Where do I sell my gold once I find it?”
Gold is an actively traded metal. The price per troy ounce for which gold trades, or the “spot” price, changes and is set daily in the various financial centers of the world such as London and New York. You can find out what the spot price is by checking the financial section of most large newspapers, TV news, or by telephoning a precious metals dealer or stock broker.
Gold bars or coins are usually pure 24 Karat gold, .999 fine (meaning 99.9999 pure). When you buy gold coins or gold bars, you usually pay a bit more than the spot price. Likewise, when you sell coin or bullion, you are usually paid a little less than spot. That’s how the dealer makes his profit.
Some terms you need to be clear on are karat and carat, and fine. Karat is used to express the pureness of gold. Carat is used to weigh diamonds and other precious stones. One carat is 1/5 of a gram. Twenty-four karat gold is 100% pure gold. Fourteen karat gold, the form which most jewelry items are made of is 14/24 or 58.% pure gold. The rest of the metal determines the color of the alloy. Fourteen karat white gold is 58.3% pure yellow gold and 41.7% nickel and zinc, which give it the white color. Fourteen karat yellow gold is 58.3% gold mixed with equal amounts of silver and copper. Mix 41.7% copper with gold, and you get 14k red, or rose gold. Mix 41.7% silver, and you get 14k green gold. So the amount of added metal determines the karat, and the type of added metal determines the color of the gold alloy.
Fine is a word used to describe both the purity of gold and the size of individual grains of gold. It expresses purity when a decimal appears before the word fine. For example, .583 fine means 58.3% pure gold, or 14k gold. .999 fine is usually used to mean 99.999% pure gold. This is as pure as we can get gold or just about anything else for that matter. But when someone says “fine” gold (no numbers mentioned), they mean small flakes or gold dust. Small gold particles are called fine gold because thy will pass through the holes of a very fine mesh screen.
Placer gold is never pure gold. Gold is always found as a natural alloy. It runs anywhere from 50% on up to 96% pure gold. Fine gold of .750 to .870 is the most common. The rest is usually silver, but there can also be other metals alloyed with the gold such as platinum, copper, nickel, iron, etc. Pure gold can be obtained from natural gold by refining it electrochemically. Electrolysis is used to put the gold into a cyanide solution. Other metals fall out of solution to the bottom, and gold is pulled back out of solution eletrolytically as pure gold.
There really is a market for all the gold you can find. So what is the best way to sell it? That depends on how fast you need to sell it, and upon how much you want to get out of it. Usually if you need to sell it fast, you will end up with less than if you can take your time and sell it with some value added.
For a fast sale, just about any pawn shop will be glad to buy your gold from you for 50% of spot or less. This would be my last choice. There are people who will pay more for it. Some people make their living, or at least part of it, buying and selling placer gold. You should find out who these people are in the area where you live and in the area where you mine. They will usually pay you cash on the spot for your gold, and pay anywhere from 70% to 90% of spot for fine gold. Some pay more for nuggets, but many do not. Jewelers who use gold nuggets in their jewelry designs will often pay more for nuggets. There are people who specialize in buying and selling gold nuggets of exceptional size, shape, or quality.
Also there are private nugget collectors who are always in the market for unusual and beautiful nuggets. The best way to find out who these people are in your area is to ask experienced miners who buys nuggets.
Other places to make a fast sale are coin shops, precious metal dealers, and some refineries. Most of these places will want to have your gold assayed to determine its purity, and then they will usually pay around 90% of spot for the actual gold content. As an example, let’s say that you have one ounce of .873 fine gold to sell, and spot is $476/oz. You actually only have .873 ounces of gold. The rest of the weight is silver or some other metal. They will pay you .905 of spot, or 428.40/ounce; and $428.40 X .873 ounces = $373.99. That’s about what you can expect to be paid by someone who needs to make a profit from the gold they buy from you.
So how can you get a better price for your gold? By selling to the final consumer, and by adding value.
The final consumer is someone who intends to keep the gold just the way he or she buys it from you. They don’t intend to refine or resell it. They want it to keep as a specimen, a souvenir, a jewelry item to wear, etc. And by making your gold up into souvenirs, specimens, or jewelry, you add value in addition to the value of the gold. So first let’s discuss what you can do with your gold and then where you can sell it.
Natural placer gold nugget jewelry is very appealing to a large segment of the public, and therefore fairly easy to sell. Nuggets can be made into necklace pendants, earrings, tie tacks, etc., by soldering on 14k gold findings with gold solder. This is an obvious choice if you are an experienced jeweler, but not so likely a choice for someone with no jewelry background.
So where do you sell jewelry, vials of gold, and souvenirs? Friends, relatives, and the people you work with are a good place to start. Just bring what you have made to work with you and show it to people.
Next try selling to the public at shows. Swap meets or flea markets are an inexpensive way to show your gold. If you have enough jewelry, vials, and souvenirs made up, also consider setting up at gold shows, rock and gem shows, county or state fairs, etc.
If you have enough profit built into your price structure, you can consign your goods or sell wholesale to retail shops that sell to the public. Some good shops to approach would be local mining supply shops, rock shops, etc. Also tourist shops, gift shops, and jewelry stores in areas with a gold mining history. Here again, use your imagination, and you will find shops which will be happy to carry your gold.
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