You’ve probably seen the word “scrap gold” or “scrap metals” on TV or in some advertisement while scrolling through your social media accounts. What if we told you, you might have some of your own? Those old pieces of precious jewelry or that gold chain you got as a present lying in a drawer because you do not use anymore, that’s right, they’re scrap! Moreover, you could put them to some good use too! Let us help you out.
What Counts As Scrap
Scrap gold usually refers to any gold that is meant to be re-processed to make something new. And hence, scrap gold can be literally anything with gold in it such as watch dials or chains. There are methods to re-use your gold as well as receive money for scrap gold.
Evaluate the Value of Your Belongings
To understand the value of your piece of gold, you should assess its weight and its purity. Since the price of gold per unit weight changes with time, it’s helpful to weigh your pieces beforehand. Understanding the purity of the gold is also essential to deciding what you want to do with it. Purity tells you how much of the object is made of actual gold and it is measured in karats. 24 karats being the purest form at a maximum of 99.9% gold present in your piece. Here’s a list to let you understand how purity and karats work:
24K – 99.9%
22K – 91.7%
18K – 75%
14K – 58.3%
12K – 50%
10K – 41.7%
9K – 37.5%
Now you can simply categorize your jewels by how much they’re worth by weight and their purities.
Explore the Market
You need to know what the current market value of gold and more specifically older gold jewels is before you offer them to somebody. However, it’s best to keep in mind that if you wish to sell your jewels as scrap gold, you won’t get as much value as you would if you sold them to a jeweler since scrap metal buyers do not pay attention to designs and such. You can expect about 60% of the value of the market price at that time when handing it to a scrap buyer. If you opted for a jeweler, expect about 70-80%.
Loans
If it’s cash you need, you may want to think of a loan against gold instead. This presents a lot of options such as pawnshops or individual loaners online. All you have to do is submit your valuables as collateral and they’ll offer you money as a percentage of the value of the gold.
You should now have a good idea of what you can do with your belongings. Whichever you pick, we wish you a great experience!
