Selling Your Gold: What’s the Difference Between an Appraiser and an Assayer?

When you’re selling gold items, it’s important to understand the difference between appraisers and assayers.

What Do Appraisers Do?

Appraisers are professionals that you hire to research the history of the items that you own. They are concerned with provenance, meaning that your gold items have an interesting or significant history. If your gold brooch once belonged to Queen Victoria or Marilyn Monroe, for example, it has collectible value that probably exceeds the value of the gold that it contains. If that small gold bee that you inherited turns out to have been made by Inca craftsmen 500 years ago, the same holds true. Or if the gold watch that you want to sell was once part of a museum collection, that can add to its value too.

So if you have older items that have interesting or important histories, or which you suspect might have, it is wise to find a professional appraiser who is qualified and certified to assess their value. The American Society of Appraisers (APA) is a good place to find one.

Things have changed since the 16th Century - Assaying your gold with state of the art processes and equipment will not harm any samples you send us for testing at www.Goldrefiners.com.

What Do Assayers Do?

Assayers are interested in value of a different kind. They are concerned with the metals that are contained in your gold and other items. For example, we are assayers here at GoldRefiners.com, part of Specialty Metals Smelters & Refiners, Inc. When you send us an item for testing and evaluation, we apply the latest testing technology to determine its metallic content.

After testing your items, we can answer lots of different questions for you. What is the Karat rating of a gold item, for example? What other metals does it contain, and how do those metals affect the value? If you decide to have us reclaim the gold and other metals that we discover in your items, exactly how much money will you receive for it, and how quickly? We can answer those questions, and more.

No Gold Items Will Be Harmed in the Process of Testing...

It is not uncommon for customers to ask whether we will damage gold items that they send in for testing. (“Will you have to melt down this old gold bracelet before you can tell me what it is worth?”) The answer is, we will not harm any items that you send to us for testing – a simple, non-damaging metallic test is all that is needed. (In some cases, we may need to rub your item on a stone or special cloth to obtain a tiny sample of metal to test, but that sample is so small that it cannot be effectively measured; it will not diminish the value of any item that you submit to us for testing.)

So, What Is the Difference between an Appraiser and an Assayer?

We hope that today’s post has cleared up that question for you. If you have more questions, we are here to help. Do not hesitate to call us at 800-426-2344.

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Now’s the Time to Help Older Relatives Raise Money before the Holidays

If you have older relatives who are feeling blue because it will be so expensive to buy holiday presents this season, here is a suggestion.

Why not encourage them to recycle any precious metal items that they have on hand now? They could get a check from us just in time to take the sting out of holiday shopping.

Here’s a quick checklist that you can share with your mom, dad, aunt or uncle to help them identify unwanted items that can be recycled with the services of a qualified precious metals recycler like us.

• Silver and silver-plated tableware – There can be a lot of value hidden in mixed lots of old knives, forks and spoons that haven’t been used for years.
• Metal picture frames – Some of them are actually made of pure silver. Others are made of base metals plated with silver and in come cases, gold. They are well worth examining closely.
• Old trophies, medals, religious items and awards - In earlier decades, it was not uncommon for many of them to be made from silver, gold-plated silver, or other precious metals – even platinum. They are often small, but their dollar value might not be.
• Unwanted piece of jewelry – Rings, pins, bracelets, watches, chains, and other items can be worth a great deal of money.
• Old bridges, caps and unused dental appliances – It might surprise you to learn that your relative has kept such items, but sometimes people do. They intend to recycle them someday. Maybe that “someday” should be today.
• Deskware, including paperweights, pen and pencil holders, and letter openers – Such items, often engraved, were once given often as incentives and awards. They could be hiding in plain sight on your relative’s desk, mantle, or bookshelves.
• Lighters, cigarette and cigar cases, and other smoker’s paraphernalia – Several decades ago when many people smoked, these items were produced in great quantities and often given as gifts. It is extremely unlikely that they are being used today, so now is the time to send them to a qualified precious metals refinery for recycling.

