Gold Rush

In March, I wrote about another survival tool, selling gold. At that point, gold coins hovered at $1,000 an ounce. Today, gold coins closed at $1,242.45. That's a 24.5% increase in value in three months. I wish I had bought some. Instead, after consistent underemployment for over a year now, I decided it was time to sell some of my gold and silver jewelry. At my sister's suggestion, I tried a place called Gold Rush Stores, on the second floor of the Sherman Oaks Fashion Square Mall. The young women working there were quite friendly and helpful. They walked me through the process.

I was genuinely surprised at how much of my jewelry wasn't 100% gold or silver, merely gold or silver plated. Out of over two dozen objects, only four were silver or 14kt gold. First they used a magnet to test the item. Anything that moved toward or clung to the magnet was plated. The plated items were returned to me and the sell-able items were inserted into plastic bags labeled silver, 10K, 14K, etc. Each bag was weighed and an estimate was generated based on the weight and the material. Once the customer accepts the estimate, the Gold Rush gals perform more detailed testing, rubbing the item against a test stone, and then using nitric acid or potassium dichromate salt to test for purity. Then the items are weighed again and a final price is given. The final price turned out to be about twenty dollars higher than the original estimate.

Most of the items turned out to be plated. My grandfather's 1950's gold lighter, a pair of delicately thin gold leaf earrings, a birthday charm that Nana used to wear on her charm bracelet with the ruby chip on my date of birth, and the silver heart that I received on Valentine's day from my college boyfriend. What I did have of material value were three broken gold & silver chains, and a nice sized lump of 14K gold. All in, I netted four hundred bucks and a little more knowledge about how jewelry is made and sold. And then I did an even more important thing, I took half of that money to pay off my Macy's bill and kept the rest to cover this month's utilities and expenses. Now if I could only come up with a way to pay for the rest of the mortgage. What else out there is earning 8-10% per month in value? Certainly not my condo.

For more info on Gold Rush Stores.

Go for the Gold

One of the benefits of our current depression is that the price of gold hovers around one thousand dollars an ounce. You've seen those ads on TV and in your newspaper.  Friends of mine have reported selling their gold to jewelers and at private Tupperware-like parties. I sought out gold in all the nooks and crannies of my home. After a thorough search I turned up at least 10 items that appeared to be gold.  How can you tell if it is real?

Reaching out into the universe of assembled knowledge, I consulted the oracle of Google and various posts told me that if it sticks to a magnet it is not gold (but just so you know, not everything that doesn't stick to a  magnet is gold. Or the suggestion that if you scratch gold against a piece of unglazed ceramic it leaves a gold mark; if it is not gold, it will leave a black mark. But then you have to damage the item to prove that it is good, which doesn't make much sense to me. And you've heard of gold paint, right? Other more accurate tests involve nitric acid and displacement measurements in a test tube.  The commonly used phrase, "to pass the acid test" comes from the nitric acid test for real gold.

There are varying degrees of gold that buyers will accept, ranging from 10k up to 24k. 10 karat is commonly used in dental fillings. Jewelry over 10K usually bears a karat mark, but sometimes there is no karat sign. The fact that there is no karat mark does not mean that the item is not gold. Gold prices are based on 24 karat or pure gold. Lesser karats are discounted proportionately. 18k is 75% pure gold. 14K is 58.3%, and so on. When you sell your gold the buyer will further discount the price by adding fees to assay and refine it. These fees usually range from 10-20%.

I looked at the little pile of gold I had assembled on my desk. I used to have a lot more gold jewelry, most of which was stolen during a 1980's home invasion in New York. What little I still have holds more sentimental value than anything else. The calendar charm Nana wore on her bracelet with a tiny ruby on my date of birth, an oval pin with my initials that I received at my bat mitzvah, a pair of Dad's cuff links, a vintage gold or gold plated cigarette lighter that had belonged to my Papa, various chains, knotted and broken, a lump of gold with a diamond mounted on it-- a piece of art made from my mother's engagement ring, and my great grandmother's pink gold ring that still I wear to this day.  I struggled with the thought of selling my memories.  Maybe I could part with the broken chains and the lump of gold that was once a ring, but the other items still held too much emotional value and I wasn't ready to part with them for money... yet.

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