# Selling Your Scrap Gold: How To Calculate The Value

In the current market, you will not have problems selling your scrap gold, but you want to be certain that you are getting a good price for it. High-street jewellers will undervalue your scrap metal to make a profit on it, so get clued up before you sell.

The first thing you need to do is determine how much pure gold your bullion contains. This is identified by the carat size as follows:

14K = 58.33% – 62.50%

18K = 75.00% – 79.16%

22K = 91.66% – 95.83%

23K =95.83% – 99.95%

24K = 99.95 and above

Bear in mind that gold bullion products manufactured prior to 1980 have a slightly lower gold purity than marker, for example, 14K is probably 13 or 13.5K. You should also test the gold with nitric acid to make sure your scrap products are genuine gold and not gold-plated. Alternatively you can determine this with a certificate of authenticity, which should be produced to convince prospective buyers to pay the full value of its worth.

Pricing coins and jewellery

The price of gold coins are higher than jewellery as they have a numismatic value which is slightly above their gold value. This is because of their age, rarity and overall condition. Take it to a reputable coin dealer for assessment.

Bullion is valued by its weight in gold. This is not necessarily the price you will get, but it is a good indication of how much you should expect. For the most accurate results, a reputable jeweller will weigh your gold for you. Do not rely on your home scales as they are not as accurate.

If you have several items, only weigh them together if they are the same karat size and have been separated into coins or jewellery. You then need to work out how many grams of gold you have and use a formula to work out the value with the latest spot prices. You will find the latest spot price on the internet using sites such as Kitco.

The spot price is measured in ounces, but you will probably need to convert your gold into grams. For jewellery this is 28.34 grams to one ounce. Gold coins are weighed in troy ounces which amount to 31.1g an ounce.

Therefore to work out the price of coins you take the latest spot price, currently $1317.50 and divide it by 31.1g. 1317.5031.1g =$42.36 per gram. Then you multiply the weight by the gold content. Let’s say you have a gold coin with 24K. 42.36 x .9995 = $42.34 per gram. You then calculate the weight in grams, so for example, if you have a gold Sovereign coin that weighs 7.32g you calculate 42.34 x 7.32g =$309.94.

When selling to a jewellers or online trader you will not get the full price, but at least if you know what price range you should be targeting you know you will not get ripped off. Selling it privately may yield more profit, but is harder to find a buyer. To get the latest buy prices for scrap metal visit coininvest.com.

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