Gold Melt Value vs. What Buyers Pay
Values on this page use gold spot at $4,141.50/oz · updated
Quick answer: Every figure on this site is melt value: the worth of the pure gold in an item at the live spot price of $4,141.50 per troy ounce. Nobody is obliged to pay it. Ranges reported by the trade run from well under 60% of melt at pawn counters to the low 90s in percent at refiners, depending on who is buying and how you sell. The way to get a fair price is to turn every offer into a percentage of melt and compare those.
Why melt is the starting point and not the finish line
Gold has one price at any moment, and a buyer who hands you cash for jewelry has to turn that jewelry into something they can resell. That means testing, sometimes weeks of waiting, melting, refining and a margin for the risk that the price falls before they sell. Every step comes out of what they can offer you.
So think of melt as the top of a staircase. Each buyer stands on a different step, and your job is to find the highest one you can reach without too much trouble.
One exception runs the other way. A coin with a collector following, an antique piece by a known maker or a rare date can sell above melt. For those, the chart gives a floor, not a ceiling. For ordinary scrap (broken chains, single earrings, dental gold, mismatched rings) melt is the ceiling.
What buyers typically pay, as a share of melt
These are typical ranges reported by the trade, drawn from published seller guides. They are not quotes, they shift with market conditions and the size of what you bring, and no buyer is bound by them.
| Type of buyer | Typical payout, % of melt | What usually drives the gap |
|---|---|---|
| Refiners | roughly 90% to 98% | Often require a minimum lot size, test your material on arrival and pay on assay |
| Mail-in and online buyers | roughly 70% to 90% | Convenience, shipping and a processing margin |
| Local gold buyers and jewelers | roughly 60% to 85% | Storefront costs, testing on site and resale risk |
| Pawn shops | often well under that | They are built for loans and quick resale, so margin is wide |
The table is a map, not a promise. A refiner paying in the 90s on a large lot may pay noticeably less on a single ring, and some local shops beat the mail-in range on high-karat pieces they can resell easily.
Why two buyers look at the same ring and pay differently
- Volume. A refiner processes large lots, so each gram costs them less to handle.
- Overhead. A shop with a lease, staff and insurance builds those costs into every offer.
- Resale route. A jeweler who can sell your ring as it is might pay above melt. A buyer who must melt everything pays a share of it.
- Testing method. A buyer who tests with acid and rounds down on doubtful karats protects themselves. One using an X-ray analyzer can price closer to the truth.
- Your leverage. A buyer who knows you have other offers pays closer to their ceiling.
How to compare offers as a percent of melt
Quotes come in odd units, such as per pennyweight, per gram, a lump sum for a bag, or a flat price per piece. Converting each to the same measuring stick takes under a minute.
- Weigh each item and note its karat.
- Find melt value with the gold value calculator or the karat table.
- Divide the offer by melt value and read the result as a percentage.
Worked example: a 14K item priced at today's $120.79 per pennyweight in melt terms receives an offer of $91 per pennyweight. That is 75% of melt. Hold that next to another buyer's number and the better offer is obvious, even when one person quotes per gram and the other quotes a flat sum.
Scale it to a real lot. Say you have 12 pennyweights of 14K scrap. Its melt value is $1,449.52. An offer of $1,159.62 would be 80% of melt, which sits comfortably inside the range reported for mail-in and local buyers. Anything far below that deserves a question, and anything near the refiner range deserves a look at the fine print on minimums and fees.
Scrap jewelry, coins and bars are not the same market
Scrap jewelry carries the widest spread between melt and payout, because buyers cannot know what is inside until they test it, and they must refine it before they can sell it as bullion.
Bullion coins such as American Eagles, Buffalo coins and Maple Leafs are priced by dealers off spot with a premium. A dealer buying one back pays spot minus a small discount, so the gap is narrow compared with scrap. Our coin value chart lists melt values; collectors' coins and rare dates sit outside it.
Bars follow the same logic, and the gap between buying and selling tends to be narrowest on large, well-known brands in sealed assay cards. A dealer will often pay more for a recognizable bar than for a lump of scrap of the same fine weight. See the bar value chart for sizes and fine weights.
If you hold a mix, separate it. Bring coins and bars to a dealer who handles them, and take the broken jewelry to a scrap buyer. Combining the lot into one bag hands the buyer the lowest-margin pricing on all of it.
Steps to take before you sell
- Identify what you have. Read the stamps. If a piece has no karat mark, have it tested rather than guessing.
- Weigh it yourself. Use a scale that reads to 0.01 gram and write the weights down.
- Calculate melt. Run each item through the calculator and keep the total.
- Get at least three quotes. Include a local buyer, a mail-in company and, for larger lots, a refiner.
- Ask about every deduction. Fees, testing charges, stone deductions and shipping insurance can change the result.
- Check how long the price is held. Ask whether the quote is locked, for how long and what happens if the metal tests lower than you said.
- Never leave your only copy of anything. Photograph the pieces, keep receipts and prefer buyers who return your items if you decline their offer.
- Be cautious with mail-in kits. Use tracked, insured shipping and read the return policy first.
A short note on taxes
Selling gold at a gain can create a taxable event in the United States, and gold held outside a retirement account is generally taxed as a collectible, with a higher maximum rate on long-term gains than many other assets. Dealers may also file reports on certain transactions. Rules depend on your situation and change, so ask a tax professional before a large sale. This page is general information, not tax advice.
What this chart can't tell you
A value chart cannot see your piece. It does not know whether the stamp is accurate, whether the item is plated, whether stones will be deducted, or how a particular buyer will treat it. It knows the market price of pure gold and nothing else, and that price is only a starting point.
Selling gold? Melt value is a ceiling for scrap, not an offer, so treat it as the number every quote should be measured against.
Buying instead? Learn what a premium over spot means and how to buy with the costs in writing Where to buy gold →
Related pages
- Gold value calculator: enter karat and weight.
- Gold value by weight: grams, pennyweights, ounces and kilos.
- Gold coin value chart: melt value of bullion coins.
- Gold bar value chart: sizes from 1 gram to 400 ounces.
- How to read a gold value chart: what the lines and labels mean.
Frequently asked questions
Is melt value what I will get paid?
No. Melt value is the worth of the gold content at spot, before refining and the buyer's margin. Payouts are a share of it, and the share depends on the buyer.
Which buyer usually pays the most?
Refiners tend to report the highest percentages, though they often set minimum lot sizes. For a single piece, a reputable mail-in buyer or a jeweler who can resell it may serve you better.
Why did a buyer offer less than the percentage I read?
Ranges are typical, not guaranteed. Small lots, low-karat items, uncertain stamps and testing deductions all push offers down.
Can gold sell for more than melt value?
Yes, when the item has value beyond its metal, such as a rare coin, a collectible date, or a piece by a notable maker. Ordinary scrap does not.
Should I clean my gold before selling?
Generally no. Cleaning rarely changes melt value, and on collectible pieces it can reduce what a collector will pay.
Does the price move while I shop around?
Yes. Spot changes all day, so compare quotes on the same day, and note the spot price at the time of each one.
Data sources: Spot price via api.gold-api.com · COMEX futures (GC=F) via Yahoo Finance. Prices are for informational purposes only and may be delayed. Figures on this page were generated . Gold is quoted in US dollars per troy ounce.