Converting pure gold into cash?

[Carla4]

A friend's father had a grocery store in California's gold country. This was decades ago. When his customer's couldn't pay in cash they paid in gold. When her father died she found this bag of gold nuggets...almost 1 lb!

She is not a jeweler. I don't work in gold. I told her I would research the best way for her to turn it into money. She really doesn't need a bag of raw gold.

Where should she go to convert this to $ and get this gold on to a new life? Any ideas?

Thanks.
Carla

[RING14K]

Nuggets are worth more than gold by weight... go to a jeweler that deals in nugget jewelry, I have heard nuggests will fetch up to ten times the gold value if the shapes are unique.

Ringman

[Dan8]

Natural nuggets command a premium over just the weight. Someone who uses them in jewelry or who sells them as specimens would probably be the best market.

Dan Wellman

[David_Barzilay]

Carla, a better question to ask would probably be: where can I sell
'California Native Gold Nuggets?' If that is what they are, they are
worth more than the raw gold price.

A quick search on closed ebay auctions found nuggets which sold for
up to $25 US per gram.

There must be Orchid folks who know more and/or use them in their
work.

David Barzilay
Lord of the Rings
607 S Hill St Ste 850
Los Angeles, CA 90014-1718
213-488-9157

[aubates]

I think you frind should contact a REFINER like (PEASE AND CURREN)
if you like contact me of list and I will get you a few names. These
are the people we deal with.

LEONA
BENCHWORKER
http://www.goldcreations.org

[Joseph_Tousignant]

Hi Carla,.....first off gold nuggets are not exactly "pure" gold.
The can vary a bit and generally are of a high karat,.......but
20-23+ carat are about it. (high 80% to mid 90% fineness range.

About the only way to know exactly how huch gold is there is to have
it refined,.......but in your case that might not be the best for
your friend. Refining works fine for scrap or broken
jewelry,......but often a premium is paid for nuggets beyond the
actual gold content,......especially if the nuggets are larger
and/or especially attractive. Even smaller nuggets are often added
to a piece of jewelry, but the premium might not be there or even a
bit under gold in some cases.

Without seeing the nuggets it's hard to say for sure,........but at
the very least your friend should send it to someone experienced and
trusted,......via registered mail. My firm doesn't handle this type
of material as much as the regular scrap gold most often
seen,........but we have a great reputation and would be happy to
handle it for you if you can't find anyone you know or trust close
to you.

Joe T

[Mark_Shneyer]

I would suggest taking a small sample to a refiner (or two) and get
an assay to find out what you have.

If satisfied with the results bring the rest of it to them or sell a
few oz's at a time.

Mark

[Mroof]

Carla

please reply off line concerning gold nuggets. I am working on a
project and may be interested in buying.

micky
Mroof@twcny.rr.com

[John4]

Carla

She might talk to jewelers in the Tahoe, Auburn, Placerville areas
(anywhere that was gold country), as these folks use a lot of
nugget/flake material and there is a rather high premium for these
materials for use in jewelry.
Hope this helps.

John Dach

[Greg_DeMark]

Carla,

I would be interested in knowing more about what your friend has.
The size of the nuggets etc. Please contact me off list to discuss
it.

Thank you
Greg DeMark
Longmont, Colorado
email: greg@demarkjewelry.com
Website: www.demarkjewelry.com
Custom Jewelry - Handmade Jewelry - Antique Jewelry

[Dennis_Loss]

Carla, don't let your friend sell this gold for scrap. It is worth
much more to folks who collect nuggets. If it is really the genuine
deal, there are people who will pay top dollar. If you check out
mineral hobby groups through the internet I am sure that you will
find buyers. Also, check the Tucson gem show dealers listings. There
are dealers there in this kind of thing.

Goodluck
Dennis

[Sam_Patania]

Send it to Hoover and Strong. They are very trust worthy and will
assay and pay in money. I have been using H & S for many years, they
sponsored SNAG a couple years ago, they are worth the loyalty.

Sam Patania, Tucson
www.patanias.com

[John4]

    Send it to Hoover and Strong. They are very trust worthy and
will assay and pay in money. I have been using H & S for many
years, they sponsored SNAG a couple years ago, they are worth the
loyalty.

If anyone does send gold "scrap" of any kind in for refining, melt
the entire batch in a crucible, mix it well while melted, pour it
all into an ingot mold, let it chill, then drill a couple of "sample
holes" out of the into in a couple of areas and keep these samples
in a marked envelope. Check the ingot with a testing kit to find out
the "expected" gold content and mark this on the envelope. Then send
in the ingot(s) (each should be "sampled" and the samples stored in
marked envelopes and if if more than one ingot, each ingot should be
numbered with a number stamp or at the very least with a electric
marking pencil and that number put on the appropriate envelope) to
the refiner. With the samples and other the total gold
weight of the entire batch can be determined, and if you get back
the incorrect amount of refined gold, you have some proof as to what
you went the refinery. The "sample holes" also let the refiner know
that you have thins and helps keep them on their toes.
this is only needed for questionable operations or in cast there is a
mix-up on the refiners part.

Just a suggestion. And the refiners do not take offence of this
practice. The refiner we use told us to do this.

John Dach

[Red_Rodder]

Some years ago, I acquired a nugget of around an ounce. I gave it to
a rock dealer friend of mine on memo and he flipped it in about a
week for about 25-30% more than it's weight in gold. He made some
money at that, too. Keep that in mind before you send it to melt.

Bruce D. Holmgrain
http://www.goldwerx.com
@Red_Rodder
JA Certified Master Bench Jeweler / CAD/CAM Solutions

[Daniel_R_Spirer]

If anyone does send gold "scrap" of any kind in for refining, 
melt the entire batch in a crucible, mix it well while melted, pour
it all into an ingot mold, let it chill, then drill a couple of
"sample holes" out of the into in a couple of areas and keep these
samples in a marked envelope.

First of all I can absolutely back up the person who said Hoover and
Strong is entirely trustworthy when it comes to refining and I, too,
heartily recommend them for their services. However the response to
this (beginning quoted above) leads to a larger question in the
industry. Why would you use someone you don't trust to begin with?
I run into this with customers on and off who want me to set their
diamonds, but want me to do it in front of them because they don't
trust any jewelers. I always tell them to find someone else who
they feel they can trust to do it because if they don't trust me,
then nothing I do for them is going to make them happy. It's the
same thing in the rest of this business, which incidentally has
always been built up on the basis of trust. If you don't trust your
refiner to pay you out properly then don't use them and find someone
you do.

Daniel R. Spirer, G.G.
Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, LLC
1780 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140
617-2344392
www.spirerjewelers.com

[John4]

    If you don't trust your refiner to pay you out properly then
don't use them and find someone you do.

Not necessarily a trust issue but a way to have "something" in case
there is a "lost package" or somebody goofs (we ARE human) and for
one reason or another, shorts or over ships metal to you. At least
with the ingot samples/ingot weights, you have something to fall
back on.

John Dach