Scrap Gold Wanted – Have you got gold to sell?
Here at MJ Hughes Coins, we specialise in purchasing all of your unwanted gold items. Based in the UK, we have many years of experience in the purchase of the precious metal. Our business has developed with the sole aim of offering a fast, friendly and honest service to all of our customers.
Do you want a great price? Then read on…
Unlike many gold buyers, we have no limit to the amount of gold you can sell us. We are happy to buy as little as a gram to a few thousand grams! There are a number of ways you can sell to us:
Post it to us (Please see the Post to Us page)
Come and see us (Please see the Visit Our Shop in Alton page)
We can come and see you (Please call us for more information – 01420 768 161)
We will buy anything that is gold! All hallmarked, foreign and craft gold is happily purchased.
If your items are of foreign origin, or bear no marks, we are able to provide a free testing service to determine the fineness of your gold. Here are just a few examples of what gold we buy:
- Coins (Please see the above table ‘Coins’ for more information on coin values)
- Bars
- Jewellery (Including broken pieces!)
- Dental Gold
- Gold Dust
Before visiting us, or posting your gold to us, it maybe best to see if your items bear any hallmarks similar to the ones shown to the side.
Types of Gold: For thousands of years, mankind has had an obsession with the yellow metal. It’s gleaming surface, and easily malleable features makes it ideal in jewellery making.
The fineness of gold is measured in carats, 24 carats being the highest purity (99.99%).
Jewellery is often made from a lower carat gold, such as 9 carat or 18 carat. The reason being, pure gold (24ct) is incredibly soft.
Jewellers/Goldsmiths tend to alloy the gold with a stronger material, such as copper or silver. Items that are 9 carat gold will have a gold fineness of 37.5%, the other 62.5% of the item being an alloy. British hallmarked gold items will show this as ‘375’ (Please see our chart and pictures). This is similar for other carats, for example, 18 carat will have a gold fineness of 75% (Shown as ‘750’ in a British hallmark), and so on. The most common form of gold used in jewellery in the United Kingdom is 9 carat gold. Other countries also have their own preferred gold finenesses:
- Germany – 8 Carat+
- Italy – 9 Carat+
- Portugal – 19.2 Carat (80%) – Gold cannot be sold as ‘Gold’ in Portugal unless it is at least 80% fine.
- Turkey – 14 Carat+
- Middle East – 18 Carat+
- India – 18 Carat+
- China – 14 Carat+
- United States – 10 Carat+
Please note this is only a guide, I am sure all gold finenesses can be purchased in all countries!
We purchase many old pieces of gold, such as brooches and wedding rings. These tend to be items that have little sentimental attachment to the seller, inherited items that have been sitting in a drawer for many years.
It is common for older pieces of British gold (Pre 1920) to be made of 15 carat gold (Gold fineness of 62.5%). Older wedding rings also tend to be made of 22 carat gold (Gold fineness of 91.7%), where it was more traditional.
We often see many examples of ‘Rose’ gold. These are usually older pieces (Albert chains etc) when rose gold was much more popular. It is an urban myth that rose gold is a ‘special’ type of gold, it is in most cases a form of 9 carat gold that has been alloyed with copper to give the dark ‘rosey’ look.
Selling gold is a great way to clear out unwanted items, and raise a decent amount of money in the process. We advise people not to sell items that are sentimental to them in any way, as once they are gone, they are gone!
Another urban myth is that surrounding the properties of white gold. The gold fineness of white gold works exactly the same way as yellow gold (A 9 carat white gold necklace contains the same amount of gold as a 9 carat yellow gold necklace).. White gold is often alloyed with palladium, producing a white finish. You will never see white gold higher than 18 carat, otherwise the yellowness of the gold would be too prominent and show.
If your items are non hallmarked, or show a foreign hallmark, we are able to test using an XRF gun. Unlike acid testing, the XRF does not damage the piece in anyway, and provides an immediate and accurate verdict.
Please note, Rolled gold items are different to gold items. Any pieces marked ‘Rolled Gold’ and ‘Gold Plated’ are not gold, but only gold plated. We still buy gold plated items, but only for a fraction of the price. For example, a ‘1/5th 9 Carat Rolled Gold’ bangle weighing around 30 grams will have a value of approximately £4 to £5.
All precious metals are measured in TROY ounces. Unlike a IMPERIAL ounce, a Troy ounce contains 31.103 grams. An Imperial ounce contains only 28.35 gram.
As well as scrap gold items, we also purchase scrap silver. Please see prices we pay for Scrap Silver
Please feel free to contact us if you need any advice, or further information. We are always happy to help!
We are members of the British Numismatic Trade Association – www.bnta.net.
How to Sell to us: