How would you recommend shipping silver and gold material through the mail? From Kara in San Antonio, Texas

Hi Kara,

Shipping precious metal material through the mail does not have to be a daunting process if you follow some general guidelines. You can even cut your shipping expenses by using flat rate shipping boxes which we found are great for sending heavy precious metal items such as silverware that does not take up too much room. Also, for quicker processing you can choose the option to overnight mail packages or express mailing.

What to DO:
DO get a precious metal estimate and decide if you are comfortable or not with insurance and to what degree.
DO request the “Delivery Signature Required” option so you know your items are signed for.
DO weigh your items before you ship.
DO include a packing slip with your shipments.
DO track your shipment with your carrier.

What NOT TO DO:
DO NOT write gold, silver, platinum or any other identifying words on the outside of your shipment.
DO NOT send in silver or gold plated items to precious metal refineries.

We also advise consumers to consider the name of the company they send to. For instance we do not use “gold,” “silver,” or “precious metal” in our name intentionally so no one will know the contents of the package just by looking at whom it is shipping to.

Visit our easy 5 step process about how to ship precious metal on our website.

Hi There, I am an independent bench jeweler and ever since my old refiner went out of business, I have nowhere to send my bench sweeps. Do you refine sweeps, and if so, is there a minimum? And what is the approximate turn around time? From Sadie in Columbus, Ohio

Hi Sadie,

We do have the capability to refine and extract precious metal from bench sweeps. Shipment methods will depend on how much material you have. There is no minimum amount, but we would recommend shipping more than 0.25 lbs. Ship by putting all your sweep material into a plastic container with a tight lid or double zipped plastic bags.

Once your materials arrive at our refining facility we will test and refine your materials then return a check to you generally within 3-5 business days. However, sweeps take longer than a typical refining process as we have to test the materials extensively to ensure we extract the maximum precious metal available.

We would recommend trying to keep your sweep material separated while you are collecting it. Working on smooth surfaces might make it easier to collect scrap. Cleaning and separating scrap will be easier if you maintain a clean work station throughout the day. Here are the groups we find easiest and most helpful to maintain:

1. Fillings, Grindings and Snips
2. Solids – Chain, Wire, Parts
3. Polishings and Sweeps
4. Platinum
5. Silver – Try and keep gold and silver separated if you can. If this is not possible, send all your materials in combined.

Additionally, we commonly refine precious metal from floor mats, sink traps, carpets, rags, vacuum bags, and towels from jewelers’ working facilities. Visit our website for more information about our refining services for jewelers.

I have several silver dollar coins that I would like an estimate on. They are as follows:

Year / Number

1923 / 48
1922 / 30
1924 / 10
1925 / 10
1926 / 4
1927 / 3
1800’s / 47

Thanks! From Jordan in Cleveland, Ohio

Hi Jordan,

Thank you for your question. We would be able to pay you for 90% of the fine silver value on your silver dollars that you have described. However, we do not take into account the numismatic or collection value of any coins that we refine. Please send them to us if you know that the actual silver value is more than what you could get if you took them to a coin dealer.

I would especially recommend taking your coins from the 1800’s to a coin dealer to check on their collection value. Even coins that are not in pristine condition can still have collection value that may exceed its silver content value.

Let us know if you would like to refine your silver coins based on their silver content. Thanks!

I’m just a humble jewelry designer from NY who is trying to get used to all this stuff! From Natalie in New York, Arkansas

Hi Natalie,

Don’t worry if you don’t pickup on everything right away. It takes sometime to get to know the precious metal industry. Here are some helpful tips that I’ve put together for you and other jewelry designers out there that may have some scrap precious metal to refine.

It’s great that you are learning and researching about this now so you have all the tools at hand. We work with jewelry designers, jewelry sellers and gold party representatives from all over, let us know if you have any questions about precious metal!

Keep in mind that precious metals include: gold, silver, platinum, palladium and rhodium.

Pay attention to where you scrap is going.

