Gold FAQ

No, gold buyers rarely pay full spot price. Spot price is the wholesale rate for pure, deliverable gold on the commodities market, so any business that buys from consumers must discount to cover refining, melting, testing, overhead, and profit. Typical payouts range from 60% to 90% of melt value, with online refiners and local coin shops usually offering the highest percentages and mall kiosks or mail-in programs paying the least. The exact percentage depends on the karat, total weight, current volatility, and how quickly the buyer can resell or refine the metal. To negotiate effectively, weigh your items in grams, identify the karat, and calculate the melt value yourself before accepting any offer. Our gold calculator gives you that baseline number so you know exactly how much pure-gold value you are giving up.

Gold price per gram is derived from the live spot price, which is quoted per troy ounce. Because one troy ounce equals 31.1034768 grams, you divide the spot price by 31.1034768 to get the per-gram value of pure 24K gold. To value a lower-karat piece, you then multiply by the purity fraction: 24K is 99.9%, 22K is 91.67%, 18K is 75%, 14K is 58.5%, and 10K is 41.67%. For example, if spot gold is $2,400 per troy ounce, pure gold is worth about $77.16 per gram, and a 14K chain would have a melt value near $45.14 per gram. Most calculators also account for weight in pennyweights or grains by converting to grams first. Try our gold calculator to get an instant figure using live spot data.

The value of a gold chain depends on three things: its karat purity, its weight, and the current spot price. First, find the karat stamp on the clasp, such as 14K or 18K. Then weigh the chain in grams on a calibrated scale, excluding any non-gold clasps or tags. Multiply the weight in grams by the purity fraction for that karat, then multiply by the per-gram spot price. A 10-gram 14K chain contains 5.85 grams of pure gold (10 x 0.585), so if pure gold is $77 per gram, the melt value is roughly $450. Retail or resale prices may be higher for designer pieces, and buyers typically pay somewhat below melt to cover refining and margin. To get an exact figure with live pricing, plug your chain’s karat and weight into our gold calculator.

The gold spot price updates continuously during trading hours, moving many times per second. Spot gold trades nearly 24 hours a day across global markets in London, Zurich, New York, and Asian exchanges, with only brief weekend and holiday pauses. Price is driven in real time by supply and demand in futures, options, and over-the-counter markets, plus macro factors like interest rates, currency moves, inflation expectations, and geopolitical events. For consumers, this means a quote you receive in the morning may differ from one in the afternoon, sometimes by tens of dollars per ounce on volatile days. Reputable buyers and calculators refresh pricing at least every few minutes during market hours. For an up-to-the-minute valuation of your items, use our gold calculator, which pulls the current spot price before each calculation.

It depends on convenience and how much value you are willing to trade for speed. Pawn shops and mall buyers typically pay the lowest percentages, often 40% to 70% of melt value, because they take on resale risk and have high overhead. Dedicated gold buyers, coin shops, and online refiners usually pay more, commonly 70% to 90% of melt, because they sell directly to refiners in volume. If your piece is a recognizable brand, antique, or has gemstones, a jeweler or auction may return more than any scrap buyer. Always get at least three quotes and bring your own melt-value calculation so you can spot lowball offers. Pawn shops are best when you want fast cash and might reclaim the item; specialized buyers are better when you simply want the highest payout. Estimate your baseline with our gold calculator first.

A pennyweight (abbreviated dwt) is a unit of weight commonly used by jewelers and gold buyers in the United States. One pennyweight equals 1/20 of a troy ounce, or about 1.55517 grams. The abbreviation “dwt” comes from “denarius weight,” tracing back to Roman and British coinage systems. Because a troy ounce contains 20 pennyweights, a quoted pennyweight price is easy to convert: just multiply by 20 to compare it to the spot price per ounce. For example, if a buyer offers $60 per dwt, that equals $1,200 per troy ounce. Some buyers quote pennyweight prices to make offers look higher per unit than gram-based competitors, so always convert to the same unit before comparing. Enter your weight in either grams or pennyweights in our gold calculator to see an apples-to-apples melt value.

Melt value and scrap value are closely related terms that are sometimes used interchangeably, but they have a subtle difference. Melt value is the pure commodity worth of the gold content if the item were refined to bullion, calculated as weight times purity fraction times the current spot price per gram. It assumes a perfect, free refinery. Scrap value is the actual cash price a buyer will pay for a broken, unwanted, or non-collectible piece, which is melt value minus the buyer’s refining fee, testing cost, and profit margin. In practice, scrap value runs 10% to 40% below melt value. A piece with collectible or designer appeal may sell for more than melt, but ordinary broken jewelry, dental gold, and single earrings trade near scrap value. Run the numbers yourself with our gold calculator before getting quotes.

Karat (K) measures gold purity, or how much of the metal is actual gold versus other alloys. 24K gold is 99.9% pure gold, the softest and most valuable form, often used for investment bars and coins. 22K is 91.67% gold, popular in South Asian jewelry. 18K is 75% gold, a common balance of richness and durability for fine jewelry. 14K is 58.5% gold and is the most popular choice in the United States for engagement and wedding rings because it resists scratching well. 10K is 41.67% gold, the lowest purity still legally sold as gold in the US; it is the most durable and most affordable option. Lower karat pieces contain more copper, silver, nickel, or zinc, which affect both color and strength. To see what your specific piece is worth today, use our gold calculator.