When you fall in love with a piece of jewelry or accidentally break it, it often ends up at the back of your junk drawer, out of sight and out of mind.
But scrap gold collecting dust in your home could sell for hundreds or even thousands of pounds.
The amount of scrap gold being sold in the UK has reached record levels, according to figures published by BullionByPost, the UK’s leading online gold bullion dealer.
The Birmingham-based company said that while Gold prices are at an all-time high, now is the best time for sellers to get a good deal.
Scrap gold collecting dust in your home could sell for hundreds or thousands of pounds
The most common scrap gold sold is broken or unwanted jewelry, rings, necklaces, as well as mounted sovereign coins.
As scrap gold sales reach record levels, BullionByPost has launched a online calculator That gives potential sellers a value for how much their item might be worth when they enter the purity and gram weight.
Pete Walden, CEO of BullionByPost, said: “After a drop during Covid, we have seen a 23 per cent increase in 2023 in both weight and value, and taking our current figures for 2024 so far, it looks like 2024 too It will be our biggest year for scrap gold both in terms of weight and value.
‘The main reason for this increase in sales would be the new records in the price of gold in recent years.
‘There have been plenty of gold price headlines that will keep people aware that gold is at or near its all-time high, making it an attractive time to sell.
The amount of scrap gold being sold in the UK has reached record levels, according to figures published by the UK’s leading online gold bullion trader, BullionByPost.
‘The largest purchase of scrap gold jewelery we have made was 2.4kg of mixed items and purities, worth £59,984. The vast majority are usually much smaller (less than £1,000). We sell it to a refinery to melt and recycle it.
BullionByPost advises that the first step for those looking to sell their scrap gold would be to check that the item bears a hallmark indicating that it is genuine gold and has been tested by an independent insurer.
In the UK, it is a legal requirement that items weighing 1 gram or more and sold as gold be hallmarked, although there are exemptions, such as the coins and bars we sell on BullionByPost. Other countries may have different brands.
Walden added: “The first step for anyone to know if they have gold items will be to look for hallmarks.”
‘This will give them the first two key pieces of information they need: that the item is gold and what the purity of the gold is. If you then weigh the item, that’s all you’ll need to start receiving our estimates.
«Identity marks are usually very small, but they should stand out.
‘The most common scrap gold is broken or unwanted jewelry. Rings, necklaces and other chains are by far the most likely gold waste items that people would have at home.
‘Other popular scrap items we see are mounted coins, where people have worn a small coin such as a Sovereign or Half Sovereign as part of a necklace, brooch or cufflinks.
“From time to time we are offered various strange items, from dental gold to gold nuggets found in rivers, but mostly we buy simple gold items.”
Figures show that between 2014 and 2023, BullionByPost bought 339kg of scrap gold, worth a total of £12 million.
Walden also revealed how to spot if your item is fake gold, even if it feels unusually light for its size or if the piece has discolored or chipped over time.
“Gold is a very dense metal, which is part of its charm and appeal, and a gold item often appears quite heavy compared to its size. If you have an item that feels very light, it may not be gold.
‘This is especially noticeable if you have an object on hand that you know is real gold and you can compare it. Typically, with real gold in your hand you can start to see differences in the feel of density and color/luster of real gold, even at lower purities such as 9 carats.
‘Plated items tend to discolor or peel off over time, so if there are obvious areas of another color beneath the surface, that could indicate that it is simply gold plated. Places like the edges or inside of a ring where it rubs against the skin would be key areas to look at.
“There are other tests, such as scratching a ceramic plate or acid test kits, that you can get, but they can be destructive, so they’re not something we generally recommend. Ultimately, the best way to know for sure is Let someone like us test it professionally.’