To get a good price for gold and silver, you must understand the metals' values in the marketplace at the time of the sale. You must also determine how much gold and silver are contained in the objects you are selling.
Place your gold in one pile and your silver in another. Separate the coins and bullion from the scrap -- items such as jewelry, flatware, tea sets and electronic components.
Determine the precious metal content of each item. The purity of gold can be determined by knowing its karat.
Weigh each pile of gold and silver. Record its weight in ounces.
Look up the spot price in dollars of gold and silver. This is what they are selling for that day on the world financial markets.
Multiply the spot price of gold and silver by the number of ounces of each metal you are selling. Be sure to take into account the purity of each group.
Take your gold and silver coins and bullion to several coin dealers. Ask them to make you an offer. If you want a higher price, sell them directly to collectors on auction websites.
Mail the rest of your scrap gold and silver to a precious metal refiner.
Tips
If you decide to go through a precious metal refiner, expect to get 5 percent to 10 percent less than selling your gold or silver outright.
References
- Invesco. "Invesco DB Silver Fund." Accessed June 22, 2020.
- State Street Global Advisors. "SPDR Gold Shares." Accessed June 22, 2020.
- iShares. "iShares Silver Trust." Accessed June 22, 2020.
- American Numismatic Association. "Tips for Buying and Selling Bullion Coins." Accessed June 22, 2020.
- United States Mint. "American Eagle Silver Bullion Coins." Accessed June 22, 2020.
- Royal Canadian Mint. "Silver Coins." Accessed June 22, 2020.
- JM Bulllion. "Why Are Silver Eagles So Expensive?" Accessed June 22, 2020.
- JM Bullion. "Costs Associated With a Precious Metals IRA." Accessed June 22, 2020.
- UBS. "ETRACS CMCI Silver Total Return ETN." Accessed June 22, 2020.
- Investment News. "MF Global Clients Get Back 72 Cents on the Dollar." Accessed June 22, 2020.
Tips
- If you decide to go through a precious metal refiner, expect to get 5 percent to 10 percent less than selling your gold or silver outright.
Writer Bio
Kent Ninomiya is a veteran journalist with over 23 years experience as a television news anchor, reporter and managing editor. He traveled to more than 100 countries on all seven continents, including Antarctica. Ninomiya holds a Bachelor of Arts in social sciences with emphasis in history, political science and mass communications from the University of California at Berkeley.