You want to get the best price if you’re selling gold or silver bullion. Or you may have inherited some precious metals from a family member, or your jewelry drawer is being cleaned out. We have put together this guide to ensure that your transaction is as smooth as possible.
Differentiating Between Gold Plated Jewelry and Solid Gold
Maybe you have inherited or received gold jewelry as a gift. You may wonder if it is gold or gold plated with solids.
Massive gold. Solid gold jewelry is merely made exclusively of gold, despite what the name implies. Rather, it is a gold alloy throughout the entire piece of jewelry that is consistent. A low purity alloy will contain greater amounts of alternative metals and less gold than high purity alternatives.
Gold Plated. The base made of some other type of metal has gold-plated jewelry. A thin layer of gold is coated with the base metal.
How to determine your jewelry is solid gold or gold plated? Here are a few ways to determine:
For initial stamps. Gold plated jewelry is stamped with initials revealing the composition of its metal. Here are some common markings you may find on your jewelry in a hidden location.
? GP-gold-plated
Electroplated GEP-gold
RGP-Rolling Golden Plate
Heavy gold electroplate-HGE (or HGP)
It may be solid gold if your jewelry does not bear any of these markings, but don’t jump to a quick conclusion. Not all manufacturers of jewelry stamp their gold-plated jewelry.
With magnetism. Gold isn’t magnetic, either. It probably contains some kind of metal other than gold if your jewelry responds to magnetic force. However, this test isn’t foolproof. Because solid gold jewelry is made from alloys that contain small amounts of alternate metals, this your jewelry may still respond to the magnetic pull. If your gold-plated jewelry’s base metal is not magnetic, the magnet test may not respond and give the illusion that it is solid gold. The main thing is that the magnet test is useful in conjunction with other tests, but it is not fully reliable.
Color. If a piece of jewelry is plated with 24K gold, the shade will be intensely yellow. Because solid gold is mixed to make it more durable with small amounts of other metals, it won’t appear yellow.
Test with acid. An acid test may reveal the karat of solid gold jewelry, but it can also show whether the jewelry is solid gold or gold plated. With an acid test, to induce a color change, a small sample of the jewelry is removed and exposed to acid. The resulting colors indicate the type of metal from which the jewelry is made.
Test scratching. This test is risky because you need to cut your piece of jewelry into it. You can assume that it is plated when you cut deep enough to expose the underlying metal. If it appears to be composed entirely of uniform composition, then it is probably solid gold. There are advantages and disadvantages to both forms of jewelry. Gold plated jewelry often looks just as appealing and is much more affordable than the solid gold alternative. Through Gold Plating Services, jewelry plating solutions and kits are available.
It may make you feel rich and famous for receiving a gift or an heirloom that is made of gold. But better check if it is solid gold or gold plated before sharing it with others or telling them how you get the gold earrings or necklace. This has deceived many people, but you won’t be embarrassed if you know the basics of how to distinguish the real deal. So, learn from the infographics here.
Before you sell your precious metals, we look at all the most significant things you should consider, including:
Receiving a fair price
Selling various forms of bullion (coins, bars, jewelry, scrap metal)
Where to sell your valuable metals
Selling bullion of gold to or from a pawnshop.
Sales and storage online
Whenever you think that the time is right to sell gold and silver, price, convenience, and safety are the primary factors you have to consider. Let’s look at the above topics while we consider how these variables come into play, starting with the biggest question of all:
For your precious metals, what’s a fair price?
When selling precious metals, the question everyone asks is what price they’ll get. So, what are the tips to know how valuable your Sell Gold Bullion is? Here are some of the variables that determine how much you could get when you?re gold, or silver is sold.
1. Are you selling what kind of bullion?
Some precious metals are more valuable or in greater demand, sometimes in the market. In its resale value, factors such as whether it’s gold or silver, a coin or bar, a government or private mint product, and the condition of the bullion itself will all play a role. Generally speaking, bullion requiring a higher premium upfront will attract higher resale prices, although, at the time, it depends on demand. Buying the most popular product where demand will always be strongest is one way to ensure that you have a strong resale capacity.
2. Gold & Silver Coins Selling
Generally, gold and silver coins hold their value well through resale. Due to the universally recognized legal tender of sovereign (government) coins, they can usually be resold without delay. Because of this high liquidity, coins will usually give you a higher resale value than rounds will give you. Of course, as we outline in this article, there are exceptions to this rule. The coin retail market is generally more active than bars or jewelry, meaning a buyer is almost always present.
