Selling scrap gold
Scrap is the easiest gold to sell and the easiest to be underpaid for, because a tangled bag of broken pieces is hard for the seller to value and easy for the buyer to.
Condition is irrelevant, and that is good news
A snapped chain is worth exactly what an intact one of the same weight and karat is worth. It is going into a crucible either way. Do not pay to repair anything you intend to sell for metal, and do not let anyone discount a piece for being damaged - the damage is priced at zero because the destination is the same.
The exception is a piece worth more than its metal: a signed designer item, an antique, or something with stones of real value. Those are worth a second opinion from someone who deals in jewellery rather than metal, because melting them destroys the premium.
What gets deducted before you are paid
Only the gold is bought. Stones come out of the weight, and so do spring clasps, watch movements, steel pins in earring posts and any solder that is not gold. A ring that reads six grams on your scale can be four grams of payable metal once the stone is out.
Weigh with the stones removed where you can do it without damage. Where you cannot, expect the deduction and ask to see the piece re-weighed after removal rather than accepting an estimate.
Dental gold is worth more than people expect
Dental alloys typically run between 10K and 22K equivalent and often contain palladium and platinum as well, which have their own value. A crown weighs one to three grams. Do not throw it away and do not accept a token price for it - it is worth having tested properly, and any porcelain fused to it is removed and deducted rather than counted.
Plated is not scrap gold
GP, GF, HGE, vermeil and "18K over sterling" all describe a microscopically thin layer over a base metal. The recoverable gold is worth close to nothing at household quantities, and any buyer offering you real money for a bag of plated costume jewellery has priced something else into the deal.
Questions people ask
- Is broken gold worth less than intact gold?
- No. It is melted either way, so a snapped 14K chain is worth the same as an identical intact one - $82.84 a gram at the moment. Do not repair anything you intend to sell for metal, and do not accept a discount for damage.
- How much is dental gold worth?
- More than most people assume. Dental alloys usually fall between 10K and 22K equivalent and often carry palladium or platinum as well. A crown weighs one to three grams; at 18K rates that is roughly $106.51 to $319.54 of gold alone, before the other metals.
- What does GP, GF or HGE mean on my jewellery?
- Gold plated, gold filled and heavy gold electroplate - all descriptions of a thin gold layer over base metal. The recoverable gold in household quantities is worth close to nothing. A karat stamp such as 585 or 750 means solid; these letters mean it is not.
- Are the stones in my jewellery worth anything?
- To a scrap buyer, no - they are deducted from the weight and usually returned or discarded. If you believe a stone has real value, that is a separate transaction with a different kind of buyer, and melting the setting destroys any chance of it.