Quick answer
The melt value of a scrap piece equals its weight in grams multiplied by the karat purity decimal (10K = 0.417, 14K = 0.583, 18K = 0.750) multiplied by the current per-gram spot ($141.11). Buyer offers land in typical bands: 40 to 65 percent of melt at pawn shops and mall kiosks, 65 to 85 percent at established local jewelry buyers, 50 to 75 percent at mail-in refiners, and 85 to 98 percent at coin dealers or direct refiners for larger lots. Do the math before you walk in.
Today’s reference spot (updated 19 hours ago)
Wholesale reference for pure gold. Scrap payout is a fraction of the karat-adjusted melt.
What Counts as Scrap Gold
Scrap gold is any gold item bought for the metal content rather than its form, brand, or collector value. In practice that covers broken chains, unmatched earrings, dental crowns, class rings, worn wedding bands, kids’ first-communion pendants, and generic 10K or 14K jewelry with no designer premium. Karat gold has a market floor tied to the current per-gram spot; below that floor no legitimate buyer will pay.
What is not scrap:
- Sovereign bullion coins (American Eagles, Krugerrands, Maple Leafs) trade at spot plus a small premium and should never be sold as scrap.
- Recognized-brand bullion bars (PAMP Suisse, Valcambi, Perth Mint) also trade at or near spot.
- Designer or antique pieces (Cartier, Tiffany, Van Cleef, hallmarked estate work) often carry a resale value well above the metal.
- Numismatic coins with collector premium (pre-1933 U.S. gold, key-date sovereigns) sell to coin dealers, not scrap buyers.
- Gold-plated, gold-filled, or vermeil items contain far too little gold to be scrap. A “1/20 12K GF” mark means 5 percent of the weight is 12K, and refining margins usually zero out any payout.
If you are unsure whether a piece has resale value beyond melt, get one opinion from a coin dealer or an estate jeweler before you commit it to scrap channels. Once it hits the smelter, the design is gone.
Today’s Scrap Price Per Gram, By Karat
Scrap gold has one formula. Every honest buyer starts here:
Melt value = weight in grams × karat purity decimal × per-gram spot ($141.11)
The karat purity decimal is the fraction of pure gold in the alloy. U.S. jewelry uses karat stamps regulated under the FTC Jewelry Guides (16 CFR Part 23), which set stamping tolerances and require the manufacturer’s registered trademark to appear next to the karat mark.
| Karat stamp | Pure gold content | Purity decimal | Per-gram melt at today’s spot |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24K | 99.9% | 0.999 | $141.11 × 0.999 |
| 22K | 91.7% | 0.917 | $141.11 × 0.917 |
| 18K | 75.0% | 0.750 | $141.11 × 0.750 |
| 14K | 58.3% | 0.583 | $141.11 × 0.583 |
| 10K | 41.7% | 0.417 | $141.11 × 0.417 |
A 20-gram 14K chain therefore contains 20 × 0.583 = 11.66 grams of pure gold, and its melt value equals that number multiplied by the current per-gram spot shown above. Our gold value calculator runs this math for any weight, karat, and unit (grams, pennyweight, or troy ounces) using the live spot reference.
Pennyweight (dwt) is the traditional U.S. jewelry-trade unit. One dwt equals 1.5552 grams (one twentieth of a troy ounce). If a buyer weighs your pieces in pennyweight while quoting a per-gram price (or vice versa), the arithmetic gets confusing fast. Ask the buyer to state weight and price in the same unit, or convert on your phone before you agree.
What Each Buyer Type Actually Pays
Once you know the melt figure, the offer is a percentage of it. The band depends less on the buyer’s honesty than on their business model: overhead, testing capability, resale channel, and how quickly they turn inventory into cash. The ranges below are typical U.S. figures observed across state consumer-protection filings, Better Business Bureau complaint categories, and industry trade reporting.
