What you should actually expect to be offered
Typical payouts for scrap jewelry: pawn ~40–55% of melt, jewelers ~50–70%, coin dealers ~60–75%, specialist mail-in buyers ~70–80%. Resellable brand-name pieces can beat these. Get three quotes; compare each against melt.
Live gold price per gram by karat
| Karat | Melt value |
|---|---|
| 24K — pure (.999) | $129.88/g |
| 22K (.9167) | $119.18/g |
| 21.6K — old US coins (.900) | $117.01/g |
| 18K (.750) | $97.51/g |
| 14K (.585) — most US jewelry | $75.83/g |
| 12K (.500) | $65.00/g |
| 10K (.417) | $54.17/g |
| 9K (.375) | $48.75/g |
| 8K (.333) | $43.29/g |
Why nobody pays melt value
Melt value is the worth of the pure gold at today's spot price — the number refineries settle at, in bulk, after fees. Every buyer between you and a refinery has testing, refining, shipping and margin to cover, so every real offer is a percentage of melt, and the percentage is decided mostly by which buyer you choose, not by how well you negotiate. If a pawn shop offers 65% of melt, that's a strong pawn offer; if a mail-in buyer offers 55%, that's a weak one — without both numbers you can't tell those apart.
Before you sell
Weigh and sort items by karat at home — a kitchen scale in grams works for a first pass; a $15 jeweler's scale (0.01 g) is better. Karat stamps: 585 = 14K, 750 = 18K, 417 = 10K, 375 = 9K. Assume unstamped pieces are the lowest plausible karat until tested (acid kits under $20; gold is never magnetic). Get at least three quotes in dollars, in writing where possible. Never ship gold to a buyer who won't give a per-item figure and a free, insured return policy first.
Worked example
A 14K chain weighing 21.3 g: pure gold is 21.3 × 0.5833 = 12.42 g = 0.399 ozt. At $4,043.70/ozt the melt value is about $1,615. Expect roughly $650–890 at a pawn shop and $970–1,130 from a strong mail-in buyer — and use $1,615 as the yardstick in every conversation.
Frequently asked questions
why is scrap gold so cheap
Scrap gold seems cheap because buyers pay a percentage of melt value, not the full metal value. Testing, refining, shipping, and margin create the gap; use the offer bars above to compare each buyer type against melt.
what is considered scrap gold
Scrap gold is karat gold sold mainly for its metal content rather than as a wearable or collectible item. Broken, damaged, mismatched, engraved, or out-of-style jewelry can all qualify when resale value is low.
what are scrap gold prices today
Today's scrap gold prices are the live per-gram values in the karat table on this page. Use this calculator with the item's weight and karat to get its total melt value and realistic offer ranges.
can you scrap gold filled jewelry
Gold-filled jewelry can be sold to some specialist refiners, but most ordinary scrap buyers pay little or nothing for small pieces. A “1/20 14K GF” mark means 1/20 of the item's weight is 14K alloy: 0.05 × 0.5833 is about 2.9% pure gold by total weight.
what is scrap gold worth per gram
Scrap gold per gram is worth gold spot ÷ 31.1035 × its purity in melt value. Use this calculator for the live amount before buyer discounts.
who buys scrap gold
Pawn shops, local jewelers, coin dealers, and specialist mail-in buyers all buy scrap gold. Their typical payout ranges differ substantially, so compare at least three dollar offers against the same melt value.
How do gold buyers determine the value of scrap gold?
Gold buyers determine scrap value from verified karat, net metal weight, the current spot price, and their payout percentage. Stones and non-gold parts are excluded before the buyer applies refining costs and margin.
How to determine the karat of old gold jewelry?
Determine old jewelry's karat from a hallmark first, then verify uncertain pieces with an acid or electronic test. Common marks include 417 for 10K, 585 for 14K, and 750 for 18K; a magnet only screens some fakes and cannot prove purity.
Gold prices by karat
10K gold price · 14K gold price · 18K gold price
Other metals
Silver calculator · Platinum calculator · Palladium calculator · Copper calculator · Nickel calculator · Brass calculator