Seen At 11

Gold Owners The Big Winners In Financial Crisis

Demand Overwhelming For What Many Have Tucked Away

NEW YORK (CBS) ― The struggling economy has what might be called a gold lining. Gold has been hovering at something under $900 an ounce during the current economic downturn and has come into heavy demand by investors wanting the precious metal's security.

That's created a temporary shortage of investor products made of gold: coins and bullion. It's also created a demand for quick local sources of gold, which might be sitting in your jewelry cabinet.

Several local precious metal distributors are sending buyers to so-called "gold parties" in the New York suburbs to collect gold jewelry and pay cash.

At a recent gold party in Montclair, N.J., gold party hostess Amy Barnett watched as friends and neighbors collected hundreds of dollars in cash for their old and unwanted gold jewelry. Buyer Katie Kuperschmid evaluated the pieces, made the calculation based on the current price of gold and paid the money out of a strong box. One woman walked out with more than $550. Buyers told CBS 2 HD that a typical class ring would fetch about $50.

Once it's collected, the jewelry is brought back to a central location then re-sold to a gold refiner who makes it into bullion or some other investment grade product. Wall Street precious metal distributor Raymond Nessim said he can't get bullion and gold coins fast enough to satisfy the demand from nervous investors looking to park their money in something solid.

"Our big problem is we don't have product," Nessim told CBS 2 HD. "We never dreamt that this would be a problem."

The demand for precious metal products has increased 200 percent since the start of the economic crisis.

Even dental gold, filings and old bridges are being collected and sold for cash. It's one thing, at least, that continues to glitter in a dim economy.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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