The term dust refers to very small bits of gold that naturally occur in various places around the world. Gold is one of the more expensive elements found naturally because of its beauty and the fact that it’s easy to mold into various shapes. This makes it perfect for jewelry and is the main reason why it’s so popular and valuable. If you wanted to find a large amount of gold then mining for it would be the most effective way but you can also find dust and particles through panning.

Gold panning is a technique to find which uses the fact that gold in small pieces is naturally found in many areas of running water. To pan for gold you need a pan that allows water to pass through but keeps in silt and the pieces of gold you’re looking for. If you want to go panning for dust or flakes then you’ll need to know a buyer that has access to refiner in order to turn it into something useful such as a dore bar. An even better option is to deal with a refiner directly that will purify your findings into bullion grade bars.  Having bullion bars will help in several ways, first bullion is considered a financial instrument and will not be taxable, secondly bullion is very portable and will serve as an excellent investment in these uncertain times.

When panning for gold you should start by finding an area of flowing water that’s shallow. Start by putting the pan a few centimetres underneath the water and then shake it a few times which will allow the silt and debris at the bottom of the waterway to be caught within the pan. Hopefully, this will contain some gold which you can then separate out. When you’ve got a reasonable amount of material in your pan you should slowly lift it out and manually pick out the larger items of debris. Carefully sift through the material to see whether you’ve found any pieces of gold.  If you’ve chosen the right location and have been diligent you will be able to collect a nice amount of nuggets or dust, once you have enough, say 10 to 20 grams you’ll be able to get cash for your gold.  Be aware that many of the companies advertising to purchase your gold nuggets won’t necessarily have the expertise to process this particular form of gold, be sure to contact them ahead of time to verify they work with this material, ask them if they have any assay charges and what percentage they pay out on the actual gold content.

There is only way you can get a price for  your material, the dust or nuggets need to be melted into a button or bar and then assayed, the use of an xrf machine (X-ray fluorescence).  This machine uses x-rays to uncover the chemical composition of the melted button, with the aid of computer technology it processes the actual gold content in the button or bar along with any other minerals that may be mixed in.  I have seen nuggets that are anywhere from 8 to 99% actual gold content, some even turn out to be copper.

Here’s another interesting story, bare this in mind should you ever decide to become a gold buyer or if you get contacted with one of the many gold scams around.  You see there are many people, particularly in Ghana, Africa and Nigeria that have a somewhat elaborate scam.  I get contacted by them on a daily basis, it goes a little something like this;  they’ll contact me via email saying they have access to about 100 kilograms of dust that is 22k and can supply the same amount every month, doesn’t sound believable so far does it?   They carry on to say they need me to fly to wherever they’re from so I can inspect and arrange payment, they then ask for a deposit up front, hmm I don’t think I’d be doing this myself yet I get calls daily from people who have received the same email and are asking me for quotes on the material, I explain to them that it is a scam and they find it hard to believe, they even try to convince me otherwise.  I have a former colleague who was duped by another scam.

Another common scam goes something like this,  the con artists will bring you a bag of shavings that actually contains a decent amount of gold, you melt it down and pay them accordingly, they then bring you a second similar bag of dust or shavings, this time they can’t wait for it to be melted and assayed but will take a lesser payment as ‘they need the funds quickly’, unfortunately this bag will contain all copper shavings or dust and you’ll be out a substantial amount of money.  The fellow I know actually remortgaged his house to purchase the second bag, the lesson, never pay anyone for material until it has bee properly tested period.

Panning for gold dust can be a lot of fun although you need to have patience and a section of a river or stream that’s known to contain gold. If you’re approaching it as a hobby you will have a lot of fun just don’t bet the bank you’ll become rich.  Gold stakes can be purchased quite cheaply in a number of states and provinces, if you have the means it could be a very enjoyable hobby.

I have been in the business of buying precious metals for just over  a decade.  When I started pretty much the only competition were the Pawn Shops who generally paid the very least they could, people who tend to use pawn shops tend to be of a desperate nature, when you want to sell gold jewelry for cash the worst time to do so is when you’re in hurry, if you’re in dire need of money unscrupulous gold buyers will sense this and try and low ball you as much as they can. During the last decade the price of gold has fluctuated greatly and recently hit an all time high of just over $1,275.00 U.S. per ounce.  This combined with the poor economy has led to a glut of start up scrap gold buyers, many of whom are trying to make a quick buck off of the poor circumstances of others.

I’ve been in this business a long time and come across people from all walks of life, rich, middle class and some lower class.  Surprisingly enough the majority of the people I buy from are just average people looking to sell gold for cash, I don’t deal with stolen merchandise, travel to skeptical or dangerous areas and in general have a pleasant clientele that simply want to get a fair price for their unwanted items.

The reason people sell their unwanted gold jewelry, silverware, coins etc. varies, some need the funds to pay off bills or live, some sell their items to go shopping, some are selling the items of deceased family members, many have accumulated a variety of items they no longer wear and could use the cash for other purposes that suit their present needs.  Of course many of my clients are women and usually have items from previous boyfriends or husbands they no longer need.

