To understand where and how to sell gold, you have to know a little about gold’s history and terminology.
Around 560-700B.C. the first gold coins appeared in circulation. Lydian merchants used stamped lumps of a silver and gold mixture called ‘electrum’ for trade and currency. Before then, the gold products available were mainly used to display wealth. Homer, the Greek author of the ‘Iliad and The Odyssey,” mentions gold as the sign of wealth beyond ordinary humans.
The First Gold Known to Humans
Dubbed the ‘Tears of the Sun’ by the Incas, gold was the first widely known metal to early hominids. Pure gold is easily malleable; you can manipulate pure gold with your hands. Gold was undoubtedly used ornamentally during its first discovery. Gold’s inability to rust or corrode linked it to the supernatural and early-time deities.
The Silver/Gold Value Ratio
There is evidence of a silver/gold value ratio in the founder of the first Egyptian dynasty-‘the Code of Menes’, which states the first value-relationship between gold and silver: “One part of gold is equal to two and one-half parts of silver in value.”
Did you know that when Jason and the Argonauts searched for the ever-elusive and mystical ‘Golden Fleece,’ it referred to a primitive hydraulic mining method? Early miners would use the natural power of water and sheep fleece to trap the heavy but tiny flakes of gold. Once the fleece hit its holding capacity, it was hung up, dried, and gently beaten to disperse the gold so it could be recovered and used.
A Newly Found Commodity
How did gold come to be a commodity? As gold and its value became accepted throughout the world, early time manufacturers would melt the gold into stamped coins and bullions that eventually became money altogether. This completely dissolved the barter system, due to gold’s much easier ability to manage, as well as its permeance.
The Roman Empire Paved the Road for Modern Mining Techniques – the Birth of Money
While some of the greatest and earliest strides in gold mining development are due to the Greeks, in 323 B.C., having already mined from the Pillars of Hercules (Gibraltar) to Egypt. The Romans were by far the most extensive and advanced in the science of gold mining and their measurement of its monetary value.
Early Hydraulic Mining
The Romans used primitive forms of hydraulic mining. Diverting streams of water to carry the gold and wash away excessive sediment, building sluices to maintain water flow and power, and building the first ‘long toms’, an expanded rocker that featured a 10-to-20-foot trough. Introducing water-wheels, underground mining, and pioneering gold ore roasting to separate the precious metal from the outside rock made extraction more effective.
Using newly developed technologies, the Romans were victorious in mining even further in already abandoned mines, producing nearly six years of their military’s budget in silver and gold throughout their time.
Troy weight systems and Roman’s influence during the 15th century
The system of a mass unit primarily used to value and weigh precious metals originated in England during the 15th century, using the weight units grain, pennyweight, troy ounces, and the troy pound.
The Romans indirectly influenced this system with a similar system, their own Roman Monetary System. Bronze bars of various weights were used to value currency; an aes grave known as “heavy bronze” weighed one pound.
Troy weight was made official for silver and gold in 1527. However, in 1824, the British Imperial systems of weights and measures were established and adopted into the United States as the official weight standard for U.S. coinage by the Act of Congress in May 1828.
How Is the Value of Gold Measured?
Troy ounces
A Troy Ounce is how gold is measured today. The only modern and widespread use of the troy ounce is the British Imperial troy ounces and its American counterpart. The British Empire abolished the 12-ounce troy pound in the 19th century. In other countries where the International System of Units is mainly used, troy ounces are still used in precious metal markets.
The troy ounce system gives a standardized accepted way to weight gold no matter what weight, and helps you determine the market value of your gold.
The market price of gold, called spot price, has hit an all time high in 2022. The market price ebbs an flows depending on the world’s economy and what is going on in the world. When you buy, sell, or pawn gold, whether it is gold bullion, gold coins, gold jewelry, or gold bars, watch the market and sell it on a day when the spot price is high, and buy it on a day when the spot price is low.
The value of the USD is not linked to the value of gold, but the value of gold is related to the U.S. dollar.
This is important due to the relationship between the trade-weighted dollar index, also known as the broad index. Gold pricing can be a complex relationship. Therefore, a general rule of thumb is that when the USD value increases relative to other currencies worldwide, the price of gold tends to fall in terms of the U.S. dollar.
Price per year and inflation
Throughout history, the prices of gold, silver, platinum are constantly changing, depending solely on what is happening in the current market. Over the last 20 years, the price of gold bars, gold bullions, or investment coins such as the Napoleon has climbed to a 400% increase in its euro worth.
When someone refers to the current gold price per ounce, they typically refer to the ‘spot price’ of gold. Today’s gold spot price will be different than yesterday’s, and may or may not be higher than tomorrow’s price. You can follow and be updated on the spot price of gold or the current market price by using MONEX Live Gold Spot Price Chart.
Spot price means what the gold could be sold for ‘on the spot.’ It is the price at which someone can buy certificates or gold on the commodity exchange. Gold buyers will tack on a small commission for the merchant. Make sure you know what the ‘premium’ is before you agree to buy or sell gold. It doesn’t matter if you are selling a Canadian maple leaf gold bar, gold coins, or the like, the spot price determines the value plus the premium.
The highest price of gold in the US
According to a price chart displayed in August 2020, gold prices hit a historic high of USD 2,074.88.
Buying and Selling Gold: What to Expect
Physical gold, silver and gold bullion, coins, gold jewelry, will be tested and appraised no matter where you decide to buy gold as a good investment. You can be assured that the gold is real and being sold at a fair price.