From small gold chain links to shavings of silver, try to account for it all. For larger pieces of gold, silver or platinum that you cannot use in creating or fixing jewelry its best to keep them as separated as you can. We recommend working on smooth, dark surfaces so you can see scrap easier.

Don’t throw anything out, it could be precious!

Even your facility that you resize, shape and design jewelry in can contain valuable precious metal scrap. Areas where precious metal can be accumulating include sink traps, floor mats, carpets, rags, floor sweeps and vacuum bags. Think about this when you’re cleaning your facilities. If you regularly clip, size and shape precious metal chances are small pieces of it have gotten away from you. As precious metal refiners we can extract even the smallest amounts of precious metal from these items.

Keep your stones and gems.

As precious metal refiners, we only return payments for metal materials, not stones and gems. To reclaim the value on these items, make sure you remove them before sending them to any metal refinery.

In the last six months we have received some great questions! In order for our customers to receive the best information and most accurate quotes we encourage everyone to give very detailed descriptions of the materials you would like us to buy and refine. Even things that you may not think are significant can indicate what kind of material you have and what the grade is. Here are the main elements we take into account when people ask questions about their materials.

1. Type of Metal – of course the type of precious metal your items contain is the main indicator of how much they are worth refined.
2. Markings/Hallmarks – these are especially important on sterling silver sets and flatware. Always try and indicate if these items are marked with the word ‘sterling’, 925 or 800. 925 silver is 92.5% silver, where as 800 silver is only 80.0% silver.
3. Weight – there is a very big difference between the weight of items before they are refined and then the weight of the actual precious metal contained in items. We try and estimate only on the value of the precious metal content. So account for the fact that 40 lbs. of material is not the same as 40 lbs. of pure silver.
4. Quantity – the amount of precious metal you have to refine is important because often times we can offer you a higher return on larger amounts of material. This is because it is more energy efficient to process large amounts of material at once than several smaller quantities at different times.

On our Submit Your Question Form, there is an image upload capability where you can send us a photo of the items you wish to refine.

As always, let us know if you have any questions.

It seems like many media sources are conducting investigative reports on the cash for gold business. This is due to the many customer complaints about companies such as the one highlighted on Good Morning America this morning – Cash4Gold. Our goal with this blog is to help people become more educated consumers in this industry that historically has not always been the most trustworthy. With these huge operations you really have no idea who is giving you your quote or who is actually melting and refining the material. We recommend getting to know the people you work with either by giving them a call or sending them an email.

The consumer alert from Good Morning America highlighted the fact that some companies will only give 11%-29% of the gold’s value back to their customer. Also that these companies do not want the public educated on the gold buying because they thrive on people’s ignorance towards measurements and value. Here are some things to take into account when choosing a company to work with.

• Check out the company’s endorsers. If they are a member of the BBB, look at their rating and you can also see if they have had any recent customer complaints.
• Look to see if they have an actual business location, so they are not some guy working out of his basement. If they don’t look reputable, then chances are they probably are not.
• Get the on the phone. Because each piece of gold is different, each estimate will be different as well. This will allow you to ask any questions you have, establish a relationship with your dealer and give you an indication of what your customer service will be like.

Good Morning America also commented on gold parties which are becoming more popular. Remember that you don’t have sell your gold to the operator. We recommend getting some estimates either online or locally before you attend. That way you will have some idea of what your material is worth beforehand.

Did anyone else see the Today Show? We would love to hear your comments or questions.

Do you have a facility in TN? Can you evaluate and process large orders? Do you buy and what is the process and how long does this take? – From Roger in Knoxville, Tennessee

Hi Roger,

We have a representative in the Tennessee area but not a facility. Our facility in Missouri can handle large orders. We can take shipments by the ton. With three thermal oxidation processors and three large-scale R4-B rotary furnaces, there is almost no job involving precious metal too large for us to handle.

For large volumes of material we can work with you directly and arrange shipping and/or transportation. For large orders we like to speak with our customers so we both have a better idea about the job we are dealing with. Then we can more accurately estimate how long it will take to process and what the payout will be. Sometimes it is better to send a sample that we can test before refining. Let us know what kind of material you have, and then we can talk about dollar estimates and times.

