[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
The price of gold is on the rise, which means that if you own gold, whether it is jewelry, coins or even bullion it is worth more today than it was even a week ago. This has produced lines at some gold buyers shops and “buying parties” are popping up all over the place.
But, before you go down to the local precious metal buyers shop on the corner, it’s important to have an idea of what your gold is actually worth!
Here are some things you need to ask when selling gold:
Are you into heavy metal?
The price of metal is valued by weight and karats or purity. Before you can figure out what the going rate is, you first have to know the weight and purity. Yes, you have to do some math, but don’t worry! I am going to make this easy for you to figure out.
If you don’t know where to look for the metal purity, it is usually located around the clasp of a necklace or bracelet, the inside of a ring, or on the back of an earring. If you can’t find it in any of these places, then you might need to hunt for it. Try looking in a flat place where it could have been stamped.
There is a chance it doesn’t have a stamp at all. If that is the case, you will need to have the metal tested first to be sure it is real. You can do this yourself, but I will cover that in another post. For now, let’s just focus on how to see how much your gold is worth before you get to the gold buyer.
How Pure is Your Metal?
Gold purity is measured in Karats with a K. Diamond size is measured in Carats with a C. Purity means that no other metals have been added to the metal or the percentage of pure metal versus other metals and alloys that have been added.
There are several different purity levels of gold:
- 24 Karat = 100% pure or 1.0
- 22 Karat = 91.6% pure or .916
- 18 Karat = 75% pure or .75
- 14 Karat = 58.5% pure or .583
- 12 Karat = 50% pure or .50
- 10 Karat = 41.7% pure or .417
Real World Word Problem
I help my daughter with her math a lot. I am not a math person and more often than not, I have to resort to Google to see how to work the formulas. I know it is easier for me to explain it when I can see it for myself, so that is what I am going to do for you.
So, here is my attempt at a Gold Selling Word Problem and the Solution:
Amber has a 22 kt. Gold necklace. The price per ounce is $1000, and her necklace weighs 18 ounces. How much is her necklace worth melted down?
First, let’s look at the formula for figuring out the price of gold:
Price of Today’s Gold x Metal Purity / 31.1 = Days price per gram of gold for that metal purity x (weight in ounces x31.1) = Price of your necklace
- The metal purity is always the decimal when using the formula.
- 31.1 grams = 1 ounce, so if you measure on any kind of scale, you can convert it from ounces to grams by multiplying
- If you are selling to a dealer who is going to melt it down you will get 10 – 15% LESS than the price of gold from the calculation
So, if we plug in the numbers, the formula looks like this….
1000 x .961 / 31.1 = 30.90 x (18 x 13.1) = $17,298
Amber can expect to get about 20% less than $17,298 for her necklace.
It is important that when you go to sell your gold that you go with all the information you can at your fingertips, including what your gold is worth. Now you can, good luck!
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
