Tightening Your Budget

Due to its rarity, inability to corrode, and portable nature, gold has maintained a significant value over time. In the modern era it has become a key component in electronics and technology items. This means that gold constantly increases in value as it has a practical use beyond jewelry and currency. Further, it means that gold is more accessible than ever despite its rarity. A strong market exists for scrap gold in the United States due to these factors. Read on to learn the key tips for selling scrap gold.

Scrap Gold is Found in More than Broken Jewelry

When most people think of scrap gold they immediately think of broken jewelry or old coins. These are certainly excellent sources for gold, but the truth is that you can find gold in many other locations. One location that is readily accessible by most people is in broken or discarded electronics items. There is a very good chance that any computer, old cell phone, or even high-end calculators will have gold in them. 

The gold in these electronics items is primarily found in the CPU, switches, relays, and circuit boards. The older the computer system is, the more gold they will generally contain. This is especially true for e-scrap, as it is called, computer systems from the 1960s and 1970s. After 1998 computer systems were crafted to contain less gold. They may be worth scrapping, but older computers are still the best to work with.

Beyond technology items there are other scrap gold items that can be garnered. Dental fillings and crowns are a good source of scrap gold, for instance.

Know the Value of Your Gold

Gold is valued as a commodity based on futures contracts purchased at various exchanges such as the New York Mercantile Exchange, NYMEX. The value placed on gold fluctuates slightly throughout any given day, normally. The value of gold determined at any given moment is known as the spot price. This value is used as a key component when determining how much your specific amount of scrap gold is worth.

The value of a specific amount of gold is determined by three key components. These components are karat value, weight, and spot price.

Karat Value - The karat value of gold is the amount of actual gold that is found in a given item. The karat value is a scale that ranges from 0 to 24. When the scale is at 0, there is no trace of gold in the metal. When the scale is at 24, then the entire piece of metal is considered to be pure gold. In order to determine the actual percentage of gold in a given piece of metal divide its karat value by 24. For instance, 12 karat gold is 50% pure using this formula.

Weight - The weight of gold is shown in various ways. The two most common methods of weighing gold is the Troy ounce and by the gram. There are approximately 31.1 grams in a single Troy ounce.

Spot Price - This is the previously mentioned value of gold at that exact moment in time as determined by futures trading. The spot price is valued based on 24 karat gold.

In order to determine the value of your gold separate it by karat. Determine the spot price of that karat value of gold. For instance, if gold is worth $1,000 per Troy ounce, 12 karat gold is worth $500 per Troy ounce. You arrive at this number by multiplying the percentage of gold, 50% in the case of 12 karat gold, by the value of the spot price of gold.

Weigh the separated gold on a scale capable of determining weight in grams. Once you know the exact amount of gold that you have for a specific karat value you can use the spot price to determine value. Multiply the amount of gold by the spot price value for gold of that karat type. If you use the 12 karat gold example from before, you can see that 10 Troy ounces of 12 karat gold would be worth $5,000.

Armed with this knowledge you can now understand both the value of your gold, and locate new sources of gold that are still under-exploited. There are many places to sell gold. You can sell it at a pawn shop, jewelry store, scrap yard, or even online. You can start your search at http://www.rmcoin.com. Gather up your gold and give it a try, today!