How to Determine the Price of Gold
Finding the current value of gold is easy. All you have to do is check the daily quotes on any of hundreds of financial websites. It's a little more complicated to determine the price of gold items like jewelry or gold bullion, but it's not difficult. Gold is measured in troy ounces, so you have to convert from regular ounces or grams unless you have a jeweler's scale. You also have to know how pure the gold is. Gold is very soft, so it's usually alloyed (combined) with another metal to make it harder and more durable.
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Instructions
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Find the weight of the gold item using a precision scale. The type of scale used in a chemistry lab is ideal if you don't have an apothecary's (jeweler's) scale calibrated in troy ounces. To convert from grams to troy ounces, divide the number of grams by 31.10. If your scale is calibrated only in regular (avoirdupois) ounces, divide by 1.097 to find Troy ounces.
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2
Determine the purity of the gold as a percentage. Gold bars have a stamped hallmark that states the purity. Gold jewelry will have a jeweler's mark stating the purity in karats (with small pieces of jewelry, you may need a magnifying glass to read this). Karat measure states the proportion of gold in an item from zero (0K) to 100 percent (24K). Simply divide the karat weight by 24 to find the percentage of gold contained in the item. For example, 18K jewelry contains 18/24 parts gold, or 75 percent.
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3
Calculate the amount of gold in the item. To do this, multiply the percentage of gold (from Step 2) times the weight in troy ounces (from Step 1). For example, a 2.0 troy ounce piece of gold jewelry that is 18K (75 percent) gold actually contains 1.50 troy ounces of gold.
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Determine the price of gold present in the item. Gold is traded as a commodity on world markets, so its price is always changing. Look up the daily price on a financial website (a link to one is provided in Resources). Multiply the current price by the amount of gold in the item. For instance, let's say the quoted price is $800/ounce. The price of gold in an object containing 1.50 troy ounces of gold works out to 1.50 times $800, or $1,200.
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Tips & Warnings
If a piece of jewelry contains other materials than gold, it's far more difficult to find the exact amount of gold present. In most cases, you will need to take the item to a jeweler for a professional appraisal. The price of rare (collectible) gold coins is determined primarily by the rarity and condition of the coin, not by the metal content. You can estimate the value of rare gold coins by checking a catalog, such as the one maintained online by the Professional Coin Grading Service (see link in Resources).
