If you have 5.0 grams of 14KT scrap and gold is $900.00 today, then $900.00 divided by 31.1 equals $28.9389 multiplied by .5833 (14KT) equals $16.88 per gram. $16.88 multiplied by 5.0 grams equals $84.40.
Now let's say you have 15.3 grams of 10KT gold scrap. $900 divided by 31.1 equals $28.9389 multiplied by .4167 (10KT) equals $12.06 per gram. $12.06 multiplied by 15.3 grams equals $184.52.
[edit] TipsScrap gold dealers will likely buy the gold from you at about 10 to 20 percent less than what it's actually worth since they must process it and still turn a profit from reselling it.[4][5]
If you suspect there are any other precious metals mixed with the gold (such as platinum and palladium in gold fillings), it would be wise to calculate their value as well and sell accordingly.[6]
Most people use grams for these calculation but some gold buyers use pennyweight (DWT) instead of grams. There are 20 pennyweights in a troy ounce. You can substitute 20 for 31.1 to calculate pennyweight in our formula. You can also multiply a pennyweight by 1.555 to get an equivalent gram weight or divide a gram weight by the same 1.555 to get pennyweight.
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Think positive. |
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wavecrazed
Penny Sorter Member
USA
69 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2008 : 21:30:16
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| Great info.. Thanks. |
scrappin" all over |
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WheatieFan
Penny Pincher Member
USA
106 Posts |
 Posted - 07/30/2008 : 07:26:08
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I don't handle much scrap gold, but I recommend anyone interested in gold, silver, or platinum group metals join the goldrefiningforum.com. Free site and tons of great info. Simply by lurking on that site, I can add this info:
An item can be marked 10K, 14K, etc even if it is 0.5K off. This is an acceptable limit. There is also an allowed limit for solder, which can decrease the purity another 0.5K. In an effort to squeeze as much money as possible, the jewelers and manufacturers take advantage of this, all legally.
10K scrap is often barely above 9.0K, 14K is often closer to 13K, and so on...
WheatieFan
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fb101
Administrator
USA
2856 Posts |
Posted - 07/30/2008 : 07:34:59
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| Thanks. |
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NiBullionCu
Penny Pincher Member
USA
168 Posts |
Posted - 07/30/2008 : 10:57:28
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I was initially thrown by the conversion of ounces to grams listed above.
Gold is weighed in troy ounces.
just to clarify
1 ounce (avoirdupois) = 28.349523125 grams;
1 ounce (troy) = 31.1034768 grams
So if your scale only weighs ounces, you have to know which kind.
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n/a
deleted
21 Posts |
Posted - 08/03/2008 : 19:18:16
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quote:
Originally posted by WheatieFan
I don't handle much scrap gold, but I recommend anyone interested in gold, silver, or platinum group metals join the goldrefiningforum.com. Free site and tons of great info. Simply by lurking on that site, I can add this info:
An item can be marked 10K, 14K, etc even if it is 0.5K off. This is an acceptable limit. There is also an allowed limit for solder, which can decrease the purity another 0.5K. In an effort to squeeze as much money as possible, the jewelers and manufacturers take advantage of this, all legally.
10K scrap is often barely above 9.0K, 14K is often closer to 13K, and so on...
WheatieFan
The above information is very correct and I have independently verified this many times.
If you buy scrap do your calculations at least %3 to %5 down from the theoretical content. Then buy at a % down off spot %5 to %30. Otherwise I guaranty you will LOSE money EVERY time if you do your own refining...otherwise you need to find a sucker that will buy it at spot based on the Theory that the said gold content is correct.
Suckers are good for one time things but anyone who starts buying gold will learn some fast hard lessons pretty hard, and they wont be a sucker for long, and wont do business with you again if your selling.
This is why most refiners buy after the material has been refined, it is always lower. Solder, Dirt, stones, even oxides have weight that adds up.
And its not just on gold.
Silver too, I cant tell you how many .925 Marked items are not .925
Government issue is always dead on. Reputable private mints are the same way. Dead on, but things like old silver ware, flatware, candle sticks etc etc etc, are often times not what they claim.
Mexican jewelry is notoriously badly under value. reason being, coins that were .720 fine, .900 fine, .800 fine and even as low as .500 and .400 fine get melted into the mix.
Those Gringos will never know that ring is not .925 silver.
Also beware of silver chains marked .925 and Italy that are Magnetic. anything Magnetic is not a PM or of value.
Another fun tick and thing to know is how to keep your refiner honest.
Most of them are, even though many claim that refiners will screw you. they dont as they want repeat business. You can not do repeat business by screwing people.
Best way to check, melt it all into one big blob and either cut in in half, and send one to one refiner and the other to another, and see how close the results are.
or.
Melt it into a blob and tell the refiner you sent some of the same to another and that will make him give you honest results. that way when one or both the results come back and all that 14k gold is really 12.8k or 13.2k, you know how to better buy and that its not the refiner screwing you, it was manufactures when the jewelry was made.
keep min mind anything made before 1982 could be 1/2 to a karat off and still be marked as 14k or what ever karat is stamped.
After 1982 it should be with in 7 thousandths of the karat stamped. But it can still be off.
My best advice is just be cautious and make sure you know what your doing so you dont waste a lot of time and money learning the hard way. Like following the above math.
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Scrap gold value: How to calculate
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