Pawn shops
Pawn shops pay immediately in cash, do not require appointments, and accept mixed lots without pre-sorting. In exchange they carry retail overhead, high default risk on their loan book, and no efficient refining channel; the spread is where those costs go. Expect a lower percentage on unmarked or heavily worn pieces and a higher percentage on clean 14K and 18K jewelry. State pawn licensing (secondhand precious metals dealer permits) requires a photo ID and a police-reportable transaction record, so bring identification.
Mall kiosks and cash-for-gold storefronts
Mall gold-buying counters and standalone cash-for-gold shops are optimized for volume and speed. Their price bands look wide because published complaints frequently note verbal offers that dropped after weighing, or scales that included clasp and stone weight. The FTC has published consumer guidance specifically on this segment; the core recommendation is to weigh and sort at home first, and to refuse offers that change during the visit.
Established local jewelry buyers
Independent jewelers who buy scrap for their own bench work (repairs, custom orders, casting) or who resell to a wholesale refiner in bulk typically pay a competitive fraction of melt. They know the market, test with an acid or XRF, and take enough volume to negotiate close-to-spot refining terms upstream. Look for the same jeweler you would trust to size a ring; the buying counter is often at the back of that same shop. Use our jewelry buyer directory to find shops in your city with published reviews.
Mail-in refiners (consumer segment)
Nationally advertised mail-in programs (envelope kits, prepaid FedEx, online quotes) charge convenience against the payout. Some include a “refining fee” and a “processing fee” that appear after the metal is tested; others quote a single price. If you use one, choose an operator that publishes a written return policy (unopened lot returned free within a stated window), and photograph every item plus a witness bag before mailing. Consumer complaints in this segment often involve disputes over final weight and the customer’s inability to reverse the transaction.
Coin dealers and bullion shops
Coin dealers who also buy scrap generally test on the spot with an XRF analyzer or acid kit, weigh in front of you, and quote a single number. They resell scrap in bulk to industrial refiners on tighter terms than a pawn shop can access, so a bigger share stays with the seller. This tier is worth the extra drive if you have several ounces of karat gold to move.
Direct refiners (industrial)
Sending directly to a refiner (Metalor, Asahi, Umicore, Republic Metals successors) yields the tightest spread but requires meeting a minimum lot (usually 5 to 10 troy ounces of pure gold content) and paying a flat assay charge (often a few tens of dollars) plus a per-ounce processing fee. For estate lots or dental gold accumulations above that threshold this is often the highest-yield channel. Under the threshold the fixed fees eat the margin.
Two patterns emerge across categories. First, small lots pay a smaller percentage than large lots, because fixed testing and handling costs are spread over less metal. Second, the payout percentage a buyer is willing to state in writing before you show up predicts the payout you actually get. Verbal ranges quoted over the phone rarely hold at the counter. Our guide to spotting a lowball gold offer details the specific weighing and pricing tactics to watch for.
Three Steps Before You Accept Any Offer
Calculate your own melt figure first
Weigh each piece at home on a jeweler’s scale (0.01-gram precision, roughly $15 at any office supply chain) after removing stones, clasps, springs, and non-gold parts. Group by karat stamp. Multiply gram weight by the karat decimal and by the current per-gram spot from the reference above. Write the number for each item on a slip of paper and bring it with you. You are not negotiating without an anchor.
Get three competing offers
The single highest-return move a scrap seller can make is to collect three offers in writing before agreeing to anything. State-level consumer-protection filings show that final payouts vary by 40 percent or more between the lowest and highest bidder on identical jewelry lots. Same-day cash is worth something, but rarely a 40-percent haircut. If you do not want to drive to three counters, post one listing on Goldiew Sell Gold and let verified buyers submit sealed written offers to you.
Verify the weighing and the paperwork at the counter
Insist that the buyer weighs each karat group separately, in front of you, on a certified scale (state weights-and-measures inspection stickers are visible on the housing). Ask to see stones and non-gold parts removed before the reading. Get the karat, weight, per-gram price, and total in writing before you hand over the metal. Most states require secondhand precious metals dealers to record buyer identity and hold the purchase for a mandatory waiting period (typically 10 to 30 days), which also gives you a formal transaction record if a dispute arises later.
Selling scrap gold, jewelry, or coins?