Finding A Gold Buyer

If you do a search online for ‘gold jewelry buyer’ ‘sell my jewelry’ or ‘gold buyer’ etc you will see an onslaught of websites all offering you the supposed best price for your items.  I’m amazed, it seems like every week if not everyday there are new sites offering to buy your gold scrap, everyone’s a gold buyer these days.

Finding A Gold Buyer – Tips

Here’s some points to keep in mind when deciding to dealing with a company and avoiding the increasing number of cash for gold scams.

1.  Do they have a phone number so you can speak to a real person?  I’m often amazed at how many of these online dealers don’t even provide you with the ability to speak to them and they expect you to blindly send them your items. My company does offer a shipping service where you ship us your items for pricing but we always encourage you to give us a call ahead of time if for no other reason then your peace of mind.

2.  Do they have a physical location of office where you can meet them in person if you choose?  We offer our Mail in Service, Book an appointment at our office service and our We travel to you service.

3.  Do they list their prices on their website?  Again I’m amazed how many companies do not list their payment prices, they only say ‘we pay the most’, hmmm sounds a little fishy to me.  We list and update our prices daily so you know the exact price you can expect to get per gram for your things.  Pretty much all jewelry will be purchase as ‘scrap’ and as such you are looking for their listed scrap gold prices, what this means is you are being paid for the actual gold content of your items not a percentage of it’s retail value.

4.  Watch out for companies that will list their prices in DWT or Pennyweight, you see, 1 DWT or Pennyweight = 1.55 grams, some companies will list the payment prices in DWT or Pennyweight to make their prices seem high, we list our prices in both grams and DWT so you can easily compare.  Companies that list in only Dwt/Pennyweight will list this fact in very small print.

5. You can also do a search online search for ‘selling gold jewelry’ or ‘ sell gold jewelry’ and see what others experience’s have been for companies you’re thinking of dealing with.

Jewelry Stores

10 years ago very few jewelry stores purchased used or old gold jewelry, today it’s the norm, this can be good or bad depending on who you go to see.  Like any business there are reputable and not so reputable owners, this applies to jewelry stores as well, if you have a good relationship with a jeweler he may offer you a fair price for your things, still, it’s best to shop around for prices.

How Does It Work When Selling Gold Jewelry?

When you sell your jewelry your price will be determined by two factors, it weight (usually measured in grams).  So if you have a 10 gram 10 karat gold chain and the gold buyer is paying $9.05 per gram for 10k you will receive $90.50 for your chain.

As the karat goes up so does the price, for example here is a list of what we’re currently paying for gold jewelry: (Remember: 1 Dwt or Pennyweight = 1.55 grams)

9 karat $8.10/gram or $12.56/dwt
10 karat $9.05 /gram or $14.02/dwt
14 karat $12.70 /gram or $19.65/dwt
Dental Gold $14.05/gram or $21.77dwt
18 karat $17.45/gram or $27.05/dwt
22 karat $22.05 /gram or $35.10/dwt
24 karat $23.25 /gram or $37.12/dwt

Selling Gold Bullion: We pay 92.5% of spot price, so if gold’s spot price is $1,000.00 we would pay you $925.00 for your 1 ounce bar, .999 fine coin, wafer etc.

Different Kinds Of Gold You Can Sell For Cash

There are many kinds of precious metals that people want to sell for cash.  They want to  cash for their gold. These items include:

• Gold Jewelry

• Gold Chains

• Gold Necklaces

• Gold Rings

• Gold Wedding Bands

• Old Class Rings

• Gold Earrings ( pairs or singles )

• Gold Pendants

• Dental Gold

• Solid Gold Watches

• Gold Bracelets

• Tangled Chains

• Gold Bangles

• Scrap Gold (gold jewelry in any condition, referred to as broken gold)

• Gold Coins

• Gold Bars , all sizes.

You can sell any kind of gold, platinum or silver for cash.  Depending on your needs you may want to sell the items outright or if it’s a temporary cash bridge you may want to borrow against their value in the form of a loan through a pawn broker.

When you use a pawn broker your item acts as collateral for the loan, you need to keep up your payments or the broker has the right to sell your item outright.

Reasons People Sell Their Things:

They are in dire need of the money. They want immediate cash.  The gold jewelry may no longer have sentimental value as in the case of divorce. Dental gold normally comes from elderly people who are getting dental replacements.

A lot of gold jewelry is sold when given as gifts, usually when a boyfriend/girlfriend break up.  Estate jewelry is sold in the event of a death and the inheritance holds no sentiment instead the family member would prefer cash.  A lot of gold jewelry goes out of style, is broken, there may only be one odd earring etc. In these cases people would prefer to sell the jewelry for cash, perhaps pay off some bills, take a trip or purchase something for themselves or their home.

Conclusion:

Whatever your reason for wanting to get cash for your gold make sure you’re dealing with a reputable company or dealer, speak to them on the phone first, ask their payment rates per gram I.e What do you pay for 10k, 14k, 18k etc.

Many people in this business are pushy and disrespectful, these people are out for a quick buck and usually are not paying you a very good rate.  Deal with someone who is friendly and will openly tell you his/her rates.

Good luck in selling your unwanted gold.

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