There are online gold buyers, and they will list the gold content of the piece you are considering. The difficulty is they are not at a place where you can ‘experience’ the gold and hold and see for yourself.
Consider going to a pawn shop to buy, sell, or pawn your gold. They are experts, and many pawn shops have state of the art testing equipment, like the Sigma Pro Spectrophotometer, to test bullions and precious metals. They ensure nothing but accuracy.
Having your gold and precious metals tested is a good idea, particularly if you don’t know what purity of gold you own. Shops will use testing equipment and tell you exactly what you own.
An Investment Choice – Hard assets
Gold as an asset is also widely considered a safe haven in terms of protection against economic collapse, often saving investors from economic uncertainty. During times of said uncertainty, investors were more likely to buy gold to preserve their wealth or use it as a safety net.
Gold as a hedge against the U.S. Dollar. What is a hedge concerning the stock market?
Due to the decline of the USD and inflation, gold has historically been used as a hedge against both. A hedge in terms of investment strategies means owning an investment to reduce the risk of adverse price movements in an asset.
Using gold to preserve that wealth is important for investors in the U.S., buying into the hard asset upon realization of any extra declination, knowing it will hold its value.
Investing; What are gold certificates?
Looking to start investing? Keeping an eye on the stock market is a great start, giving you great insight and a firm idea of current prices and deals around the world. If you are looking to start investing in gold, you first need to know how to own and purchase gold and gold stock.
Gold Futures is a CME Group specializing in global price discovery and opportunities for diversifying your portfolio beyond traditional gold product and mining stock investments. Future’s gold contract trades nearly 27 million ounces daily, ensuring leading liquidity and mitigating 3rd-party risks.
Gold futures are standardized, exchange-traded contracts in which the contract buyer agrees to take delivery and a specific quantity of gold at a predetermined price and delivery date.
Gold Coins
Gold coins fall into four categories: Bullion, proof, numismatic, semi-numismatic. Gold bullion has recognized weight, can be in coin or brick, and is stamped accordingly. Proofs are made in higher quality and fewer quantities, often featuring a more reflective or cameo appearance.
Numismatic coins are older coins that have gained value among their collectors. Semi-numismatic have traits of both numismatic and billions.
Gold Investments
Investing in a gold company may look like; investing in physical gold/asset, investing in EFTs and mutual funds, or trading futures and options in the commodities market.
Gold EFTs or gold exchange-traded funds allow an investor to purchase a commodity that consists solely of gold assets. Gold EFTs act as individual stocks and can be traded with contracts strictly derived and backed by gold and gold products.
Gold mutual funds are a type of investment fund that holds assets related to gold. This could be bullion, gold futures contracts, and gold mining companies. This is a popular method that investors use as a hedge against inflation risks. The difference between an ETF and a mutual fund is that EFTs can be traded during one day like stocks, while mutual funds can only be purchased at the end of each trading day based on a calculated price known as the net asset value.
Gold Jewelry
Investing in gold jewelry gives you a physical form of gold, and it is a great way to reduce market volatility by acting as a hedge. Being untraceable, you can even use gold as a means of payment when you cannot spend paper cash. There is a global market and high demand for gold jewelry, so many invest in gold products alone.
The selling price for gold jewelry, scrap gold or unused gold jewelry depends on the purity of the gold in the jewelry, the weight of the gold, and the market value of the gold on the day you want to sell it.
Pure gold is 99.9% pure and marked 24k gold. Most jewelry is made of a lesser pure gold, because pure gold is bendable and scratches easily, making it undesirable.
18k gold is 75 percent gold, and 25 percent other alloys like copper or silver.
14k gold is 58.3% percent gold, and the rest from other alloys like copper, silver, and nickel.
It’s important to know what purity of gold you own. A pawn shop will test your gold before buying gold, no matter what the hallmark says. The hallmark is the number and letter k mark on your jewelry, which indicate what type of gold your jewelry is made from. The pawn shop or gold dealer wants to make sure they are buying before they hand out cash.
Gold Coins, Gold Bars, Silver Coins, Silver Bars
You can sell your gold coins, bars, silver coins and bars. These items are often made of pure gold or silver and bring a high price. The more gold an item has in it, the more value it has. If you are in the market to buy bullion coins, pawn shops have these available. Many people padded their gold investments with bullion coins or bullion bars, because they are an easy way to own physical gold. They don’t take up much room and are easy to story.
Some people decide to liquidate their physical gold, and this makes it available to you and at an affordable price. If owning physical gold is your goal, shopping at a pawn shop may be exactly where you need to shop.
Goldmine Pawn
Whether you want to sell gold coins, gold bars, precious metals, buy gold coins, buy silver, buy gold bullion, or buy physical gold in the raw, Goldmine Pawn is a trusted pawn shop in Hollywood, FL ready to help you.
The gold industry is sometimes difficult to understand when you start buying gold to create a positive cash flow for you and your family. The expert pawn brokers at Goldmine will buy and sell gold, and no matter what you need to know, they will keep you informed throughout the transaction.
If you need to use your gold coins, gold bullion, or gold and diamond jewelry to secure a short-term collateral loan, Goldmine Pawn can help. Here are some tips when selling or loaning gold and silver.
- Goldmine Pawn pays top dollar based on the current spot price for your gold or silver.
- Goldmine Pawn factors in diamond price, as well as it is part of your gold or silver jewelry.
- There is no limit on the amount of gold or silver you bring in.
- They will test each piece of gold and silver to authenticate it’s purity.
- After they authenticate your items, they will provide you with a cash offer you can accept or deny, hassle free.
