Youre watching TV and you see one of those commercials telling you that you can send in your old gold jewelry or gold coins for quick cash and you wonder how much your gold is actually worth. Well to figure that out you need to have a clear understanding of what you are selling and how much gold is worth before you can go to a buyer. In the following article you will learn how a jeweler, scrap gold dealer, or gold refiner calculates your golds value.

Gold transactions are usually conducted in pennyweights(dwt), with 20 pennyweights equal to 1 troy ounce(oz t) of gold. The chart on the right sidebar has the current spot price of gold. The price changes daily so when you get an appraisal, it probably wont be the exact value but it will give you a ballpark figure to work with. The gold price value is in troy ounces so divide the price of gold that you just got by 20 and that will give you the value in pennyweights.

Next you will need to separate your gold into different piles by karats. So all the 22 karat gold in one pile and all the 18 karat in another and so on and so forth. You can usually find the karat value of jewelry stamped somewhere on the piece. Otherwise you will need a gold testing kit .

Now you will have to figure out how much your gold weighs. If you have a jewelers scale then it will be easy. You can use any scale that uses grams and convert it to pennyweights. 1.5 grams = 1 pennyweight and and 1 kitchen ounce = 18.23 pennyweights. Make sure that you weigh each pile individually.

Once you have the weight of each pile you will have to multiply the individual piles by the price of gold per pennyweight that you got earlier and then by one of the following values to get its final melt value. Or you can use our scrap gold value calculator :

Karat  | Percent

Most jewelers and dealers/refiners will try to keep anywhere from 10-30% of the value for himself to cover refining expenses and to make a profit. The price will also vary depending on how much gold you are selling. Most places work on a graduated payout scale with amounts under 1 ounce being the lowest point on the scale and amounts over 10 ounces being the highest.  When dealing with a gold buyer, usually you will be able to negotiate the price in your favor with a strong knowledge of what the piece is actually worth. It will also make it easier to compare different appraisals. Sellyourgold.com and Empiregoldbuyers.com are two of the best online gold buyers if youre looking to simply mail-in your gold.

Tips for Getting a Good Deal

• Ask if the refiner you are trying to sell to is a member of International Precious Metals Institute and if youre dealing with a jeweler ask if they are a member of Jewelers of America or the American Gem Society, they are a reputable organizations.
• Pawnbrokers and other dealers that buy valuables like gold are required to get your photo id to report to the local district attorney or the state attorney generals office. So if they dont ask just walk away, you dont want to deal with them.
• Dont accept the first check from one of those online gold buyers that require you to send in your gold in an envelope if the offer seems low. If youve done your research youll know if their offer is lower than what your gold is worth. Call them up if youre not satisfied and if they wont increase their offer you can just request that they send your gold back since you dont have to accept their offer. Do be aware though that some online gold buying companies will have a time limit and after a certain date without contact from you, they will melt down your gold regardless.

If you follow these simple steps and do your research, you can sell your old gold jewelry, scrap, and coins for a nice lump sum of cash. Just remember that not all gold refiners are upfront with how much they will offer you. Be careful of advertising claims like 20% more cash for your gold. It usually isnt true.

How to Calculate Your Golds Value unrated Hal Young 2012-04-28 18:48:01 Youre watching TV and you see one of those commercials telling you that you can send in your old gold jewelry or gold coins for quick cash and you wo

How to Calculate Your Golds Value Hal Young unrated 2012-04-28 18:48:01 Youre watching TV and you see one of those commercials telling you that you can send in your old gold jewelry or gold coins for quick cash and you wo