How to Tell if Your Gold is Valuable

 Gold is always valuable. Its value fluctuates according to the conditions of the market, but it is always worth something. It is the one thing on earth that humans have always assigned a monetary value to throughout all cultures over the centuries. If you’ve got gold and need cash, you can sell your gold. Gold comes in a lot of different forms. Jewelry, bullion, bars, and coins are the most common types, but there are others.

There are some good gold buyers in Boca Raton who will give you a fair price for your gold. However, you first have to determine the value of your gold before you bring it in to sell. Be sure it’s worth it to make the trip before you go to the trouble. Here’s how to determine the value of your gold at home, so you know you’re getting a fair price with your gold buyer.

1. Determine if Your Gold is Real

You may think this is a redundant question, but it is actually very important. Lots of things look like they’re made of gold, but they aren’t gold at all. Before you try to sell gold Boca Raton buyers prefer it if you are reasonably sure it’s real. You’re wasting your time and theirs if you bring in something that isn’t valuable. Sometimes, you really do need a jeweler to tell you. However, you’re helping yourself and the jeweler a lot if you can get some idea of the gold’s authenticity on your own.

So, how do you determine whether your gold is real? There are a lot of different types of gold. There’s 10 carat, 14 carat, 18 carat, 24 carat, gold-filled, and gold-plated. Each has its own value. Fake gold has no value.

Most real gold has a carat stamp on it somewhere (except in the case of coins). The stamp is usually pretty tiny. Unless you have super sharp eyes, you’ll likely need a magnifying glass to read the stamp. The stamp will tell you what the carat of the gold is, and will sometimes tell you whether it’s gold-filled or gold-plated.

Real gold does not rust or tarnish in any way. Very old gold may have a slightly brownish hue, but that’s all. It won’t have any green or black areas on it if it’s real, and it will have some kind of weight to it. Fake gold feels very light, almost as if the gold were hollow. If you’re still not sure, try the powder test. Put some face powder on your hand and rub the gold against your hand. If the gold leaves a black residue on your hand across the face powder, then it is real gold.

By doing these things, you will know with almost 100 percent certainty if the gold is real. However, any reputable jeweler who is looking at buying your gold will do an acid test to determine authenticity beyond a doubt, as well as to establish purity. The jeweler will put a small scratch into the gold and then add a drop of acid to the scratched place. If the scratch turns a dark color, the piece is either not real gold or it is gold mixed with other metals and therefore not as valuable as pure gold.

2. Determine the Carat

You’ll be able to determine the carat of your gold on your own most of the time. Checking the stamp with a magnifying glass will tell you the carat of your gold. If the gold is very old, it was probably made before carat stamps were used. In these cases, a jeweler will have to determine the carat for you.

In general, gold-filled and gold-plated things are worth far less than solid gold. The varying carats of solid gold indicate the purity of the gold. The lower the carat, the less pure the gold and the lower the value of the gold. Ten carat gold is the most common among jewelry because it is the least expensive solid gold to purchase. Twenty-four carat gold is pure gold through and through. It is soft, as pure gold is a very soft metal, and it has a very high value. It is also the most rare type of gold held by private individuals.

3. Sell Gold Coins Separately from Gold Jewelry

Gold coins are a bit different from other types of gold. In addition to their gold value, they may have a numismatic value which can make them more valuable than just the value of their gold. This is because coins are collectors items. The older and more rare the coin, the higher its numismatic value. Old, rare gold coins in good condition can fetch a higher price than their basic gold value if you find the right buyer. Reading books and websites on gold coins and their collectible value can help you determine the value of your own coins.

4. Determine the Value of Your Gold

You need a scale weight for this, since gold is valued by the ounce. A jeweler’s scale is best, because this is what a jeweler will use when you bring your gold into their store to sell. Scales are inexpensive and worth the investment if you have a lot of gold to sell.

Weigh your gold in groups according to their carat. Let the scale settle and become still before reading the weight. Write down the weight in grams for each carat group. You usually won’t have a full ounce of gold, so if your scale doesn’t convert to grams, look up the ounce to gram conversion online. If you have a full ounce of gold, you could leave the jewelry store with a hefty sum of money, but this usually isn’t the case. This doesn’t mean you can’t still earn a few hundred or even a thousand dollars with enough grams of gold. It’s always worth it to sell real gold in any economy if you need ready cash.

5. Determine the Value of Your Gold

Find the current value of gold per ounce by looking it up online. You will get the most up-to-date values this way. Gold is valued in the commodities market by the troy ounce. One troy ounce equals 31.1 grams. You may want to monitor the price of gold closely and take it in to sell when the value is very high, since the value of gold changes each hour during the days and times the commodities markets are open. The changing price is determined by simple supply and demand and changes constantly. If you can sell your gold when it is at its highest price for the day (or week or month, depending on how quickly you need the cash), you can leave the jeweler with more money than if you weren’t paying attention to the gold price.

One thing to remember when you sell your gold is that you won’t get full market price for it. Gold buyers have to buy at 30 to 60 percent less than the market price of gold in order to make a profit on it. They are businesspeople and have to give you a good deal while still being able to make money themselves. It is recommended to shop around with different gold buyers in Boca Raton before settling on one. Always use the buyer that will give you the highest price for your gold. In most cases, this buyer will be Raymond Lee Jewelers.