How long does refining precious metal take – from the time you receive the metal until the check is mailed? What are the steps involved? From Lee in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Hi Lee,

Thanks for the question! Because of how time sensitive precious metal prices can be, we do our best to ensure quick turnaround times to our customers. We try to give our customers as much information before they ship to speed up the process and so that all questions are answered beforehand.

For a more efficient process it is beneficial to do the following:

1. Include a packing slip
2. Include any copies of emails you may have had with a representative.

Our Process

Also it depends on the type of materials you are sending. If we will have to run tests to check the purity of your items, the process may take a bit longer. If you are sending in marked items of silver or gold we can get your items refined quicker.

We normally can return in 3 business days of receiving your material. If additional testing and verification is needed it can take 5-7 business days. We will use the precious metal price of the business day that the material arrives at our facility. You can find a step-by-step process about how to ship precious metals on our website.

Hope that helps!

I have assorted 14 K jewelry consisting of 3 bracelets and three rings weighing 96 grams. What would you anticipate the shipping cost to be? From Molly in Los Angeles, California.

Hi Molly,

The great thing about gold is that you really don’t have to have much in terms of weight to have a very valuable shipment. So it is relatively inexpensive to ship, but the return can be great.

We would recommend sending in a bubble envelope. Flat rate services for priority mail envelopes with USPS is $4.95 for sizes 10″ x 5″ through 12-1/2″ x 9-1/2″. These envelopes will ship anything under 70 lbs. We would also recommend checking the “Signature Upon Delivery” option and Requesting an Estimate on your items so you know how much to insure the package for. While not a requirement, we would recommend insurance for valuable shipments. These services with the USPS start at $10.75. Packages can be insured for up to $5,000. Registered Mail service can be insured for up to $25,000.

Learn more about adding insurance to USPS packages here: https://www.usps.com/ship/insurance-and-extra-services.htm.

Visit our page about Shipping Precious Metals and let us know if you would like a free estimate on your pieces. Thanks!

While we are happy to give estimates on precious metal items, we are NOT antiques dealers, researchers, or retail sellers. As a precious metal refiner, we only consider the weight and amount of precious metal available to extract during the smelting and refining process.

I have two pocket watches. One weighs about 46 grams the other about 22 grams. Both are marked 14K. From Uriah in Kalamazoo, MI

Hi Uriah, 

Thank you for your question. Old gold jewelry is very common for selling for the precious metal value. Keep in mind that as refiners, we will buy your watches based on the gold value alone, whereas other buyers such as pawn shops and jewelry resellers might buy for the watch functionality. Think about if your watch has any value because of the collectability, rarity, beauty or function. If you think that is has value beyond the gold value, please look in to checking with a jewelry dealer.

If you want to get a better idea of what the gold value of your watches are, we recommend stripping down the watches by taking out as much non-gold items as you can. All of the non-precious metal watch mechanisms should not be included in the weight of your gold. Note that by doing this you may be damaging the watch beyond repair. This would not affect the gold value, but would affect the retail value mentioned above. Another item you may consider is the chain (if there is one) on the watches. If they are marked (look on the clasp) a karat purity of gold then add them to the gold weight/total. If they are not marked then they may not contain gold.

Being 14 Karat, the gold in your watches are 58.24% pure gold. Our payout schedule varies according to how much gold you have. See our Karat gold jewelry payout schedule on our website.

Thanks!

* Please keep in mind that we are not jewelry appraisers or dealers and cannot give estimates based on the value of collectable, rare or vintage jewelry. As a precious metal refiner, we only give estimates based on the weight of items and the amount of precious metal available for recovery.

*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.

I have 84 1971-76 Eisenhower dollars From Dee in Camden, AR

Hi Dee,

Eisenhower or “Ike” silver dollars are tricky because there were two versions made between 1971 and 1976.

The first is the Eisenhower silver dollars that were made NOT for circulation. These were meant for purchase by collectors, were in special packaging and not released for circulation. These coins are composed of 60% copper and 40% silver. These coins will have an S marking on them indicating that they contain silver. In mint condition, an Ike Dollar will have 0.3162 ounces of silver.

The second, more common type of Ike dollar was also made between 1971 and 1978 and was the first dollar coin released for general circulation NOT made of silver. These are made of mostly copper and DO NOT contain any silver and also referred to as clad coins.

Besides the S marking, you can tell the difference between these two types of Ike dollars by their weight. Because they are composed of different metals, they have different weights.

The copper-nickel (clad) version weighs 22.68 grams (may be less due to wear)

The copper-silver (silver) version weighs 24.59 grams (may be less due to wear)

Our advice is to go through all of your Ike dollars and separate out the ones with silver. Those would be the only ones that we could offer you a return on your silver. Visit our website about other silver coins to sell for refining.

Hope that helps!

While we are happy to give estimates on precious metal items, we are NOT antiques dealers, researchers, or retail sellers. As a precious metal refiner, we only consider the weight and amount of precious metal available to extract during the smelting and refining process.

Hello, do you buy sterling silver flatware or do you just refine? If you buy how do you pay and how long does the process take? From Richard in Tucson, AZ

Hi Richard,

Good question. There are so many different gold and silver buyers out there that it is hard to know which ones are middle men or the actual end refiners.

Arch Enterprises buys gold and silver AND refines it. You will find that many refineries will not work with individuals with precious metals. They will only work with businesses and/or large industrial companies to refine. We have found that is it profitable for both parties to accept lots of silver and gold from households. Because of the energy that goes into refining precious metals, we do have some minimums in place. For example, it would not be worth sending in one silver spoon to a refinery.

OUR PROCESS

1. We would recommend either calling or filling out our Request an Estimate form so both parties have a better idea about how much the material is worth and how much we can return.
2. Complete a packing slip to ship with your materials and request the “delivery signature required” option.
3. We will review your material and mail a payment to you in 3-5 business days or less after the material is received.

You can read more about our process on our website. Thanks!

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

While we are happy to give estimates on precious metal items, we are NOT antiques dealers, researchers, or retail sellers. As a precious metal refiner, we only consider the weight and amount of precious metal available to extract during the smelting and refining process.