How to Weigh Gold Scraps

In order to accurately weigh gold scraps you must first understand that all gold is not the same. Pure gold is very soft and not very practical for everyday use. Most gold scrap comes from items that are functional like jewelry, cutlery and wiring. This gold scrap is an alloy mixed with other metals. When you weigh gold scraps for potential sale, you only care about the gold contained inside it. To do this, you must estimate the purity of the gold used in the gold scrap.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Gold scraps
• Scale
• Calculator

1. Gather all your gold scraps together. This can be from jewelry, stereo cables, computer components, flatware or collectibles. Gold coins, gold bullion and gold nuggets are not usually considered gold scrap. However if they are in poor condition and only have value as melted down gold scrap then you can add them too. Understand that gold plated items have no value as gold scrap since they only have a microscopic layer of gold on them.

2. Divide your gold scraps into different piles depending on purity. Gold jewelry is easy to distinguish. It is usually stamped with its purity. Most jewelry is either 18 karat, 14 karat or 10 karat gold. Gold coins and most gold bullion are 22 karat gold. Other gold scrap is usually 10 karat gold. Put them in that pile. Remove anything from the items that are not metal.

3. Get a scale that can weigh very light objects. Your bathroom scale will not work. A jewelry or coin scale is ideal. A postage scale will also work. If you don't have one you can always go down to the post office and use theirs.

4. Weigh each group of scrap gold. Write down the weight of the 22 karat, 18 karat, 14 karat and 10 karat gold scraps in ounces. If the scale only reads in grams, divide by 28.35 to get the ounces. If it only reads in pennyweight, divide by 18.23 to get ounces.

5. Multiply the weight in ounces of each group of gold scraps by their purity. 22 karat gold is 91.7 percent pure gold, so multiply the weight of your 22 carat gold scrap by 0.917. Multiply the 18 karat gold by 0.75, 14 karat gold by 0.583, and 10 karat gold by 0.417. Add all these numbers up and you have an estimate total number of ounces of gold contained in all of your gold scraps.

6. Find the spot price of gold for the day. This is located in any newspaper financial section or on any Internet financial page. Multiply the weight of the gold in your gold scraps by the spot price of gold. This shows you the approximate value of gold contained in your gold scraps.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Free Gold Tips.com