3. Gold & Silver Bars Selling
Gold and silver bullion bars, particularly those bars that have been kept in professional vault storage, generally have high resale value. The strongest resale value is generated by bullion bars produced by the most reputable mints and refineries. Typically, these bars are labeled with a mint seal of origin and sometimes include a serial number for easy identification and certification. There is little risk involved in buying or selling bullion bars because of this.
4. Gold & Silver Jewelry Selling
When selling your gold and silver jewelry, it isn’t easy to obtain the same resale value as other bullion products. This is because, together with other decorative pieces, most jewelry today includes an alloy. As it is not pure gold or silver, its value is more independent. Before making a bar, coin, or even more jewelry, a refiner must melt it down and refine it. This extra labor means that most of today’s jewelry will get a lower resale price than paid up front.
5. Selling Metal Scrap
You will typically receive a lower resale price for scrap metal than you would for bullion bars or coins. The reason is scrap metal has to be melted down and then manufactured into a form desired by investors or industrial producers. Scrap metal is not accepted by most bullion dealers as a sell-back, preferring only fabricated products instead. Try a local pawnshop or a refinery if you’re looking to sell scrap metal.
6. How much do you sell?
Multiplying the number of ounces by the current spot price is an easy way to calculate your gold and silver bullion value. This will give you an idea of the upper limit of how much you can expect to receive in a resale. Around 95 percent of the spot price will be offered by most bullion dealers, though this will vary depending on market conditions.
If you have a great deal to sell or the dealer’s products are in short supply at the time, you could get a higher resale premium. Keep in mind that the dealer would multiply the gold content with the current spot price for a piece of jewelry. So the dealer will pay you 9.16 ounces for jewelry that contains 10 ounces of gold but is 91.6 percent pure. Pawn stores will offer the lowest return, sometimes less than half of the bullion.
The amount of your transaction will also play a role in how you’ll want to sell. It makes you vulnerable to burglary or assault by walking into a pawn shop with a significant amount of precious metals.
When you are selling the gold worth $1,500, it is less of a concern, but this is a serious consideration for investors who have $100,000 or more in precious metals investments. It just doesn’t make sense to bring half a million dollars? worth of a sack into a local pawn shop. In these instances, more serious considerations must be privacy and security.
Where to Sell Your Silver and Gold
It will help if you have decided where to bring it once you have some gold and silver to sell. Most individuals go to a pawn shop or bullion dealer, generally speaking. There are often few and far between reputable precious metals dealers in person, but many move their business online, opening up fresh possibilities (and risks). For your help to understand what you are getting into, here looked at these two common sales locations.
1. Gold & Silver sales to a local pawnshop
While selling to a pawn shop implies that you don’t have to ship your gold and silver, keep in mind that, as mentioned earlier, pawnshops will offer the lowest return on your investment. They may not even understand what a specific coin or bar is worth on the market. Typically, there’s room for negotiation, but you’ll almost always get much less than what a reputable bullion dealer is going to offer.
We do not, therefore, recommend selling it to a pawn shop. But knowing how to sell gold and silver in a pawn shop will help you get the best price if you need to go this route. Make sure to note the current gold and silver price in advance and compare some other dealers’ buyback prices first (and then subtract your shipping costs).
Clean up some of the metals in advance and bring any documentation from the original purchase you have. For something that is ready for resale and can be authenticated, shops are more likely to offer a better price.
2. Gold & Silver Bullion Online Selling
It could be a more effective way to unload some of your bullion by selling precious metals to an online dealer. Typically, online bullion dealers offer better prices than local pawn stores or coin-stores because their operating costs are usually less important than a physical storefront. Some of the options for the online sale of your gold and silver bullion are:
Sale on eBay. Typically, buyers on eBay will not offer the same prices that you might expect from an authorized dealer. This is because in a market like eBay, where there’s some risk of fraudulent products, there’s more confusion. Buying damaged gold and silver on eBay, unfortunately, is a common story.
Making purchasing and selling precious metals simpler
You want your transaction to be convenient, safe, and reasonable, as we’ve discussed. The easiest way to make sure is to buy your precious metals from the safety of your home online and ship them to a trustworthy storage facility.
You never let yourself to the possibility of assault in this way, and you reduce the possibility of burglary or theft dramatically. You never even have to disclose that you’ve spent to anyone-totally it’s anonymous. You can then notify your storage company to sell your gold in the UK at an agreed price when you’re ready to sell.
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