All that glitters might be gold – either a lot of gold or just a little of it. There is only one way to tell. Call Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners at 800-426-2344 and tell us what you have. We’ll explain how to send your items to our state-of-the-art labs for testing and evaluation. We can tell you just what you have, recycle it and issue you prompt payment at full current trading prices.
Read MoreIf you have a small quantity of old jewelry, you’re not alone. Many people have dresser drawers or old jewelry boxes that contain a jumble of chains, cufflinks, pins, rings, and even small bits and pieces like earring clasps. If you have items like that lying around, you’re probably stalling about figuring out exactly what you have. It’s all just costume jewelry, right, so why hurry?
Read MoreOver the years, the White House has been home to two famous pianos decorated richly with gold. Way back in 1903, the Steinway & Sons piano company donated a grand piano that was completely covered in gold leaf, and it was spectacular. Today, you can see that instrument on display...
Read MoreYou just bought an old religious medal with a stamping on the back that indicates that is made of 18 karat gold. Now you’re sitting there looking at your treasure and wondering what it is worth. How can you make a quick down-and-dirty calculation? Don’t worry, we’re going to tell you in today’s post.
Read MoreBokassa’s throne might have contained more gold than any other piece of furniture ever made. Although chances are pretty slim that you will walk into an antiques auction and find it sitting there awaiting your bid, there really is a chance that you might come across an old piece of furniture that contains gold. Where? Let’s find out.
Read MoreIt might be tempting to think that gold cannot be forged. After all, it is so malleable that that banging on it will only make it spread out, not harden. Yet over the centuries, jewelers have developed two techniques that are called “forging” even though they are a lot different from the kind of forging that is used to harden steel...
Read MoreAre rare old books that sell for millions of dollars dripping with gold? To answer that question, let’s consider three of the most expensive books ever sold at auction…
Read MoreThe idea of extracting new gold from an old gold mine or gold claim is appealing, for several reasons...Reopening operations at an old mine or claim is a strategy that doesn’t guarantee profits...Despite those cautions, the fact remains that taking over an old site is extremely appealing.
Read MoreIf you’ve already made a list of resolutions for the new year, please take it out and get ready to add some more. We’d like you to add the following to your list. If you do, we predict you will make a few thousand dollars – maybe a lot more – by finding and recycling gold in the coming year.
Read MoreHave you ever visited a museum and marveled at the ancient gold coins on display? You might have seen some with the images of Julius Caesar, Ptolemy, Alexander the Great, or even Pontius Pilate. Chances are that you looked at them in and thought, “This stuff must be extremely rare – it’s for museums, not private collectors like me.” It’s logical to think that way, but actually incorrect.
Read MoreThe short answer to that question is that gold is gold, no matter whether it comes from Australia, England, China, Canada, South Africa or anywhere else. But there is more to it than that, because not all gold investment items are made of pure 24k gold. That is especially true if you are investing in gold coins, not bullion bars, because many of them contain small amounts of other metals that have been added to make them more durable. That explains why some popular investment coins, like the American Eagle and the South African Krugerrand, are actually made of 22k gold – only .9167pure.
Read MoreThe title of today’s post reflects a question that we heard from a caller recently, who asked, “Is white gold worth more than other gold . . . it contains platinum, right, so it should be worth more per ounce than other gold.” The caller’s reasoning is sound, but unfortunately the answer to his question is a bit more complex than he might realize. Here are some facts that clear up the confusion.
Read MoreAlthough those kits are useful, they cannot take the place of the thorough testing and analysis that is offered by a qualified gold refinery like Specialty Metals Smelters and Refiners, the parent company of GoldRefiners.com. Acid-testing kits can only determine the gold content of small individual items like rings or earrings. They can’t determine the gold content in materials like these, which we regularly test for our customers
Read MoreYou don’t have to invest a ton of money before you go out and look for gold. If you want to, you can actually start by using your hat to scoop up gravel and silt from the bottom of streams. If you do a little searching online, you will find that plenty of equipment is available for casual and serious hobbyists.
Read MoreThe best thing about looking for small pieces of gold is that if you start looking, you are really going to find them. (That cannot be said if you go out and buy a metal detector, for example, or if you put on scuba gear and start poking around on the ocean floor.) Here are some of the places where you are going to find small pieces of gold.
Read MoreOdds are that you will never find a trophy like that one at a yard or estate sale, or find a gold or gold-plated trophy either. But you will find silver-plated and even solid sterling trophies that you can recycle using a qualified silver refinery like Specialty Metals Smelting and Refining, the parent company of GoldRefiners.com.
Read MoreThe words “Cash for Gold” have been cropping up nearly everywhere recently. They appear in ads on billboards, on loose ads in packets that arrive in the mail, and even on store signs. It seems kind of odd that there is so much demand for your gold at a time when it’s not trading at top-of-market prices, doesn’t it? And in fact, it is kind of odd. But there is an explanation, and not a very happy one...
Read MoreThe story made me want to jump in a boat and head out to sea while peering over the side to see whether I could spot any wrecks. The story also made me wonder just how much it would cost to equip myself to become a professional hunter of sunken gold. If you thought going to college was expensive, hold your hat. If you want to become a professional treasure hunter, you better bring some serious money with you.
Read MoreThere’s a rumor flying around that the new watches will contain so much gold that Apple stores are upping their security to protect them. This story is apparently true, but the new safes are being installed to protect high-end Apple watches that have 18K gold cases, not lower-end models that have only a few bucks worth of gold in their circuit boards.
Read MoreWill you liquidate some of your gold holdings in the coming year? If you do, today’s post will help you understand how much money you can receive for them. Karat ratings are a bit confusing, because they are based on the number 24, not the base number 100 that we use when working with dollars and percentages. Let’s make things simpler by offering these conversions from karat ratings into percentages...
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