Instead of driving to three counters for verbal quotes that change on arrival, post one free selling request on Goldiew Sell Gold. Up to fifteen verified U.S. buyers see your item, submit sealed written offers, and you pick the best number. It is free, there is no obligation to accept, and it turns the buyback spread into a competitive auction rather than a one-shot counter negotiation. Recent listings and completed sales appear in the Goldiew marketplace for pricing reference.
Scrap Gold Price FAQ
What is the highest price I can realistically get for scrap gold?
For lots under one troy ounce of pure gold content (roughly 30 grams of 14K), the practical ceiling is 80 to 92 percent of melt at a competent coin dealer or bullion shop. Above five troy ounces of pure content, sending directly to a refiner can push the payout into the 92 to 98 percent range after fixed assay and processing fees. Anything advertised as “we pay 100 percent of spot” is marketing; the operator has to earn a margin somewhere, usually in the weighing or the karat test.
Why is my 14K offer so much lower than the per-gram figure I see online?
Two adjustments. First, the per-gram spot is for pure (24K) gold; a 14K piece is only 58.3 percent gold, so multiply the spot by 0.583 to get the karat-adjusted melt per gram. Second, the buyer pays a percentage of that karat-adjusted melt, not the full melt. A pawn shop or mall kiosk quote of 50 to 65 percent of the karat-adjusted number is common; a coin dealer or refiner will pay noticeably closer to the full melt figure.
Are pawn shop scrap gold prices negotiable?
Usually yes, especially if you have a written competing offer in hand. Pawn shops list an opening number and expect back-and-forth on non-loan cash purchases. Walking in with a printed melt calculation and a competing counter’s written quote often produces a materially better final price on the same jewelry.
Do gold buyers pay by weight in grams or pennyweight?
Both are used in the U.S. jewelry trade. The pennyweight (dwt) equals 1.5552 grams, or one twentieth of a troy ounce. A per-pennyweight price sounds higher than a per-gram price, but represents more metal. Convert both into the same unit before comparing offers. Our gold value calculator handles all three units on one screen.
Can I sell scrap gold without an ID?
Not legally at any licensed secondhand precious metals dealer. Almost every U.S. state requires the buyer to record a government-issued ID, a description of each item, weight, and price paid, and to hold the transaction for a waiting period before resmelting. The rules exist to give police a window to check for stolen property. Any buyer willing to skip ID paperwork is either unlicensed or committing a licensing violation, and their paperwork will not protect you in a dispute.
Do I owe taxes on scrap gold I sell?
The IRS treats gains on sales of personal property, including scrap jewelry sold above your cost basis, as taxable. Gold is classified as a collectible under IRC Section 408(m), and long-term gains are taxed at a maximum federal rate of 28 percent rather than the standard long-term capital gains rate. Small casual sales may fall below reporting thresholds, but the tax obligation exists regardless of whether the buyer files an information return. Consult your tax advisor for your specific situation.
Sources and Methodology
Reference spot figures on this page pull from a daily automated fetch of wholesale gold prices. Karat purity constants, buyer-category payout ranges, and consumer-protection guidance draw on the following primary sources:
- LBMA Gold Price. Daily London auction reference, twice per business day, administered by ICE Benchmark Administration.
- FTC Jewelry Guides, 16 CFR Part 23. U.S. karat stamping and disclosure rules for gold and gold alloys, including the required manufacturer trademark alongside karat marks.
- FTC Consumer Advice: Selling Gold Jewelry or Coins. Guidance on weighing, karat verification, and comparison shopping when selling scrap gold.
- IRS Publication 544, Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets. Federal tax treatment of gains on collectibles including gold jewelry sold above cost basis.
- Better Business Bureau: Precious Metals Scam Tips. Consumer complaint patterns for mail-in refiners, cash-for-gold storefronts, and door-to-door buyers.
Reference prices are wholesale spot for pure gold; retail buyback offers are a fraction of the karat-adjusted melt as detailed above. Percentage bands reflect typical U.S. market observations and vary by lot size, condition, and local competition. This page is informational and does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice.