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SELLING YOUR GOLD

So, you’ve found gold, and now you are wondering what to do with it.  The price, right now, seems high enough, but is that flour placer gold you have in a vial really worth keeping, or should you try to sell your gold.

 

First, flour gold does have a higher gold content than larger nuggets and specimen grade gold, but it lacks having many applications for anyone who might want to buy it.  It can be melted and cast for jewelry, and if you can find a jeweler who would do that for you, you would have a unique piece of jewelry.  However, you would need at least half an ounce to do that and also know the karat grade of the fines.  It must be absolutely cleaned of black sand and quartz, or the sand will leave bubbles in the finished product.  While most prospectors don’t mind a few bubbles, as it proves the jewelry was caste from raw gold, you do not want a lot of bubbles, or for them to be very big as they can weaken the piece of jewelry.

  

The next question is if it is worth selling, and where would you find a buyer.  Refiners will buy gold dust and refine it for you, but they do require you to have an amount that would be worthwhile after they have charged you the processing fees.  You would not want to send a quarter ounce only to find the charges would be more than the gold is worth.  A refiner could either send you the button, or sell it on the open market for you and send you the money it was worth. 

 

Many gold prospectors sell their gold in small amounts on auction sites or in panning sand/bags of dirt.  Many make a good living at it, but they also have access to large amounts of gold they either mine themselves, or buy at under spot.  If you can find a buyer outright for the gold, remember that the buyer will only want to pay for the GOLD weight of the dust, and may give you only 20% to 40% under spot. If they are a reseller, they will want to be able to make a profit on the gold they are buying, and the amount of gold you have to sell will also figure into the price.  If you find a buyer who puts gold into panning sand, you can usually get around spot price for it.

Gold nuggets will fetch a slightly higher price at around 10% above spot for 1 gram size, up to 100% over spot for nuggets in the one ounce range.  If you are lucky to find rare gold formations, the sky can be the limit, depending where it comes from, the size of the piece, and how well it has been cleaned.

So, who buys gold?  One source could be gold dealers whose primary business is buying and selling gold.  You might also find a business that cleans rocks and gold specimens.  They may also sell specimens of all kinds to collectors and museums.  Then there is the general public that you can also sell your gold to directly, through advertising or auction sites.  After you sell your gold, you should also be aware that it has specific rules as to income reporting, and so it is advisable that you consult your tax advisor about your gold sale.

Now that you know some of the ways you can sell your gold, you must decide if you want to sell it, or keep it around.  It is very pretty, and all those vials do make for conversation pieces and lots of fun showing and talking about your adventures.  However, selling it can bring you in a few greenbacks to spend on something else.  Just don’t be surprised when the buyer doesn’t give you spot price for your gold when it isn’t all gold, but has many impurities still in it.  Remember that the spot price of gold is for the gold alone, and that may or may not be easy to determine.  Anyone who has been around gold for a while can tell you by looking at it approximately what the purity of your gold might be.  It has a distinct color, depending on how pure it is, and that will effect the price you are offered.  Good luck to you and as always

Good Prospecting to You

Copyright 2005-2010 All Rights Reserved  Shirley Weilnau  Hooked on Gold

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