Today gold costs more than $1600 per ounce and silver almost $16 per ounce. It doesn’t take many ounces of silver to get to hundreds of dollars, and it doesn’t take much gold to get to thousands of dollars. But I warn you: there are a lot of “smoke and mirrors“that you will face when you sell your precious metals, and it is all designed to help the Buyer and not him Seller.

If you don’t know how to play the game, if you don’t know exactly what you have… before selling it… then you are an ideal candidate to be taken advantage of when selling. Here are some things to know and some things to have before you try to sell your precious metal treasures.

  • Havedupois vs. troy ounces: If you don’t understand the difference between the two, and if you don’t know how to turn one into the other, then you will probably be taken advantage of. ounces ounces They are bathroom scales or deli scales. Precious metals are weighed using troy ounces, which are a totally different measure of weight. You better learn the difference.
  • Ounces vs. Pennyweights vs. Grams:Each troy ounce contains 20 Pennyweights (dead weight) or 31.1 grams (gram). Some buyers use grams to calculate the value, while others use Pennyweights. Varies from store to store. And if you don’t understand how they work, and if you can’t convert one into the other, you’ll probably be taken advantage of at some point.
  • sterling silver fineness: You must understand the Sterling silver it is always 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% base metal. Never more or less.
  • other fineness of silver: You should understand that some countries used a different silver standard than Pound sterlingsuch as 95%, 90%, 90%, 83.5%, or 80%. Each one is marked differently and you need to understand how to identify the various markings and differentiate from one another.
  • Solid against weighted British Pound: There is a big difference between solid sterling and weighted pound sterling. Both metals contain 92.5% pure silver, but weighted pound sterling contains a heavy cement to help prevent the piece from tipping over. And no one is going to pay you for the cement.
  • silver without silver: If you believe it german silver, nickel silvergold Sheffield Silver they are real silver, you would be wrong. And it can cost you.
  • gold fineness: If you don’t understand the difference between 10k, 14k and 18k gold, it could also cost you dearly. This is very basic, and with gold at over $1,600 an ounce, a small miscalculation could cost you thousands of dollars.
  • Other Golds: If you don’t know the difference between Laminated gold, gold plate, gold fill, silver vermeilgold golden tone… could also cost you a lot of money.
  • Trojan Weight Scale: If you don’t own a $15 precious metal scale, you won’t be able to accurately weigh what you own and you won’t know exactly what you have.
  • precious metal test kit: If you don’t own a $15 acid test kit that allows you to test and/or confirm the fineness of gold and silver, then you won’t be able to accurately confirm what you do or don’t have.
  • diamond tester: If you don’t have a $15 diamond testerHow will you know if it is a real diamond or a fake paste? (Have you ever heard the story of the family that sold mom’s $10,000 diamond ring for $10 because they thought it was costume jewelry?)
  • Is the buyer’s scale accurate? Can you determine if the Buyer’s scale is set to a measure that favors them over you?
  • Fake gold and silver items: Counterfeit US and foreign coins are made to look authentic, but they are not. And we’re seeing an increasing number of fake jewelry items marked “Pound sterling“, or with false”10k, 14k, 18k“golden markings. Most have been made in China and imported here. Can you tell the difference?”
  • Are the gemstones real or fake?? Can you tell the difference between real and fake gemstones? and the value of each?
  • Reputation and Buyer Longevity: Does the Buyer have extensive experience, or has he recently opened? I would rather deal with someone who has been in business, in that same location, for a long period of time. You don’t stay in business for decades unless you treat people fairly.

Always remember this: The Seller always wants as much as possible, while the Buyer you want to pay as little as possible. If you end up somewhere in the middle, you’re probably fine. But if you don’t understand the value of what you have… before selling it… they will probably take advantage of you. I need help to sell jeweler’s, corners I Sterling silver? We can probably help. Call us at 215-264-4304 if you have any questions or need our help turning your treasures into cash.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?: We were helping a Florida woman sell some sterling silver flatware she had sent us. Before we sell it, we name it with our calculated weight and estimated resale value. Her immediate response was that our weight didn’t match hers and sounded too light. I asked him three questions

  • Did you weigh it on a bathroom scale? Yes, she had.

  • Did you weigh it while the cloth wrappers that protected the various pieces were still on? Yes, she had.

  • Did you weigh the sterling handle knives at their full weight instead of just factoring in the weight of the hollow sterling handle? Yes, she had.

We take her weight, then subtract the weight of the cloth wrap and the weight of the Sterling knife, and convert her havedupois weight to trojan ounces. and guess what? We were spot on. And she was finally happy.