About two months ago I was looking through my treasure chest, the little wooden box of which holds vehicle titles, birth certificates and generally just important things which I deem most important to grab and keep safe in case fire, tornado or risk of personal property if it ever presented itself. I was looking through the items and found an old gold bracelet I've possessed since high school. It didn't mean anything to me and had been broken most since I could remember. I took a closer look and saw the 14K and Italy stamp and got to thinking. Wonder what its worth? I did a quick search and found a local Coin and Bullion store which buys scrap gold and silver. I took it down and was asked if they were interested. The male half of the mom and pop shop weighed the item then told me he would give me 79% of the item's scrap value. I would have taken $75. I would have been happy with $125. But when he told me he was willing to give me $171, I used my old 'play it down' negotiation technique and told him 'mmmmm....guess I'll take it' while yelling to myself in my head 'SCORE'.
I kept talking with the shop owner about scrap values, gold prices and various things. I ended up telling him I was a Police Officer and I was asking about his security of his store. I must have said the right things as he later called my station to check me out then hired me for an off duty job. During the job I worked for him I asked about some other precious coins I had and was looking to get rid of. He told me a how to check the items and see if they are real and bring them in and he would check them out. I did some research on the coins and brought them in the next day. I'm not gonna say how much I got for the coins, but I was able to pay for the Colorado rental house this summer and then some.
If you have some old coins, jewelry or any type of gold, go check on it. You never know.
Some advice if you do it;
-Do Not send in your gold.
-Check out your stuff before you take it in. The more you know about it the better off you are.
Some rules;
-Gold will be marked with the carat usually stamped near a clasp or for rings on the inside
Gold-
24k is .999 pure gold
14k is .585 pure gold
10k is .417 pure gold
Gold plated is almost never worth turning in.
Silver-
a three digit number will usually indicate purity so a 820 on a silver coin will indicate 82% silver, sometimes. Depending on how old the item is and where it was made this will vary.
Sterling silver is .92 silver
.999 is pure silver
Check old silverware, coins, jewelry, watches, and anything else most anything with gold or silver is stamped if you don't see it keep looking.
If you happen to live near Lincoln, Nebraska use Lincoln Gold and Bullion 1/2 block north of 48th and Calvert. These are good people and they will treat you right. Do not sell it in a motel room or on Craigslist. If you hand them your jewelry and they give you a value without weighing it...Run.
As of 4-20-2011 gold price per oz is $1503 per oz
silver is $44 per oz
28.3 gams in one ounce
good day
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