I have about 12 ounces of jewelry scrap from about 60 years ago. I think it might be gold but have not gotten a definitive answer yet. Can I send you some samples? I also have 5 to 10 pounds of old sterling silver and would like to know its value (buckles, money clips, pins, etc.) Can you also let me know if you would be interested in buying it? Thanks. From Mary in Rochester, New York

Hi Mary,

Thank you for your question. Sounds like you are doing some cleaning which could result in some extra cash for you, which is always a plus.

Since you are unsure about the purity of your gold items, we would test your pieces, refine gold that is9 karat purity (37.44% gold) or more and then either send back what is not able to refine or we could recycle it for you. If you have specific instructions for us, please indicate those on our packaging slip.

5-10 pounds of sterling silver is a large range. If your pieces are pure sterling silver, 92.5% silver, at a $35 silver price, 5 pounds of sterling silver could be worth over $2,000 silver value.  Arch would be able to pay 75% of the silver value back to you on your pieces. However, if not all of your pieces are sterling, we would recommend sorting the items you know are sterling and then check to see if your other pieces are sterling or not.

It may be better to send all of your pieces together, but would help if you kept the gold separated from the silver in different bags.

Hope that helps! Let us know if you have any more questions. Or you can upload an image to show up on our Contact Form.

*Images displayed are only a representation of the items described in this blog post and may not be true images of the items in question.

I have a good amount of 925 silver jewelry, as well as some 14k gold, and some 22k gold from India. I may be going into the gold buying business and I have a question. What you are paying per troy oz of each? I know it depends upon the daily precious metals market, but is there a standard percentage of that you pay? Please advise, Thanks! From Jack in Birmingham, Alabama.

Hi Jack,

We do work with many people and stores that run gold buying businesses so we may be able to help you. As you noted in your question, the market price of silver and gold will have a major influence on how much we can pay for gold and silver items. Because these prices fluctuate daily, we use the commodity price of the day that we receive the material at our refining facility.

On 925 sterling silver items we typically pay 75% of the fine silver content by weight because the value of silver is relatively low when compared to gold and yet the time and energy involved in refining the material and running the transaction through our system is similar. Since gold is trading for over $1,000 UDS per troy ounce all of this year, we can pay a higher percentage based on the amount you send and the purity of your items. Keep in mind that it takes about the same amount of energy to refine 1 ounce of gold as it does to refine 3 ounces, so it is more cost efficient for us to refine larger quantities at one time. For estimation purposes, we typically pay out according to the schedule below:

• 70% of the fine gold value by weight for less than 0.5 fine ounce of gold
• 80% for less than 1 fine ounce
• 85% for 1-2 fine ounces
• 90% for more than 2 fine ounce

We do offer slightly higher returns to many of our customers who run gold buying businesses and meet our frequency and volume minimums. Arch is accredited by the Better Business Bureau and maintains fast, professional service in an industry where ethical business practices are many times questionable. We are here for our customers to answer questions on our blog and are always just a phone call away.

Good luck in your new business.

I have a large quantity (about 40+ lbs.) of sterling and 925 silver jewelry. And I have over 1000 dwts of clean scrap gold (no stones). Also let me know if there are any other hidden charges.  From Betty

Hi Betty,

We pay 75% for sterling silver and between 80-90% and sometimes more for large quantities of gold. For those of you that are unfamiliar with “dwts,” this is a unit of measurement used in the industry that is an abbreviation for pennyweight. You might also see “pwt” or “PW” used. Pennyweight is 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. We have a previous blog post about other precious metal terms.

It sounds like you may have encountered some other dealers or refineries with hidden charges. With Arch Enterprises all you pay for is shipping. For consumers items like jewelry, we will review your material and mail payment to you in 3 business days or less after the material is received. There are no hidden charges!