Visit our website to find out more about our precious metal refining facility.

I watch gold fever on the outdoor channel on Saturday morning. If I had the supplies, I think I would try panning myself. I asked the pawn shop if I could bring it there if I found any gold. She said they could test it but didn’t say if she would buy it. Do I deal with a pawn shop or you guys with raw ore like that? Giving 1 oz as an example, and todays prices, how much does testing cost and the net cost after testing? — Sue

Hi Sue!

You can send us samples of the raw ore and we can analyze them for $75-$150 depending on the size of the rock you send us. If we end up refining it we will not charge you the fee for testing. We can return to you a large percentage of gold value after refining but the exact amount will depend on the quality and volume you find.

Be careful when dealing with pawn shops and selling raw gold to them. Because they will most likely sell the gold to a refiner like Arch Enterprises themselves, it’s in your best interest to sell directly to a refiner without middleman pawnshops. Hope this helps, good luck panning.

Thanks!

I am an avid metal detector user and am studying up on some of the industry terminology as I prepare to get some of the items I have found refined. For example, what is meant by “gold filled”, “troy ounce” and “pennyweight.” — Rick in Louisiana, MO

Thank you for you inquiry, following are some of the common terms used in the precious metal refining industry.

Carat – a unit of weight for gems
Karat (K, kt) – is measure of purity for gold
Fineness – the proportion of pure precious metal in an alloy, often expressed in parts per thousand
Fine Weight – the metallic weight of a coin, ingot or bar
Gross Weight – the total weight of an item, including the alloying metal
Gold Standard – a monetary system in which a region’s common medium of exchange are paper notes that are normally freely convertible into pre-set, fixed quantities of gold
Hallmark (plate mark) – an official mark or stamp indicating a standard of purity, used in marking gold and silver articles.
Luster – a substance, as a coating or polish, used to impart sheen or gloss
Ounce – a unit of weight. In the precious metals industry, an ounce means a troy ounce equal to 31.1035 grams
Spread – the difference between the buying price and the selling price of a precious metal
Troy Ounce – a unit of weight equal to 480 grains or 1/12 of a pound
Grain – the smallest unit of weight
Face Value – the nominal dollar amount assigned to a security by the issuer
Retail Value – the sale of goods or articles individually or in small quantities directly to the consumer
Pennyweight (dwt, pwt, PW) – a unit of mass which is the same as 24 grains, 1/240th of a troy pound, 1/20th of a troy ounce, approximately 0.055 ounces or approximately 1.555 grams
Hardness (HV) – sometimes called “scratch resistance,” the Vickers Hardness scale tests hardness of a metal by pushing a pointed object into the surface with a specific load and gauging penetration
Metal - any category of electropositive elements that usually have a shiny surface; typical metals are from salts with non-metals, basic oxides with oxygen and alloys with one another
Salt – crystalline chemical compound formed from the neutralization of an acid by a base containing a metal or group acting like a metal
EPNS – electroplated nickel silver or silver plate
Gold Filled (G.F.) – an item that has a thin outer layer of gold over a base metal. Items must be at least 1/20 gold by weight to be called gold filled
Gold Rolled (R.G.P) – Popular during the 19th century where a very thing sheet of solid gold is laminated to a lesser metal then fused together
Gold Plating – also referred to as electroplate (GEP), is a process where one metal is coated with another metal using electricity
Pinchbeck – gold substitute made with a combination of 9 karat gold, copper and zinc
Vermeil – usually gold plated sterling silver

Are there any precious metal terms we left out that you would like to know?

As one of the largest silver refiners in the U.S., we process thousands of different silver items every year.  One of the most common is silver flatware.  In today’s less formal world, many of you apparently just don’t have a need for that set of sterling you inherited or those silver candlestick holders you got as a wedding gift years ago.  Check out this video where we explain some of the issues related to valuing silver flatware and weighted items.