01 — Melt value at the live gold price
Scrap Gold
Calculator
Live gold price. Pick the karat stamped on the piece, weigh it, and see the melt value and the cash offer a buyer will likely make.
- Gold
- $3,876.40/ozt
- 14K gold
- $72.70/g
- Silver
- $49.25/ozt
Updated 3:53 AM EST
Melt value $727.00. Likely cash offer $508.90 – $654.30.
Signed and designer pieces can sell for well above melt as whole jewelry. Check sold listings before you scrap them.
DocketYour tally
Add items to total everything you plan to sell, silver and gold together.
Karat means parts of 24
14/24
14 parts gold in 24 — 58.3% gold by weight.
Not solid gold
These marks mean a layer of gold over something else. The calculator treats them as near zero.
GF · 1/20 12K GF
Gold-filled: a sheet of gold alloy bonded over brass. "1/20 12K GF" means one-twentieth of the weight is 12K gold.
RGP
Rolled gold plate: the same idea as gold-filled, with an even thinner layer.
GP · GEP · HGE
Gold plated or electroplated. A microscopic layer with no real melt value.
925 + gold color
Vermeil: gold plate over sterling silver. The value is in the silver, so use the silver calculator.
Open the silver calculator
Read the stamp on bullion
- 01
Refiner's mark
Who made and guarantees the bar. Bars from well-known refiners resell close to spot; unbranded bars often need an assay first.
- 02
Weight
Bullion states its weight. Jewelry never does, so for chains and rings you have to weigh the piece yourself.
- 03
Fineness
999.9 means 99.99% gold, which is 24 karat. Jewelry uses lower numbers: 750 for 18K, 585 for 14K, 417 for 10K.
- 04
Gold content on coins
Coins state their pure gold content. This Krugerrand holds one troy ounce of fine gold but weighs more, because it is 22K. Value it by the gold it contains, not its total weight.
What people bring in
14K · 585 · 10KChains & bracelets
Look for the stamp on the clasp or the small tag beside it. Hollow chains weigh little for their size, and the steel spring inside a clasp isn't gold.
Photo: PRAHANT STUDIO / Unsplash
Inside the bandRings
The karat is stamped inside the band, sometimes worn away by resizing. Stones add weight that isn't gold: one carat weighs 0.2 g.
Photo: Mariano Rivas / Unsplash
999.9 · 22KCoins & bars
Bullion states its fineness and weight. Krugerrands and American Eagles are 22K but contain a full ounce of gold, so value them by gold content, not total weight.
Photo: Zlaťáky.cz / Unsplash
Sort by karatBroken & mixed pieces
Single earrings, broken chains, old class rings. Sort them by karat before you weigh: some buyers pay a mixed lot at the lowest karat in it.
Photo: Leo_Visions / Unsplash
Gold price per gram today, by karat
| Purity | Per gram | Per troy oz | Per pennyweight |
|---|---|---|---|
| $124.50 | $3,872.52 | $193.63 | |
| $114.24 | $3,553.37 | $177.67 | |
| $93.47 | $2,907.30 | $145.36 | |
| $72.70 | $2,261.23 | $113.06 | |
| $72.91 | $2,267.69 | $113.38 | |
| $51.93 | $1,615.17 | $80.76 | |
| $46.74 | $1,453.65 | $72.68 |
How the gold calculator works
Worked example — 10 g of 14K
Melt value vs. what you'll be offered
Melt value is a ceiling, not a price tag. Pawn shops, coin dealers and mail-in refiners keep a margin for refining and profit, so their offers land below melt. Knowing the melt value tells you how far below.
Scrap gold questions
01How much is 14K gold worth per gram?
At today's spot price, 14K gold (58.3% pure) is worth about $72.70 per gram in melt value, and 18K about $93.47. Expect cash offers below that.
02What's the difference between 10K, 14K and 18K gold?
Karat counts parts of gold in 24. 10K is 41.7% gold, 14K is 58.3% and 18K is 75%. Higher karat is softer, more yellow and worth more per gram.
03Does 585 mean 14K?
Yes. 585 is the European way of marking 14K gold, in parts per thousand. US pieces are more often stamped 14K or 14KT. In the same way, 750 means 18K and 375 means 9K.
04Is gold-filled or gold-plated jewelry worth anything?
Very little. Gold-filled (GF) pieces are usually one-twentieth gold alloy by weight, and plated pieces carry far less. Most buyers won't pay for either; a few refiners buy gold-filled by weight.
05Why do gold buyers use pennyweight?
Pennyweight (dwt) is the traditional US jewelry trade unit: 20 dwt make one troy ounce, so 1 dwt is 1.555 g. If a buyer quotes per dwt, divide by 1.555 to compare with a per-gram price.
