Buying Gold

People today are trying a number of things to try to find more cash to pay the bills.  There always seems to be some expense that you failed to budget for, like Christmas, the mot on the car falling due or the washing machine breaking down.  At times like this your thoughts may turn to selling something you own to raise money.

Many people have some old, out of style or broken pieces of gold jewellery stashed away somewhere. These can be chains, odd earrings, pendants, bracelets, charms or gold watches that no longer work. If you find this old gold in the bottom of a drawer, you might feel that nobody could possibly want it. In fact, no matter how worn or broken, gold will always hold value.

Gold can be melted down and then remade into something else…a new piece of jewellery or even gold coins. Hundreds of years in the past, money in circulation was made from gold or silver. This made it possible for the rich, who accumulated many coins, to get them melted down and made into items to decorate their homes or themselves. In the event that they needed some extra cash, their items could be turned into coins again.

Gold is a finite resource; it cannot be created and is virtually impossible to destroy. Because of this essentially all the gold that has ever existed is still around somewhere.

For years, the price of gold has as a rule had an upward trend. Although it fluctuates from year to year and even day to day, we may say with confidence that in years to come gold will be worth more than it is today.

If you discover some gold that you choose to sell, what is the best way to sell it? If you need cash for your gold rapidly, then there are a couple of different options to sell gold rapidly. The first is to take the gold items to a district jeweller, although you might not obtain the best price here and you will have to establish your identity.

The second method is to benefit from one of the scrap gold buying companies that often advertise on TV and online now. They will offer you a set price based on the weight and quality of your gold and will usually pay out very fast, often within 24-48 hours.

Another method to sell gold if you are not in such a hurry could be to use eBay. This process will bring you a great price but do make sure to weigh, describe and also photograph your gold for sale.

You have got to present the weight in grams, not including any stones or non-gold items. You will as well have to know the carat of your gold. Most gold jewellery made in the UK is 9 carat or 18 carat and gold sovereigns are 22 carat. Pure gold is 24 carat.

Generally dealers will inform you in advance how much per gram they would pay for the assorted grades of gold. It is doubtful that any dealers will give you 100% of the scrap value for your gold as they have to earn a profit as well. The only place that you could get above the current scrap rate for gold is if you sell it on eBay, but then you will be obliged to shell out sale costs and, as a result, you will most likely be no better off in the end.

The exception to this, should be if you own any vintage gold jewellery to sell that is in first-rate condition or old gold coins. These things may be worth more than scrap price so you should take this type of thing to a jeweller or else your local auction house for a valuation prior to opting for selling this type of thing as scrap.

If you own any gold that you feel may perhaps be valuable it could be useful finding out what the hallmarks mean. Every piece of gold jewellery should have hallmarks. These will tell you the carat quality of the gold, the place where it was hallmarked, the age and the maker. If you come up with an item that has no hallmarks then it is either very old, very worn or not really gold at all.

You could be able to learn the details you require regarding the hallmarks online or consult your local jeweller, or auction house. You can simply get a hallmarks book online. Much contemporary gold sold in the UK will be hallmarked with either .375 which means the item is 9 carat, or .750 which is 18 carat.

Getting to know if gold items are 9 carat or 18 carat before selling to a dealer will give you a much better perception of what your gold is worth. It is doubtful that you will own any pure 24 carat gold, unless you have tucked any gold bullion under the floorboards!

Pure gold is too soft to be used for jewellery or coins. Gold that contains a lower carat than 24 has had other metal included for strength. The lower the carat number the less the gold content. Today, commonly silver or copper are used to mix with the gold to strengthen it.

The most crucial thing to know is that the higher the carat number, the more gold is worth. So the scrap price for 18 carat should be twice that for 9 carat. If you know the carat of your gold, the next most crucial thing is the weight.

It is crucial to get an accurate weight for your gold…your kitchen scales cannot do the task. You require a digital jeweller’s scale. If you do not have access to one of these, you can get one on the web for a few pounds. Or take the gold to your closest jeweller’s shop and ask them to weigh it.

You have to know the weight of the gold in grams. Once you know the carat and the weight of your scrap gold it is straightforward to estimate its price. For instance, if a dealer informs you that they will shell out £7 a gram of 9 carat and you take an old chain, a bracelet and a couple of rings that jointly weigh 24g, then this dealer would give you £168.

Naturally, to know if this is a good offer, you have to understand today’s scrap price of 9 carat gold. There are many websites where you can find this. Many newspapers also give daily values for gold.

However, the price you discover could be for 24 carat gold and additionally most likely per ounce, not per gram. This calculation will be somewhat more challenging and you will have need of a calculator.
Divide the value of gold per ounce by 31.3 – this will give the value per gram.
Then divide this result by 24 and multiply by 9 if the gold is 9 carat, or 18 if 18 carat.
This will then give you today’s price for your gold per gram.
Now just multiply this by the number of grams of gold you have and this gives you the real price.

Should you discover that the dealers offer is a lot below this then look elsewhere or sell the gold on eBay. But don’t disregard that no dealer will give you 100% of the price as they have to make a profit themselves.