How much can you actually get for your precious metals today?
Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. See what a dealer, pawn shop, or online buyer will pay you.
Find out what your gold, silver, platinum, or palladium is really worth before you sell, whether it is coins, bars, rounds, jewelry, or scrap. Enter what you have and see what a pawn shop, a coin or jewelry shop, and an online buyer would each pay you, as a percent of today's spot price. It is free, with no sign-up. You get the melt value, a realistic range for each place, and the spread, so you know who pays the most before you go.
What do you have?
Name the item, like a 1 oz Silver Eagle, a 14k gold ring, or a broken or old gold chain, for a closer estimate.
Enter the total metal weight, then choose its unit. For a multi-piece lot, enter the combined weight.
Pick a karat, pick a fineness, or type the number. They all set the same purity.
What you can get for it
Loading today's prices…
What this tool does
This is a free tool that shows what you can actually get for a single piece, with no account needed. Here is what it works out for you:
- Values gold, silver, platinum, and palladium: coins, bars, rounds, bullion, junk (constitutional) silver, and scrap jewelry.
- Shows the melt value, the raw metal at live spot, as your floor.
- Shows what a pawn shop, a coin or jewelry shop, and an online buyer would each pay you, as a percent of spot, so you can see who pays the most.
- Shows the spread between what you would get and the retail price, so you see the buyer's markup.
- Works in many currencies (CAD, USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, JPY, CHF, NZD, MXN).
- Paste a description and it fills in the metal, weight, and purity for you.
It values the metal, not collector value.
A rare coin, a key date, or a graded piece can be worth well above its metal to the right buyer. If you think you might have one, get it looked at before you sell it for melt.
How much do pawn shops, coin shops, and online buyers pay?
The three quickest ways to sell are a pawn shop, a coin or jewelry shop, and an online buyer, so those are the three this tool compares. Here is what each tends to pay, as a percent of melt. Almost no one pays a private seller full spot, so the number to expect is the low end of each range.
| Where you sell | Roughly what you get | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Pawn shop | The least, but fast cash | Money the same day |
| Coin or jewelry shop | Usually the most in person | Coins and gold jewelry |
| Online or mail-in buyer | Strong on bulk, before fees | Larger lots you can mail |
Other ways to sell
You can also sell through an online auction like eBay, a coin auction, a private buyer, or in some cases a bank. These can pay more than a quick sale, but they take more time and the price is not guaranteed. This tool focuses on the three fast, everyday options above.
Selling each metal
Gold
Gold is the easiest to sell and holds its value best. Recognized coins like Eagles and Maples get you closest to melt at a coin shop. Karat jewelry is paid on the gold only, so a 14k chain is worth about 58.5% of its weight in gold before the buyer's cut. Watch for gold-plated or gold-filled pieces, which have almost no gold to pay for.
Silver
Silver is worth less per ounce, so it takes more of it to add up, and buyers are pickier in 2026. Recognized coins and bars move best. Sterling flatware and 90% junk coins are paid on their silver content, and a refining backlog this year is pushing those offers even lower, with some shops turning the material away. Call ahead and get more than one offer.
Platinum
Platinum is in demand but harder to sell locally, because fewer shops handle it. Recognized coins and bars get strong offers. Platinum jewelry usually has to go to an online or mail-in buyer, since most jewelers will not melt it. Plan to mail it in for the best price.
Palladium
Palladium is an industrial metal with a thin retail market. Most pawn shops will not take it, and even coin shops are careful. An online or mail-in buyer is usually your only real option, and their fee plus assay comes out of the number you are quoted.
How to get the most for it
A few simple things get you closer to the real value and keep you from being lowballed.
- Work out the melt value here before you go, so you know the floor and can spot a lowball offer.
- Get more than one offer. Prices vary a lot between buyers, so ask two or three before you sell.
- Keep recognized coins and bars separate from scrap. A Gold Eagle or Silver Maple is worth more than its metal, so do not let it get weighed in with a pile of jewelry.
- A pawn shop is the fast-cash floor. If you can wait, a coin or jewelry shop or an online buyer usually pays more.
- Ask how they weigh and test your item, and watch them do it. The offer is built on that weight and purity.
Is now a good time to sell?
The only price that matters is today's, and this tool uses the live spot price, so your estimate is current. We do not predict where metal prices are headed, and neither does anyone who claims to. If you need the cash, sell. If you do not, you can watch the spot price and go when the number looks right to you. Scrap and jewelry are worth about the same whenever you sell, so there is less reason to wait on those.
Common questions about selling
Do gold buyers pay spot price?
Almost never for a private seller. Spot is the wholesale price, and a buyer pays a share of it to cover their costs and margin. A good coin shop can get you close to full melt on recognized coins, but plain gold does not sell for more than melt.