It’s Easier than Ever Before to Find Out How Much Items Are Worth

If you have located any of the above items, you can sit down with your relative and give us a call at 800-426-2344. It will be a fun call, and potentially a profitable one too. One of our expert consultants will be happy to speak with you confidentially and give you an estimate of what your precious metals could be worth.

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Raising Funds for Holiday Shopping: Why Not Get Family, Friends and Neighbors Looking for Precious Metals to Recycle?

This is a time of year when everyone could use a little extra cash, right? Or maybe a lot of extra cash would be even better.

So here’s a suggestion. Why not get together with your relatives, friends and neighbors, search for precious metals in your homes, and then send them to Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners? The result could be a nice big check, just in time to make everyone’s holiday shopping a lot more exciting and fun.

Why search for precious metals with other people, instead of on your own? There are some great reasons. First, it is motivating and fun to start a shared precious-metals search. Second, you will end up with a larger quantity of items to recycle, which makes it more likely that we here at Specialty Metals can quickly recycle them promptly and send you a check. Third, you could end up discovering valuable items that you would have overlooked otherwise; when other people suddenly discover a silver plate or an old pair of eyeglass frames in their homes, you could suddenly remember that you own similar items too.

Here’s a Checklist

Here’s a checklist of precious metal-bearing items that are found in many homes.

Old items of jewelry . . .

Remember that even in a batch of what appears to be nothing but costume jewelry, there could be a few items hiding that are made of 14K, 18K or even 24K gold.

Old silverware and tableware . . .

It could be either pure sterling or silver-plated. Either way, it could be well worth recycling.

Old eyeglass frames . . .

As we have noted on this blog before, eyeglass frames that were made before about 1970 are often “gold-filled” rather than “gold-plated.” That means that they contain a much greater quantity of gold.

Trophies, commemoratives . . .

Newer items generally do not contain enough silver or gold to recycle. Older items, however, usually contain far greater quantities of precious metals.

Coin collections . . .

If they’ve been set aside for years, the chances are pretty good that you will find a quantity of silver or even gold coins that are worth recycling.

Mantle clocks, pen sets, cigarette cases, lighters and other old-fashioned decorative items . . .

Not that many years ago, it was common for small decorative items to be made of silver or – sometimes – plated with gold.

Form a Team, Start Looking, then Call to Tell Us what You Found

We are always available to discuss the precious metal treasures you have found. Call us at 800-426-2344 when you are ready.

Related Posts:

Is this a Good Time to Sell My Gold?
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Is this a Good Time to Sell My Gold?

If you have been paying attention to dropping gold prices, you probably believe that this would be a very bad time to sell your gold. It seems like a far better time to buy gold now and hold it until prices bounce back.

But the fact remains that there is no one answer to the question, “Is this the time to sell?” Even when prices are low, your circumstances could dictate that selling now might be a very good idea.

Those circumstances could be . . .

• You acquired gold at a lower price than its current trading level, so selling now would represent a net gain for you. If you make a sizeable profit from selling your gold for more than you paid for it, the current trading price might not be a relevant concern.
• You could use the money that is tied up in your gold holdings to make opportune investments in real estate, fine art, or other assets that will appreciate in value. And remember, you could receive a usable sum of money by recycling only a part of your gold holdings. (Nobody can require you to sell all the gold you own right now, correct?)
• You can use the cash you realize as a tax-deductible charitable contribution to a college, a hospital or another institution that you support. Depending on your tax bracket and other considerations, it could be a strategy that will minimize your taxes, offset the current low price of gold, and help you support a favorite institution too.
• You own gold-bearing items that need to be recycled, not bouillon, and you don’t know just how much money you stand to gain by recycling them now. They could be gold dental scrap, gold-plated decorative items, a large quantity of printed circuit boards or other electronic devices that need to be tested by a qualified gold refinery like us. You could get a much bigger payment for those items than you expect.
• You are making a new estate plan. Instead of holding on to valuable precious metals and having your heirs pay inheritance tax on them should you die, perhaps you should liquidate them and put the money you get into a trust or other vehicle that will serve to minimize inheritance taxes. The attorney or other expert who is helping you plan your estate can offer you the advice you need.

How Much Are Your Gold-Bearing Items Worth?

If you are not sure call us at 800-426-2344 to find out.