How to Measure Gold's Value
Finding the value of the gold in a piece of jewelry, gold bar or coin isn't difficult but it can get a little complicated. To measure gold's value you need the weight in Troy ounces, rather than grams or regular (Avoirdupois) ounces. You also have to know the fineness (purity) of the gold. Most gold objects are not pure gold. The pure metal is so soft it's easily damaged. It is usually combined with another metal to harden it.
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Things You'll Need
- Precision scale
- Calculator
- Magnifying glass (for small jewelry)
- Current gold price
Instructions
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1
Find the percentage of gold in an object. The purity of gold is measured by karats. 24K is pure gold and a lower karate weight tells you the proportion of gold present. For example, American Eagle gold coins are 22K, meaning they contain 22/24 gold. Most jewelry is 14K to 22K. Gold jewelry has a jeweler's mark stating the karat weight (although you may need a magnifying glass to read it on some pieces). If you aren't sure about a coin, you can look it up in any good coin catalog. There is a link to the Professional Coin Grading Service listing in the Resources section. To find the percentage of gold, divide the karat weight by 24. For example, 22K is divided by 24, giving 0.9167 (91.67 percent)
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2
Use a precision scale to weigh the item. If you don't have a jeweler's scale, any precision scale (like one used in a chemistry lab) is fine. Since gold is measured in Troy ounces, you do need to convert from grams or regular ounces. Divide weight in grams by 31.10 to convert to Troy ounces. For regular ounces, divide by 1.097. For example, a gold chain weighing 93.30 grams is divided by 31.10, giving it a weight of 3.00 Troy ounces.
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3
Calculate the amount of gold in Troy ounces. Multiply the weight in Troy ounces (from Step 2) by the percentage of gold in the item (from Step 1). For a 22K piece of gold jewelry weighing 3.00 Troy ounces, you multiply 91.67 percent by 3.0 to get 2.75 ounces of gold.
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4
Determine the gold's value. Since gold is a commodity, it's value varies from day to day as it is traded on world markets. Find the current price in the newspaper or online (a link to a website with daily quotes appears in the Resources section). Multiply the amount of gold by the current price. For the example from Step 3, if the current price of gold is $750 per Troy ounce, multiply 2.75 Troy ounces by $750. Gold's value for this in this example works out to $2062.50.
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Tips & Warnings
Complex jewelry often contains gems, silver and other materials and it's all but impossible to figure out exactly how much of the weight is gold. If you want to measure gold's value for such an item, you should take it to a jeweler for an appraisal.
