Are your Christmas funds running a little low this year? In case you haven’t noticed, gold is in high demand these days. Economic conditions have left many scrambling to purchase large quantities of gold as a hedge against feared inflation. Gold prices recently reached a record high of over $1,200 an ounce earlier this month.

Selling scrap gold can be a great way to raise some extra cash this Christmas. Before you hand over your precious metals to some knuckle head make sure you know what it is worth. Calculating the price of scrap gold is easy to do and can prevent you from getting ripped off when you go to sell.  Grab your scrap gold, a scale (in grams), pencil, paper and a calculator and lets get started.

First thing you must understand is that your scrap gold as it implies “scrap”. You will be selling your gold jewelry solely on its weight and purity value. Scrap gold buyers do not take into consideration craftsmanship of your jewelry. For this reason you may not get nearly what was originally paid for your jewelry. Also, gold jewelry has to be melted down and processed, which also cost money. You should expect to receive up to 20% less per ounce for this reason.

Most jewelry will have a stamp on it indicating how many karats of gold the jewelry contains. A karat is a measurement of purity. 24 Karat ( “24K” marking) indicates pure gold. Gold is mixed with other metals to make it stronger and more affordable. For this reason you are likely to see 18k, 12k or even 10k.

With that bit of knowledge you are ready to calculate what your scrap gold is worth. Lets take for example a 12k wedding band that weigh 7 grams with a current gold price of $1,100 an ounce. The formula for scrap selling gold is:

Scrap gold value = ((Karats/24) * weight in grams) (Current price per gram) (.80)

If we plug in the variables with our example we get:

$109.98 =((12/24)*7)(39.28)(.80)

You should expect to receive approximately $109.98 for your scrap gold wedding band. In some cases it may be wiser to sell your gold for its craftsmanship and not its weight value. Visit your local jeweler or pawn shop and ask what they can give you for it. It is often the case that you are able to get more for your jewelry when sold as scrap.

Check back with Healthy Financial Habits this holiday season for more great gift ideas. Here you will find a variety of ways to save money on everything from gifts to groceries. If financing is a problem then we offer financing solutions. If you have a question or specific topic that you would like to read about contact the staff: Healthyfinancialhabits@gmail.com

Author: Mike Smitt