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Aug 24, 2006 6:20 pm US/Eastern
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Get Your Money' s Worth For 'Old Gold'
by Kirstin Cole
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Jewelry storeowner Brett Barrad says business is good. But these days, he's the one doing most of the buying. "we'll weigh up the gold, see what the price of gold was on that day, determine the purity of the gold," explains Barrad.
Gold prices are near a 25 year high-so people are digging through jewelry boxes looking for treasures to turn into cash. They're going to get maybe 60, 70, 80% of the gold value out of it; and sometimes more," says Barrad.
Toni Marie Abbey is hoping to turn her gold into green, explaining, "this is just not in style anymore. I think with the price of gold, if I haven't worn something in 4 years, there really isn't any reason for me to hang onto it anymore."
Still selling jewelry for scrap doesn't bring retail prices. A 14- karat gold chain that you bought for $500 may bring you about $250 for scrap--depending on the deal you strike.
Abbey says, "I'm hoping to get somewhere in the neighborhood of $100."
But jewelers will often pay more for well-crafted pieces they can re-sell.
Cos Altobelli of the American Gem Society says, "some pieces have the provenance that would make them quite valuable, but you wouldn't know until you had them appraised."
So check in with an experienced appraiser first and shop around to get your best price.
Toni has experience in the gold market and is still happily surprised by the quote she got.
When selling your gold, you'll get more profit out of pieces with higher gold content, such as gold coins or bars. Jewelry has varying grades of gold, and it denotes the actual gold content of a piece. 14 karats gold, for example is about 55% actual gold. The remainder contains other metals.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)