Our calculators give you one number: what the metal in your item is worth at today’s spot price. That number is the floor, not the price you will be paid, and for some items it is not the right number at all.
These guides cover the rest. How to confirm what you actually have, when a coin is worth more than its metal, which buyers pay what, and how to compare offers before you hand anything over.
Start Here: What Do You Have?
Almost everything people bring to a buyer falls into one of three groups, and each one gets priced a different way.
| What You Have | How It Gets Priced | Where to Start |
|---|---|---|
| Scrap gold and silver jewelry, broken chains, flatware | Weight times purity times spot price, minus the buyer’s spread | Gold calculator or silver calculator |
| Bullion coins, rounds, bars, and pre-1965 US silver | Metal content, with a small premium on recognized bullion | US silver coin melt values |
| Rare, key date, or certified coins | Collector demand, which can run far above metal content | How to sell rare coins |
Get the melt number first. It costs nothing and it is the one figure no honest buyer will dispute.
Selling Guides
How to Sell Rare Coins
Sorting a collection, when grading pays for itself, and how dealer offers compare to auction results on coins that clear melt value.
Weighing and Valuing
How to Weigh Gold at Home
Which scale to buy, troy ounces versus grams, the pennyweight trap, and how to turn a weight into a dollar figure.
How Gold Melt Value Is Calculated
The formula behind every number on this site, a karat purity chart, and worked examples you can check by hand.
Before You Sell Anything
Three rules apply no matter what you are holding.
Know your melt value first. Walking in without a number is how people accept 40 percent of spot and never find out. Every calculator on this site is free and takes under a minute.
Get more than one offer. Payouts vary more between buyer types than most people expect. The spread between a pawn shop and a specialist metal buyer on the same lot is often 30 percentage points.
Do not clean or repair anything. This matters most with coins, where cleaning can cut the price in half. It also applies to antique jewelry and silver with original patina.