I have a few old gold chains, bracelets, and charms that I don't wear very much any more, So I contacted one of the local coin shops that buys and sell large amounts of Bullion as well jewlery, scrap gold, silver, etc... The told me they buy scrap by the pennyweight vs the (Troy) ounce or Gram... Why is that??? I'm one of those poeple that would normally rather hang onto stuff than sell it, but I thought I'd see what it would bring then make the descision...
Pennyweight There is a gold calculator at this site which you can input dwt measurements to calculate the price.
I claim no expertise in this area. I've heard the term pennyweight used in connection with sterling, but never with gold. As to why they would use it, my guess [emphasis on guess], is that it is either because (1) the refiner they sell to measures it that way so the dealer does too to make his life easier, or (2) it is done to confuse the seller.
My refiner deals in pennyweights. It's also easier for us when we are weighing small amounts. It cuts the decimal point out of the math we have to do and for me that reduces mistakes. I'd much rather enter 2 than .1 into an equation on a calculator.
That's what I thought. So if something is advertised as 20 pennyweight sterling, is that .925 troy ounces of silver?
the first thing is do you need to sell. if not dont unless you get more than than 10% over there spot price that there are giving and some . this is just my opinion . there out to make money on you make sure you make it hard
Huh? My refiner doesn't even pay us over spot price for scrap gold Jewelry. The only person who is going to pay you more then melt for it is someone who wants to wear it as jewelry. We get paid 98.5% of melt for scrap gold.
There are 20 pennyweights in 1 troy ounce. There are 31.1 grams in a troy ounce. You may run into both of these selling scrap gold.
Yes, but what I was wondering is when the measure is used with sterling, are they quoting the total weight or the silver content?
When dealing with these buyers stick to the ones who buy priced in grams. It's the easiest way for all to understand exactly what they are getting and it is the most accurate especially if they are dropping decimals. Since the gold in jewelry is almost always alloyed with another metal, you will need to determine what karat gold you have. For example 18 karat is 75% gold and 25% something else. Usually this will be copper, nickel, silver, palladium, etc. 10 karat is 41.7%. What ever they come up with weight will then need to be multiplied by this percentage to determine how much gold you have. These percentages are all available online. You might find a small purity stamp that indicates what you have.
