Category Archives: Gold

Information on refining gold items.

What is the value of a $50 2011 Buffalo Gold Tribute Coin?

What is the value of the Gold Buffalo Nickel Proof by National Collector’s Mint? From Dan in St. Louis

In order to comment on your questions, we reviewed the company’s commercial on their website and uses some terminology that is confusing people.

Please read our translation of this TV advertisement. You have to “read between the lines” of the commercial and catch all of the important bits of information.

Gold coin

Advertisement Translation
2011 $50 Gold Buffalo Tribute Proof Obviously, this coin does NOT have a face value of $50.00. It is a tribute proof coin that has no face value. They are a novelty only and that is why they can sell them for under $10.
Description of ORIGNIAL Gold Coin “America’s purist gold coin ever. It was the first one ever struck using .9999 pure 24K gold” … “Price of the original edition is going through the roof.”

They are describing the ORIGINAL coin. NOT the replica they are selling.

This coin is only a COPY of the original. It even has the word “Copy” printed on the coin.

Clad in 14 mgs. Of Pure 24 KT Gold

1) Clad means that it is only plated with gold and is made mostly of some other metal

2) 14 mgs. is worth is about $0.50 to $0.75 cents of gold value.

Read more about the value of 14 mgs of gold on our previous blog post.

Distributed by the National Collector’s Mint Despite the official sounding name, this is a private company. It is NOT an official US government mint. They make replicas
“With gold skyrocketing past $1,300 an ounce, price can only be guaranteed for 7 days.” This is an area that could cause confusion as it implies that the market price of gold has an effect on the value of this coin. The reality is that the amount (14 mgs) of gold is so small that a change in the price of gold by $100 would only affect this coins gold value by 4.5 cents.

The bottom line is that these tribute gold buffalo coins that you see advertised on TV have no gold value. People wishing to invest in gold should not buy these coins. Think of them more like commemorative spoons or plates.

How Much Can I Sell my 18 Karat Gold Bracelet for?

How much can i sell my 18 karat gold bracelet with the stamp 750 that weighs 52 grams for? Thanks! — From Cory in Seattle, WA

BlingHi Cory,

This is a great question to plug into our gold conversion calculator. This is because there are a few calculations that you have to do before knowing what your gold is worth.

You first have to convert the weight of gold jewelry into troy ounces without any other gems or stones. That is the unit of measurement used for precious metals.

Then you have to use the current price of gold and multiply it to how much actual gold you have. With your bracelet being 18 Karat, your piece is 74.88% gold. The stamp on your bracelet 750 indicates that it is 18 Karat gold that is about 75% pure gold.

Your 52 grams converts into 1.67183 troy ounces. According to our payout schedule we would offer you about 85% of the pure gold value. For larger lots we can sometimes offer over 90% of the gold value.

Note that the calculator provides an approximate value for the amount of fine (or pure) gold or in your item. It does not factor in intrinsic value that may apply to rare collectibles and coins or branded jewelry.

Gold Jewelry Calculation

*Price of gold used in this calculation may not reflect the current price of gold as it changes daily.

Thanks for your question. Here are some other blog posts that might help you in finding the value of your gold bracelet.

*Image displayed is only a representation of the items described in this blog post and may not be true images of the items in question.

What are My 14K Gold Wedding Rings Worth?

I have two 14 K white gold weddings bands. Together they weigh about 0.35 ounces on the digital postal scale. How much do you think they are worth? Thanks. From Paul in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Hi Paul,

There is usually not a significant difference in the melt value between white gold and yellow gold. The plating used over the gold to make it silver/white in color accounts for a very small portion of the ring’s weight.

Precious Metal 8

I would recommend using our gold calculator to help determine how much your gold rings are worth.

First, visit our Gold Value Calculator. Most likely your postal scale measured in average or standard ounces, so choose that option.

Second, click on the silver/gold link that takes to the current precious metal prices. *Today gold is trading at $1,406.20 USD per troy ounce. Don’t worry that you weighed your items in standard ounces, because the calculator will convert the measurement for you. Plug the price of gold in the calculator and you should be ready to click the “Calculate Value” button. See the calculator screen shot below.

This calculator gives you the approximate market value of your items without anyone taking any percentages.

Third
, visit our Payout Schedule page located here: http://www.archenterprises.com/precious-metal-payout-schedule.html. Since you have less than 0.5 fine ounces of gold we could pay you 70% of the fine gold content back to you.

*Gold price taken may not reflect the current price of gold.

How to Find the Value of Gold Teeth| Precious Metal Refining Blog

What karat weight are gold teeth? From Hank in Wichita, Kansas

Hi Hank,

Gold Teeth - Arch EnterprisesBecause dental gold is not marked 10k or 14k like gold jewelry, it is more difficult to assess the karat weight unless your dentist tells you this information beforehand. It can even be hard for any pawn shop or jeweler to assess if they do not have the right equipment to measure exactly what other metals are alloyed with the gold in your teeth.

Most dental gold is 16k gold which is 66.66% gold. However, we find dental gold to be as high as 85% gold while other dental gold items have been as low as 15%. We run tests with an XRF analytical machine to determine how much gold is available to refine.

Dentists should give your dental gold back to you if it is removed or replaced. Whether or not they intentionally keep it, you should make sure to ask for it back. They may also be able to tell you what karat weight is in the teeth they use.

Silver and Gold Jewelry Refining | Precious Metal Refining Blog

I have a good amount of 925 silver jewelry, as well as some 14k gold, and some 22k gold from India. I may be going into the gold buying business and I have a question. What you are paying per troy oz of each? I know it depends upon the daily precious metals market, but is there a standard percentage of that you pay? Please advise, Thanks! From Jack in Birmingham, Alabama.

Hi Jack,

We do work with many people and stores that run gold buying businesses so we may be able to help you. As you noted in your question, the market price of silver and gold will have a major influence on how much we can pay for gold and silver items. Because these prices fluctuate daily, we use the commodity price of the day that we receive the material at our refining facility.

On 925 sterling silver items we typically pay 75% of the fine silver content by weight because the value of silver is relatively low when compared to gold and yet the time and energy involved in refining the material and running the transaction through our system is similar. Since gold is trading for over $1,000 UDS per troy ounce all of this year, we can pay a higher percentage based on the amount you send and the purity of your items. Keep in mind that it takes about the same amount of energy to refine 1 ounce of gold as it does to refine 3 ounces, so it is more cost efficient for us to refine larger quantities at one time. For estimation purposes, we typically pay out according to the schedule below:

  • 70% of the fine gold value by weight for less than 0.5 fine ounce of gold
  • 80% for less than 1 fine ounce
  • 85% for 1-2 fine ounces
  • 90% for more than 2 fine ounce

We do offer slightly higher returns to many of our customers who run gold buying businesses and meet our frequency and volume minimums. Arch is accredited by the Better Business Bureau and maintains fast, professional service in an industry where ethical business practices are many times questionable. We are here for our customers to answer questions on our blog and are always just a phone call away.

Good luck in your new business.