What percent of spot do gold buyers pay?
It depends on the item and who you sell to. Recognized gold coins run from about 70% at a pawn shop up to near full melt at a coin shop. Scrap jewelry starts closer to 30% at a pawn shop and 60% at a coin shop. We lead with the low end so you are not let down.
How much do coin dealers pay for silver?
On recognized silver coins and bars, a coin shop usually starts around 84% of melt in 2026. Junk 90% silver starts nearer 70%, and sterling scrap nearer 45%. A refining backlog this year is holding silver offers down, so get more than one offer.
How much do pawn shops pay for gold?
A pawn shop is the fast-cash, lowest option. Expect roughly 65 to 70% of melt on gold coins and bars, and closer to 30% on scrap jewelry. Get a second offer before you take it.
Why is the offer lower than melt?
Melt is the raw metal value. The buyer covers refining, testing, overhead, and their own margin out of that gap. It is normal. Your job is to get as close to melt as your item and buyer allow.
What is melt value, and how is it worked out?
Melt value is the pure metal in your item at today's spot price. You take the weight, multiply by the purity, and multiply by the spot price per troy ounce. This tool does that for you once you enter the weight and karat or fineness.
How much is 14k gold worth per gram?
14k gold is 58.5% pure, so its melt is 0.585 times the spot price per gram, and then you get a share of that from the buyer. We do not print a fixed dollar amount because spot moves all day, but the tool shows the live price per gram when you enter the weight.
How do I value junk silver or 90% silver coins?
US 90% junk silver, also called constitutional silver, is priced by face value, not by how many coins you have. A quick estimate is face value times 0.715 times the silver spot price. That is the melt, then you get a share from the buyer.
How much is sterling silver flatware worth?
Sterling is 92.5% silver, marked .925 or sterling, and it is paid by weight on that content. Expect a coin shop to start near 45% of melt and a pawn shop near 30% in 2026. Some buyers are turning away sterling scrap during the current backlog.
How much is dental gold or gold teeth worth?
Dental gold is real gold but a mixed alloy, often around 10k to 16k with other metals, so it is paid on the gold that can be recovered, by weight. A mail-in buyer is the usual place for it. It has to be tested, so there is no fixed karat.
Does a bank buy or sell gold and silver?
Some do. In Canada, BMO, CIBC, RBC, and TD sell bullion, and Scotiabank stopped in 2020. Buying it back is more limited. RBC and CIBC usually buy back only their own products with your original receipt, and TD takes back metal held in its storage. A few US banks deal in bullion too, though most do not. Banks handle recognized coins and bars, not scrap or jewelry, so for those you still want a coin or jewelry shop, a pawn shop, or an online buyer.
Do I pay taxes when I sell gold or silver?
A profit on precious metals can be taxable, and the rules change by country and situation. This is general information and not tax advice, so check your local rules or a tax professional before you file.
What is my gold worth if it has gems or a setting?
For melt, you are paid on the gold only. Stones, clasps, and any non-gold parts are removed or weighed out and taken off, so a heavy setting with a big stone is worth less in gold than it looks. Any gem or collector value is a separate question this tool does not answer.
Is the price in this calculator live?
Yes. It uses today's spot price, which is why the results are a percent of melt and a price per gram rather than a fixed dollar amount. The number moves as the market moves.
Words to know
- Spot price
- The live wholesale price of the metal itself, set by the world market and moving all day. Every estimate here starts from it.
- Melt value
- What the pure metal in your item is worth at today's spot price. It is the floor a buyer works up from.
- Troy ounce (ozt)
- The unit precious metals are weighed in. One troy ounce is about 31.1 grams, a little heavier than the ounce used for food.
- Karat (k)
- How pure gold is, out of 24. 24k is pure gold, 18k is 75% gold, 14k is 58.5% gold. The rest is other metals for strength.
- Fineness
- Purity written as a decimal. .999 means 99.9% pure, .925 is sterling silver, .585 is 14k gold.
- Bullion
- Coins and bars bought and sold for their metal content, like a Gold Eagle or a 10 oz silver bar. They can be resold as they are.
- Scrap
- Jewelry or broken pieces sold for the metal, not resold as they are. Scrap gets melted down at a refinery.
- Sterling
- Silver that is 92.5% pure, marked .925 or "sterling". Common in flatware and older jewelry.
- Junk silver
- US coins made before 1965 that are 90% silver, like dimes and quarters. Sold for the silver and priced by face value, not collected.
- Premium
- The extra a bullion coin sells for above its melt value, because it is recognized and easy to trade.
- Buyback
- What a dealer, pawn shop, or online buyer will pay you, usually a percentage of the melt value.
- The spread
- The gap between what a buyer pays you and what they can sell the item for. It is how the shop makes its money.